Ocean Lesson Plans for Preschool Teachers & Ocean Theme Activities for Kids
The ocean is so vast and complex with all its creatures, ocean life forms, plants and organisms. Why not create an ocean lesson plan for preschool teachers or ocean theme for parents to teach kids?
As teachers/parents using ocean theme lesson plans for preschool children and teaching kids about ocean animals, we need to be sure to keep things simple, yet interesting for kids so we don’t overwhelm them.
We do not want to overwhelm the preschoolers/children by using too many facts and details about the ocean and all the things it is made up of.
Keep things basic and fun by using sea creatures and ocean life that the pre k children already know about and can relate to. For example, you could teach and focus on familiar sea life like dolphins, whales, seals or sharks.
You can build on this educational lesson plan & theme idea by using the ocean lesson plan for preschool teachers and suggestions below.
Ocean Animals, Sea Creatures & Plant Life Lesson Plan Ideas:
- When starting out and building ocean theme lesson plans for preschool children be sure to stick to using examples of sea and ocean life that children already understand and know about like sharks, whales, dolphins, octopus, starfish, seahorses, sand dollars, and even simply fish in general.
- You should stay away from trying to name all the different type of fish because that could prove to be very overwhelming to the children in the classroom.
- To be most effective in helping the kids to learn about your topic, or the different types of fish etc. you need to have pictures of the fish or sea life you are discussing and learning about.
- Doing this will help the children to relate the image of the ocean life or sea creature to the name. You can have the children describe what they see in the pictures or photos that you use.
- You could talk about the different types of plants and vegetation that live in the ocean. Plant life such as seaweed, coral reefs etc. Again, try to be sure to have pictures of them and discuss the pictures with the children to help them learn.
Ocean Theme Lesson Plan Resources & Teaching Tools:
In your classroom library or on your bookshelf, be sure to have books about the ocean and books or stories about ocean animals and more for the children to explore and flip through.
Be sure to have some colorful (preferred) pictures and photos of the ocean or drawings of the ocean or sea.
Ocean Lesson Activities for Children:
Find ocean themed coloring pages of different types of common ocean life like whales, sharks, octopus’, dolphins, sea gulls and different types of ocean vessels like boats and ships.
Find ocean theme puzzles, worksheets for the kids.
Toys & Sensory Bin Activities:
- Ocean theme toys, toy boats, whales, sharks and other toy fish etc.
- Add ocean related toys or items to the sensory bin that relate to this pre k theme lesson plan, like toy boats and toy fish etc. You could fill the classroom sensory bin or small bin up part of the way with some water.
- Then to make it fun just add some blue sparkles to the water with the ocean animal toys and related sea creatures and items.
Talk About The Ocean:
- You can discuss how the bottom of the ocean is covered with sand, rocks, sea shells, various types of plants and seaweeds and even corral reef etc.
- You can discuss and explain what type of sea creatures and ocean life crawl along the bottom of the ocean floor such as lobsters, crabs, star fish and other ocean creatures.
- You could talk about what types of sea birds you find near the sea. Birds like sea gulls, pelicans and even penguins etc. near certain oceans.
Fish or Water Pets for the Classroom:
- You could get a small aquarium that will hold 2-3 fish and have this as a class pet for the kids to see everyday.
- Be sure to name the fish that are in the new aquarium. You can make an ocean like home for the fish by putting gravel on the bottom of the fish tank, adding plants and shells etc. for hiding and color.
- Have the preschool children in the classroom take turns feeding the fish each day (teaches responsibility).
- You can make a simple chart to help keep track of the feeding.
- You can designate one child to feed the fish each day. You can have one child help you to clean the fish aquarium for a simple, fun class project.
- Cleaning the fish tank only needs to be done once every 3 weeks or so using the right products.
Setting the Mood for your Ocean Theme Lesson Plan:
You can find fun kids music or songs for kids that are about the ocean. Play music in the background that is about the ocean or find relaxing ocean waves and the sounds of the ocean to help get children in the mood and to set the tone.
Songs About The Ocean
You can sing songs about fish, whales, sharks etc. with the children.
There are no shortage of educational materials and research that can be done or supplied for an ocean them lesson plan for teaching children.
Use your imagination, keep on topic and keep it fun and entertaining for the preschoolers. This is the best way for preschool and kindergarten children to learn, by keeping it interesting.
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