Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Marie Bauman, an Usborne Books Consultant. Please consider ordering your next Usborne book through her links and help build up Godly families. Thanks!!
This month’s theme at the Poppins Book Nook is The Great Outdoors. In true Michigan fashion, we went with water–but not the lakes & rivers we have around us. I decided to go more “exotic” and we have spent all month learning about the ocean.
Usborne Ocean Books
As usual, we are using an Usborne book as our spine. After searching our bookshelves, we found that several of our favorite ocean books were Usborne books! Marie Bauman, an independent consultant sent us 2 ocean books. The first was See Under the Sea. We love the See Under…books. Like the others, this is a hardcover lift-the-flap book with thick pages that will keep kids occupied whether they can read or not. There are eight 2-page spreads. The first one does mention that life on Earth began under the sea and shows creatures both extinct & mostly unchanged. The ocean spreads cover the tropics, the arctic, habitats, the deep, dark ocean depths and more with flaps on every page. There is even an extra pull out page on one and things to spot at the end. The text is widespread and small so it’s great for short attention spans.
Marie also sent Puzzle Ocean which is another well-loved series in our house. Puzzle Ocean is a quality paperback book where each page has a puzzle to solve. In addition, there are objects to find on every spread. It’s illustrated by the same lady who does the Uncle Pete puzzle books. This one is large, though, about 8.5×11. In addition to these two new Usborne books from Marie, we also used 1001 Things to Spot in the Sea and the First Encyclopedia of Seas & Oceans. 1001 Things to Find in the Sea is awesome for learning to identify numbers or 1:1 counting.
Ocean Unit Study for PreK-K
So if you’ve been a reader long, you know I don’t do lots of prep or planning. I looked around my house and pulled together a bunch of things we already had and bought 1 or 2 things on my list for awhile.
5 Minute Felt Board
So way back when my oldest was 3 every preschool curriculum ever said to use a felt board. So I dutifully bought felt in every color ever. And never got around to making a felt board. So here are my instructions for a 5 minute felt board. Shopping time not included.
You need:
Bulletin board, Foam board, poster board or large piece of cardboard for a base
Large pale blue felt – by the yard
2 sheets of dark blue felt
2 sheets of ivory or tan felt
Tacks or pushpins
Double-sided tape
Cut out a piece of pale blue felt to fit your board. You can measure or wing it. I winged it :). Pin or tape felt to your surface.
Place 2 pieces of dark blue on the bottom of one side. Cut them to look like water. Again, I winged it. Pin or tape them down. Do the same with the tan/ivory for sand.
We got an Evan-Moor Ocean Unit study book as a freebie from Homeschool Buyers Co-op one year. We used their pieces on our felt board and used double-stick tape to make the paper stick. It was perfect for my almost 4 year old.
Ocean Sensory Play
We also did some sensory ocean play. The Evan-Moor book had the kids sorting paper shell pictures. I knew that I could get bags of REAL shells at the Dollar Tree. I bought the last two bags and she explored the shells sorting by type and size.
For extra sensory fun, you could put them into a sand-filled sensory bin or play with them on a piece of sandpaper. In addition, we used a 40% off coupon at JoAnn’s to buy an ocean Toob. We also decided on Finding Nemo as Little Man’s first b-day theme and found 4 Finding Nemo figurines at the Dollar Tree, too. We just played with ours on a blue tray because we had purchased a mermaid-themed sensory bin. They played with that, too.
Ocean Food
We explored foods that are salty (like the ocean). We also made blue jello with gummy fish in it (not a big hit–they like the idea of jello more than the reality) and had goldfish crackers as a snack. I considered the octopus hot dog thing but my kids HATED it last time I did it. We were crazy busy or I would have made fish for dinner one night, too.
Ocean Movement
Oddly enough, we came across several ocean movement activities in our normal curriculum.
Move like a Starfish
Lay on the floor on your belly, arms & legs spread. Try to move using just your fingers & toes. Yep. Impossible. But fun to try and the kids loved that I was down there, too.
Crab Walk
Walk on you hands & feet, belly up. Like this.
Ocean on the Tube
We did have a freezing cold and rainy few days in June & so we dug out our Magic School Bus video’s. There was an episode on Tidal Zones & one on Oceans. We watched them both twice. We had also intended to watch episodes of Wild Kratts about ocean critters but Netflix wasn’t working that day.
We are Disney fans, so we also watched Finding Nemo. Lilo & Stitch and The Little Mermaid are also good options.
Ocean Art
The girls even made some fun crayon relief art. To make, draw fish, seaweed, bubbles and more with crayon. Then paint the whole thing with watercolor paint. The watercolors won’t stay where the crayon is. My artist loved this activity best, I think.
I also bought a large Melissa & Doug sticker pad with 4 or 5 habitats. Guess what one of the habitats was ;)? They were so excited to use these because I’ve been putting them off for months!
Our preschooler & first grader did a TON with oceans this month and had a blast. They are hoping to see the ocean next time we are in Florida. We may just have to rent a car :).
Do you have a favorite, easy ocean activity for littles?
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Poppins Book NookGreat Outdoors Bundle Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win a copy of the classic storybook Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping as no one brings that certain flair and fun to the great outdoors like Amelia Bedelia. The winner will also win an Uncle Milton Nat Geo Starry Night Lantern so whether you live in the countryside or in the city your child can experience some of the great outdoors while reading your storybook.
Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom’s disclosures found here {http://
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Want to know about other fun in the great outdoors? Did you discover a new book & write about our theme this month? Check out all the hosts & link your post below!
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Clip Art by Melon Headz
Check out more Poppins Book Nook posts from around the world by these lovely bloggers:
Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God’s Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~ Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy’s Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy’s Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Raventhreads ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A “Peace” of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama
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Jill
13 July 2014 at 4:33 PM (10 years ago)I love that you found shells at Dollar Tree! My kids are always intrigued by sea shells.
Thank you for helping to bring a spoonful of reading fun to the Poppins Book Nook this month!
Jill´s last blog post ..FREE Rainforest Coloring Pack
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Momma Jo
1 July 2014 at 6:06 AM (10 years ago)Thanks for sharing these great resources. We are a non-coastal family and these are perfect for my littlies
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