Shell Sorting- Submitted by Sherry

Provide real shells or pictures of shells for children to sort according to type, size, or colour.

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Sensory Table- Submitted by Sherry

Set up the sand table and add whatever fun beach items you have on hand.

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Beach Stones- Submitted by Sherry

Collect a variety of smooth beach stones. Add them to the sensory table and allow the children to sort them according to size or color or make designs on table.

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Sorting The Sea- Submitted by Sherry

Have the children study seashells, sand dollars, and other sea items have the children sort them into their own catagories.

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Sensory- Submitted by Patrisha

-Put sunflower seeds in your sand and water table. They can be very inexpensive at the pet store (bird food)

-Put dirt in your sand and water table

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Science- Submitted by Patrisha -Discuss with the children, that sunflowers need sun and water to grow

-Plant sunflower seeds to see if they grow

-Provide a balance for the children to experiment with sunflower seeds

-Talk about the use of sunflower seeds for food

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Math- Submitted by Patrisha

Provide the children with sunflower seeds and a muffin tin with numbers (1 through 6) taped to the bottom. Have the children place the appropriate number of sunflower seeds in each section of the muffin tin.

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Shells- Submitted by Patrisha

Collect several types of small shells. Place the shells in a large bucket or pan of water. Let the children reach into the bucket and "fish" for a handful of shells. Have the children count the number of shells they "catch".

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Lei Toss- Submitted by Patrisha

Set a traditional ring toss game up with leis instead of rings!

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Pontoon Boats- Submitted by Patrisha

Make "pontoon" boats out of cardboard boxes and race them.

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Hula- Submitted by Patrisha

Have a hula contest using hula-hoops.

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Hang 10- Submitted by Patrisha

Set up a Pacific island scene with a surfboard. Take kids' pictures while "surfin'!"

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Sand Dough- Submitted by Sherry

Make light brown play dough and add sand to it for texture.

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I Spy Jar- Submitted by Sherry

Fill a large plastic bottle with sand. Drop familiar objects into the bottle. Tighten the lid. As the children turn the bottle, different objects will surface. Name the objects, give clues for the children to find a certain item. Attach a card with pictures of the items.

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Beach Ball Volley- Submitted by Sherry

Pass a beach ball around the circle by volleying it in the air and see how long you can keep it up without having it hit the ground

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Math Activity- Submitted by Sherry

Shell sorting. Set up a table with different types of shells and children can sort according to size, shape, colour, etc.

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Sand Play- Submitted by Sherry

Use different sands all week - start with dry sand and let the children dig, sift, and hide objects. Add a little water, shovels, and pails to the water another day. Then finally, really wet the sand and create castles, moats, etc.

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Beach Bally Relay- Submitted by Sherry

Have the children place a small beach ball between their legs. They then walk across the room (or yard) and drop the ball into a large pail without using their hands.

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Watermelon Math Toss Game- Submitted by Sherry

To make a watermelon, fold an 18x12 inch piece of red construction paper in half. Starting from the top, cut at an angle and stop about 5 inches from the bottom. Fold it again and measure 2 inches across the top of the green construction paper marking every so often. Cut. Laminate or put contact paper on it. Cut black seeds using thick paper, poster board, black checkers, or coins. Have the children toss the seeds onto the watermelon and count as they go.

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Water Table- Submitted by Sherry

Put sand and sea creatures in the water table. The children can make sand castles and find the sea creatures.

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Health- Submitted by Sherry

Make cut outs of a child shape from a dark piece of construction paper. Have two for each child. One should be covered saying this is like sun screen protection, the other is plain. Place them in the sun. Later go out remove the covering and show how the colors are different. The sun is very strong.

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Science- Submitted by Sherry

Place chocolate bars on two cookie sheets the place one in the sun and one in the shade. See what happens and how long it takes.

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Math- Submitted by Sherry

Let the children sort a collection of shells. Have a magnifying glass handy for them to see the shells up close. Graph kinds of shells.

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Beach in a Bottle- Submitted by Sherry

Last year I did Beach in a Bottle with my group at daycare. We used a small plastic soda bottle filled it part way with sand then added small seashells and little stones. We glued on the lid, set the bottle on it's side and there you have it.....beach in a bottle.

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Sea Shell Discovery- Submitted by Sherry

put sea shells in discovery center to sort and count.

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Wave Bottle- Submitted by Sherry

add blue food coloring, water, and mineral oil to a 16oz drink bottle and glue the lid on.

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Block Center- Submitted by Sherry

put in scrap pieces of wood and sand paper

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Sensory Table- Submitted by Sherry

wet sand and molds Sand and sea shells blue water with fish and sea shells or use floaties

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Outside Play- Submitted by Sherry

have water play sand box play

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What is Sand?- Submitted by Sherry

Use a magnifying glass to examine sand. Talk about how sand is actually tiny pieces of rocks, shells or coral. Explain that sand is created when materials such as rocks rub together. Over time, tiny pieces of rock wear off and these pieces become sand. To explain this concept have the children rub two sugar cubes together to make "sand". My children had fun with this. Leave all items out for children to examine.

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Pet- Submitted by Sherry

Buy a hermit crab for the class

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Field Trip- Submitted by Sherry

Go to pet store and look at the tropical fish and crabs.

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Beach Blanket Bingo- Submitted by Sherry

Make Bingo cards with an extra set for your calling cards. Explain the game of Bingo to the children. Give them something to use as markers. Pick a calling card and those who have that picture put a marker on it. The first child who fills his card wins. Continue play until everyone’s card is filled.

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Beach Towel Boogie- Submitted by Sherry

Have each child bring a beach towel and this is their spot for doing different activities, some were coloring, some were lacing fish, etc. Tell the children to listen because when the music starts they get up and dance. When it stops they go back to doing their activity. Put some Beach Boy (or other surfing type music on) and have fun!

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Large Motor Activity- Submitted by Sherry

Take a large blue blanket. Stand the children at the edge of the blanket as two people hold the ends (adults are best). Tell the children this is a wave because they do not have swim suits on they don't want to get caught by the wave and get wet. As you move the wave (blanket) away from them you say "The waves are going out" Then you move the blanket back toward the children and say "The wave is coming in don't get wet." Repeat several times. You can also catch a slow child and tell them they are all wet.

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Beach Ball Fun- Submitted by Sherry

Place two beach balls of different sizes on a small blanket while several children hold the sides of the blanket and make the beach balls move up and down like popcorn popping or roll them from side to side by moving their arms.

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Beach Ball- Submitted by Sherry

Write a different numeral (using a permanent marker) on each section of an inflated ball. Toss or roll ball to a child. Have him name & show one of the numbers & give an activity - such as clapping, jumping, etc. for the group to do. Another idea is to have each child name the two numbers closest to his hands. Write them on a board, count out the manipulative, decide which is greater, or add them together. (I wrote the activity on the ball under or above the number.)

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Sand Table Fun- Submitted by Sherry

In sand table add sea shells and shovels and small sand buckets

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Shuttle Race- Submitted by Patrisha

Place two boxes 3 meters apart. Put several interesting objects in one of the boxes. On the signal "go", your child runs and takes an object from one box and places it in the other. Repeat until the box is empty. You may wish to talk about the objects in the box first, so his curiosity will not interfere with playing the game.

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Sweep- Submitted by Patrisha

Place the open end of a box towards the starting point 3 meters away. Give your child a broom or hockey stick to sweep or hit a ball or similar object into the box. Repeat several times.

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Bean Bag Hit- Submitted by Patrisha

Standing facing each other 3 meters apart. Place a large beach ball in the center between you and your child. Each person has a bean bag and tries to move the ball by throwing the bean bag at it to the other person's side.

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Magic Carpet Ride- Submitted by Patrisha

Child grasps sides of a gym mat, towel, or piece of thick plastic, while sitting in the middle of the mat. You pull the carpet around the area. This works best on a tile floor. You can also hold child by the feet if he lies down and legs are in the air.

Note: This game can be varied to include several children with one child sitting in middle of mat and other children holding side and moving mat around. Adult assistance will be needed.

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Long, Long, Long Jump- Submitted by Patrisha

The object of the game is to jump together as far as you can. You broad jump first. Your child starts where your heels landed and broad jumps. Continue taking turns. How far can you jump working together?

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Simon Says- Submitted by Patrisha

Stand facing each other. Your child says "Simon says do this" and performs an action. Adult imitates. However, if your child says "Do this" you must not imitate action. If you do, you change roles.

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Roll The Ball- Submitted by Patrisha

Roll a ball to each of your children in turn, and have the child roll the ball back to you. As you roll the ball, use ordinal numbers to describe the action; "The first child to get the ball is Jack . The second child to get the ball is Miguel. The third child to get the ball is Lucy. Continue rolling the ball until each child has had a turn to catch and roll the ball.

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Cooperative Musical Chairs- Submitted by Patrisha

This game is very similar to the original version, with the same setup of two lines of chairs back to back. Make sure there is one chair LESS than the amount of players. Began playing music while children dance or march around the chairs. When the music stops everyone needs to find a seat. The goal is ensure everyone has a place! As the game continues remove an additional chair after each round. With a smaller amount of chairs available, children will find the need to work together and cooperate in order to find room for everyone. This may mean sitting on laps and sharing chairs. Please note: no one is eliminated or asked to wait in this version.

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Sharks in the Water- Submitted by Patrisha

This game operates on the same premise as Cooperative Musical Chairs. Outline a large square on the floor with either masking tape or chalk. This area is the safe island and the area surrounding the square is the ocean. When the music begins children "swim" around the island. The stopping of the music indicates that sharks are coming and all player must retreat to the safety of the island. With each round the lines are altered making the island smaller and smaller. Players must make work together to make sure everyone has a safe place to get away from the sharks.

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Mirror Mirror- Submitted by Patrisha

The is a game that can be played with partners or with a larger group. A leader is chosen to initiate movements the others are to try to mimic as quickly as possible so that it appears they are a mirror image of the leader. A more challenging version for older children is to eliminate the leader. Players are to both move and simultaneously mimic each other.

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Keep it Up- Submitted by Patrisha

Blow up one or more balloons depending on the number of players. The simple goal is to work together and keep the balloon in the air. For younger children you may to have them stand or sit in a circle. You can add challenge for older children by restricting how they may elevate the balloon not allowing them to use their hands or only their elbows etc.,

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Ball Bounce- Submitted by Patrisha

You can use a parachute or large sheet for this game. Players hold and stretch the edges of the parachute. A ball is placed in the center. By all players gently tugging up and down they can cause the ball to bounce. Players can see how long they can keep the ball going with out it bouncing off the surface. More balls can be added for additional challenge and fun.

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Dragon Tail- Submitted by Patrisha

Players form one long line or train by holding onto the waist of the child in front of them. The child in the front becomes the dragon head. The child in the rear is the dragon tail and a colorful scarf is attached into a belt loop. The "head" is to try to catch the scarf flapping behind the "tail". All of the other players, members of the "body", are compelled to work together with both ends and both the goal of the head and the tail at that same time. The main objective through out is to keep the dragon intact with no players letting go. This game is best for older children and requires a large area.

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Human Pretzel- Submitted by Patrisha

Players form a circle. Each player reaches into the circle with their right hand and clasps hands with anyone across from them. Then each player clasps their left hand with a different player. Two people are then designated to be the ends. One end player is to release their right hand from whomever has a hold on it and the other end player is to release their left hand. By stepping over, under, and around each other; the group needs to work together to untangle their big human pretzel. Again, players are to try to accomplish this with out releasing their hands.

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Balloon Volleyball- Submitted by Sherry

Set up a net (or use a blanket over a rope tied to two objects such as trees/fence) Blow up a large balloon and have the children volley it back and forth. You can play just for fun or award a point to the team who keeps it from landing on the ground

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