Summer brings us nice warm sun

     For swimming, fishing, and lots of fun;

     For finding seashells in the sand;

     For sunbathing to get a tan;

     To do all these things and more

     At the beach and seashore.

Found At The Beach

See what I found

At the beach

  Today

  While I

  Was Watching

  The waves

  At play.

I found a feather

  So soft

  And white

  And a shell

  And a stone

  That is round

  And Bright

A stone

  To make

  Wishes on

  Tonight.

Hermit's House

 Hermit the crab

Had a cute little home,

He carried on his back

Wherever he did roam.

But one day he woke up

And his home was too small,

So he had to go shopping

In the underwater mall.

He found an empty shell

That comfortably would fit.

He moved right in

His new home was a hit!

We've traveled over the ocean,

We've traveled over the sea,

Now we'll travel to the rainforest,

To see what we can see.

Take me out to the ocean

Take me out to the sea

There goes a starfish and sand dollar,

I'm having such fun, I've just got to holler

Oh, it's swim, swim, swim, underwater

Catch a ride on a whale, don't fear

For the sea animals are our friends,

Let's give a great big cheer! 

We bought a large bag of small shells.  The students glued these onto a frame and put a picture of themselves on the back.  We saved these to give to our grandparents in February.

Set up the paint station with colors of paint that are found in the shells at the Science Center.  Let students try to duplicate the shells.

Shell Necklace

The children mixed 'Fruit Loops' and shells to string themselves a lovely necklace.

Children placed a piece of heavy art paper over a starfish and a sand dollar and lightly rubbed with a large crayon.  We spent a lot of time talking about how fragile a sand dollar is, and how we must be very gentle.

Set a tray of Shells out for the children to observe using all sensory organs.  You should include some scales (so they can compare weights) and a magnifying glass.

My sister had a crab that she showed my class.  They loved it so much, she bought one for them.  This activity spanned the entire year.  

We graphed the time spent in each shell and compared how often he outgrew his home.

Bury some seashells in the sand.  Let children pretend they are at the beach.  They will need all the appropriate tools for digging at the beach.

The children have two containers of water, one salt water.  They compare how things react in the different waters.  (We have already done a unit on sink and float.)

We even do small samplings so they can taste the difference.