It is pretty hot outside and I really need some freshness. I was thinking about water and ocean and it reminded me of learning about underwater life with preschoolers and toddlers. Today I want to share with you some simple activities that we had fun with. They are really easy to organize.
We used a Montessori puzzle to learn about parts of the fish. Then we labeled it. What is the difference between Montessori puzzle and general puzzle? All Montessori puzzles consist of part that you can name, there are no piece that you can not label. That is why I am a big fun of them (whom do I lie?! There are no Montessori material that I don’t like. They all are just treasures).
With toddlers we used some easier puzzle to learn about sizes. This simple puzzle correspond to the idea of Montessori materials to have isolation of quality. This means that all turtles are of the same type, look and color and the only difference between them is their size. So it is easier for a Child to learn in this conditions, because exactly size draws his attention.
We hung several pictures showing the beauty of the underwater world.
A discovery basket with things from the sea. It would be awesome if you collect some treasure with your Child and then inspect them. Summer is such a nice time for a beach hunt. As you know I like collecting some natural things even for myself so I already have some nice shells on my table after last walk this month 😉
In our basket we had a starfish and several different shells. With younger kids it is better to have 5-6 items in the basket. With older, after 3 years, the good number is 10. In our school we had this as a golden rule. In toddler room there we 5 items in total at every basket, in 3-6 classroom there were 10. I was taught this secret during training. This numbers allow the Child to concentrate on items. They work really nicely with this amount.
It is some wooden puzzle that you need to roll to make a full fish. I like it with toddlers because it is nice to look at how it helps them to develop movement coordination using it.
Some work for matching pictures and objects. Who knew that puffer fish would be such a hit. Toddlers really liked it, were constantly talking about it and even made some art dedicated to it.
A sensory tub that has some blue rice, animals, shells and stones. I really liked the color of the rice.
What are you doing this summer days? Show me your fresh activities. You can share them on my FB page and I promise to reshare and pin every of them;)
Is the roll fish puzzle handmade?
Hello! No it not handmade. It is bought from some local store. But I think the one like this can be handmade, it is simple three cubes on a dowel. And they have handdrawn pictures on every side
Ooh! These are great! I really enjoyed seeing your sensory bin – we haven't done one in a while but my son still enjoys them when I do put one together 🙂 I know what I'll be doing soon!
What a fun set of learning exercises! I love to see photos from Russian speaking classes! Thanks for sharing!
Great activities and I ALSO love the Montessori style puzzles for the same reason that you stated…I am sure your children are enjoying all the sea life studies. A big favorite!
Nice ideas!
Cool! sensory bins are always fun!
Thanks for having time to read;)
Thanx Carolyn! I am so in love with your posts! They are always so interesting and unique!
Thanx!
I'm also in love with the Montessori puzzles and I am a big fan of sensory play! This is a lovely underwater lesson. Thanks for sharing! 🙂