Preschool Under the Sea Circle Time

Under the Sea Wall – Cut out pictures of animals that live under the sea from magazines and have preschoolers help you glue the pictures to a piece of poster board during circle time. Each circle time you could practice naming the animals on the poster.

Feel bag – Create a feel bag using a brown paper bag or an empty tissue box. Place various objects in the bag that you would find in or near the ocean. Have preschoolers reach into the feel bag one at a time and guess what the hidden object is. Some objects you could place in the feel bag are a star fish, shells, or a sea sponge.

Preschool Under the Sea Arts and Crafts

Sand Painting – Give preschoolers a glue bottle and have them use it to create pictures on construction paper with the glue. When they are done, cover the glue with sand before it dries and dump the excess off the paper.

Textured Art – Add a little bit of sand to your paint and allow preschoolers to create their own artwork.

Wax Paper Art – Have preschoolers color an ocean scene on a piece of wax paper with crayons. When they are done, place a second sheet of wax paper on top of the first and iron just until the crayons inside have melted.

Under the Sea- Give preschoolers fish stickers and have them decorate the bottom half of a piece of construction paper with the fish. Have preschoolers draw any additional sea life or sea vegetation that they want. When preschoolers are done, help them glue blue saran wrap to the bottom half of the page to show that the scene is under water. The saran wrap can be glued in a rippled pattern to give the page some texture.

Preschool Art - Paper Plate Fish - Preschoolers will love making this paper plate fish. This simple preschool art project teaches preschoolers important small motor skills. The bright colors will make this preschool art project a great addition to a preschool fish theme or a preschool bulletin board.

Preschool Under the Sea Math and Science

Wave Bottle – Fill a clean plastic bottle with water. Tint with a few drops of blue food coloring. Add vegetable oil or baby oil to the jar. Seal the jar by placing a little bit of super glue on the inside of the lid and closing tightly. When preschoolers shake the bottle they will have their very own wave machine.

Shell Counting – Include a collection of shells and cards marked 1-10 in your math center. Instruct preschoolers to choose a card and count out the same number of shells as the number listed on the card. When preschoolers have counted out the correct number of shells have them place the shells on the number card.

Learn about different animals that live in the sea

Preschool Under the Sea Music and Movement

Sing Row, Row, Row, Your Boat

Parachute Fun – Place plastic fish on the parachute and have preschoolers create waves by gently shaking the parachute. Preschoolers will enjoy watching the fish "swim" on the waves.

Preschool Under the Sea Pretend Play

Sand Table Fun – Fill your sand table or sand box with little plastic fish and let the preschoolers search through the sand to find them.

Day at the Beach – Set up a beach umbrella and a beach towel in your pretend play center and give the preschoolers buckets and shovels to enjoy a pretend day at the beach.

Preschool Under the Sea Language and Literature

Fishing for ABC's - This fun preschool alphabet activity uses items found around the house and it an exciting way to teach preschoolers to recognize the ABC's. Preschoolers can learn about reusing materials as they save the lids from frozen juice containers while preparing to make this game.

Preschool Book Review - The Rainbow Fish - The Rainbow Fish

is a classic story that preschool children can really relate to. Preschoolers love watching as Rainbow Fish learns what being happy is all about. Partner this book with Rainbow Fish A,B,C

for a wonderful lesson that will appeal to your preschoolers and teach them important kindergarten readiness skills.

Preschool Book Review - Big Shark's Lost Tooth - 'Chomp is a lemon shark who has just lost a tooth, but he lives deep in the ocean. How will the Tooth Fairy ever find him? The fantastic illustrations and undersea setting bring a new dimension to the story of the Tooth Fairy.

Hi! I'm Rachel Lister, the Preschool Education writer at PreschoolRock.com. I live in Utah with my husband and two beautiful boys. When my oldest son was born, I quit my teaching job and opened a home daycare and preschool. I love to help preschoolers learn about the world around them. They make life interesting and I can't imagine doing anything different. If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, feel free to contact me.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Use mathematical language all day: "more than," "less than," "half," "equal," "twice as much." Incidental math vocabulary builds the conceptual foundation formal math builds on.

• Expose children to multiple languages early if possible. The preschool window is the most efficient period for language acquisition the brain will ever have.

Frequently Asked Questions

What learning differences might first become apparent in the preschool years?

The preschool years are when speech and language delays, developmental delays, autism spectrum characteristics, sensory processing differences, and early signs of ADHD typically become apparent. Early identification and early intervention are the most powerful factors in outcomes for children with learning differences — the preschool brain's plasticity makes early intervention far more effective than the same intervention at age 8. If you have concerns about your child's development, discuss them with your pediatrician rather than waiting to see if the child grows out of it.

Related reading: See also our kindergarten readiness guide and our vocabulary building guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🎯 Self-Directed Learning — Learning that begins with the child's own question or interest produces the deepest understanding — and children who experience self-directed learning develop the intrinsic motivation that sustains learning throughout life.
• 🌐 World Knowledge — Background knowledge about the world dramatically accelerates reading comprehension — children who know more understand more of what they read — making every content-area learning experience a literacy investment.
• 😊 Love of Learning — Positive early learning experiences build a child's identity as a learner — and children who see themselves as curious, capable learners approach school with the engagement and resilience that matter more than any specific skill.
• 🔢 Early Numeracy — Hands-on counting, sorting, measuring, and pattern work develops the number sense and mathematical reasoning that formal arithmetic will later build on — and preschool numeracy is one of the strongest predictors of later math achievement.