Flounders are kind of funny looking fish because you can see both of their eyes at the same time while they are sideways; it makes them look smushed. My son saw a flounder at the aquarium and was intrigued by this weird looking fish. So when I suggested we do a fish art project, he wanted to make a paper plate flounder craft.
Supplies Needed:
– 1 paper plate
-scissors
-stapler (optional)
-glue stick
-tissue paper squares (about 1 inch x 1 inch)
– large googly eyes
-(optional glitter glue)
How To:
-To make your fish, have your child cut out a triangle from the paper plate. This makes it look like the fish’s mouth is open. My son loves being able to use scissors, so he liked this craft.
-Staple the triangle to the back of fish to make a tail. You can always glue the tail on, but then you have to wait for it to dry.
-Now it’s time to decorate the fish! Using the glue stick, glue tissue squares all over the plate to make the fish’s scales.
-Finish your fish by adding googly eyes.
My son thought it needed some sparkle, so he added blue glitter-glue polka dots to his fish.
Get ready for some adorable and fun reading! We’ve rounded up a list of 12 fintastic mermaid stories for preschoolers! There’s rhymes, underwater adventures, cute animals, and plenty of adorable mermaids.
Jan Brett has created a beautiful under-the-sea retelling of Goldilocks featuring Kiniro, a young mermaid. Uh-oh, the octopus family is coming home and Kiniro is still asleep in their home! The octopuses are not happy to have a stranger in their home. Kiniro awakens, quickly gives them a gift, and dashes safely off for her own home. Phew! We love Jan Brett’s trademark visual storytelling in borders on every page. The illustrations throughout this book are fantastic! The story takes place off the coast of Japan and showcases beautiful shells, sea creatures, and ocean plants.
This book is great for preschoolers. It has a mermaid, awesome pictures, silliness, and a rhyming story! A couple of kids and dog try and catch a mermaid. They have shiny bait and lots of traps, but the mermaid is quite clever and escapes. Oh no, one of their plans backfires and the kids and the dog find that they are the ones trapped. Yikes, a bunch of sharks are coming! What are they going to do? Mermaid to the rescue! Whoo-hoo, everyone is safely returned to shore.
On a trip to the beach with her family, Maya, a shy girl, wants to play with some of the other children. She falls asleep and dreams she is mermaid! Maya goes on a fantastical underwater adventure in search of a friend. She discovers lots of fun sea creatures before coming across another mermaid! The new mermaid wants to play with her. Maya awakens, but finds that the fun doesn’t have to end because here is a little girl who wants to play! A cute, imaginative story 🙂
4. Mermaid Schoolby Joanne Stewart Wetzel and Julianna Swaney–
Finally, a book with boy mermaids (mer-boy?)! My son was so happy to see that boys could be mermaids too. Join Molly on her first day of mermaid school in this sweet book about starting school. This story shows what little mermaids can expect on their first day of school, including some jitters and making new friends. The rhyming text and cute illustrations will entertain your mermaid-loving child.
My son loves the “Ten Minutes to Bed” series! We have read every single one published so far. The stories are adorable and Chris Chatterton’s illustrations are magical! In this story, a little mermaid named Splash just can’t fall asleep. She swims out to explore the under water world around her. Your child will love looking at all of the cute sea creatures and will enjoy Splash’s curiosity. While adventuring, her father’s voice rings out, counting down how many minutes left until bedtime. Will she make it to back home to bed on time? Check this one from your library to find out!
My son loves counting books and has so much fun looking for all of the objects on the page! In this adorable counting book, little Umi the mermaid explores her underwater world, counting shells and sea creatures. Each page has something new count as the reader makes their way from one to ten. Preschoolers will like the cute pictures and the rhyming text in this book.
7. I’m a Mermaid (Little Golden Books) by Mallory Loehr–
This book has really cute illustrations and short rhymes that teach young readers all about mermaids. Your preschooler will love seeing the mermaids ride seahorses and settle into bed in a seashell. I like that there are both boy and girl mermaids with various skin tones.
You are going to love this treasure hunting duo, Oona the mermaid and her best friend Otto the otter. They go on adventures and search for treasures! There is one treasure that they just can’t reach — the golden crown. The golden crown is stuck in the deep, dark, scary rift. But when the grandest treasure yet is stuck in a deep, dark rift. Oona comes up with all sorts of clever ideas to get this crown, however, each time she falls short. Preschoolers will sympathize with Oona’s frustration at not achieving her goal and the feeling of despair that follows. However, this little mermaid is not going to give up! Read this book and find out how Oona and Otto finally capture the golden crown. There are 2 more books in the Oona series to read too!
Kai, a little mer-boy, loves to give hugs, which he and mama call a squish! He hugs all of his ocean friends with exuberance. But one friend, a puffer fish, doesn’t want to be squished! Kai learns that everyone shows affection in different ways. Turns out puffer fish likes to give fin-bumps! This is a sweet story that helps little ones understand that we have to respect our friends’ boundaries.
This an adorable book featuring mermaids and furfins, a cute little animal with a mermaid tail. Today the mermaid princess is getting married and furfins are so excited! When distaster strikes and the cake goes missing, the furfins have to find it! On the way they learn a valuable lesson about making sure everyone feels included.
In this beautifully illustrated story, mermaids are the guardians of the ocean. Some watch over the coral reefs, others the kelp forests, and the ocean animals. Young Pearl wants a job too so her mother gives her a grain of sand and instructs her to care for it. one tiny grain of sand? Pearl is so disappointed. However, Pearl soon learns that even something that’s starts out small and seemingly insignificant can grow to make a huge impact!
While enjoying a fun family trip to the beach, Pinkalicious and her brother, Peter, find a mini mermaid ( a “merminnie’) named Aqua. Pinkalicious and Peter show Aqua how much fun there is to be had on the shore. But when a seagull snatches Aqua, Pinkalicious and Peter must help her get back home.
Thank you for reading mermaid stories with us! Check your local library for these and great books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
The changing of the seasons is always an exciting time! Let’s read some summer stories and find out what happens in the summertime (at least in North America). Here are 7 books for you and your preschooler to read together.
Henkes asks readers to open themselves up to nature’s summer song. It is a song of wind blowing through tall grass; the hum of air conditioners and fans; and the clicking and clacking of sprinklers. Summer’s song is made up of birds chirping, and rain and thunder from summer storms, as well the buzzing and humming from bugs. The summer song isn’t just something you hear — it is also something you see. The lovely illustrations by Laura Dronzek feature iconic summer scenes of children laying in the tall grass, playing at the beach, and exploring ponds. The song is also something you feel outside on a hot day, lounging in the shade, or cooling off in a pool. This book is a great introduction to the joys of summer and good conversation starter with preschoolers about their favorite parts of summer!
This story takes place in an urban setting and features a young girl looking for a way to beat the heat! It is too hot to play on the swings and slide, but the sand box feels nice and cool and making chalk art on the sidewalk in the shade of a tree is lots of fun. And nothing beats a popsicle on a hot day! The photographic collage style of illustrations captures the girl’s enthusiasm and joy of enjoying a summer day.
This book is an ode to the carefree summer days of childhood! It’s a time for bike riding, lemonade drinking, and pushing back bedtime. It is also a time to celebrate the Fourth of July, eat lots of ice cream, play in the sprinklers, and go camping. There is so much fun to be had in the summer!
Mouse and Minka investigate a Fourth of July picnic. What are these yummy foods and yellow drink, wonders Mouse? Preschoolers will love telling Mouse about watermelon, lemonade, and sandwiches! Mouse and Minka explore a little past the picnic blanket. They discover a kite and fireflies! This short, but sweet story ends with Fourth of July fireworks lighting up the sky. Hooray for summer!
School is out and time it is time to explore outside! Follow along with these 2 children and see what lovely summertime colors they discover outside. This might even inspire your little one to go on a color adventure too! The fantastic pictures and rhyming text are just what preschools want in their stories!
This short story, with simple text, is great for young children who can’t sit still for long stories. Preschoolers will love the rhymes and the bright pictures. It features lots of iconic summer images and activities, such as sunshine, trips to the lake, summer thunder storms, playing in the shade, lemonade, ice cream, and fireflies. This is great starting point for preschoolers to start thinking about summertime and what changes warm weather brings.
In these short stories, Amanda and her friends and family look for ways to keep cool on a hot day. How is a young pig supposed to cool down on a very hot day? She tries cold water, lemonade, and an ice pop, but nothing is doing the trick. She seeks advice from her dad, who is tending to the garden outside. Dad knows just what to do. He sprays Amanda with the hose! Now she feels so much better. On hot days, it is nice to sit in the shade and relax. Amanda invites her friend over and they under an apple tree, drinking lemonade and enjoying each other’s company. Everyone likes lemonade on hot days. Amanda and her friend decide to sell lemonade at a lemonade stand. They had lots of fun making and selling lemonade! When it is really hot, it can be hard to fall asleep. Dad tells Amanda a story that takes place in the snow. He includes polar bears, cold treats, ice, and lots of snow, which helps Amanda take her mind off of the heat. A nice cool breeze starts to blow and Amanda is able to go to bed.
Thank you for reading summer stories with us! Check your local library for these and great books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
There are so many amazing ocean animals that we usually don’t get to see unless we go to an aquarium. Some of these animals live in the icy, cold waters at the North and South Poles, while others live in the warm ocean waters. Visit your library and check out these ocean animal stories to discover who lives in the ocean and whether they like warm or cold habitats.
My family loves this is fun rhyming story (with great pictures) about a grumpy fish who realizes that friendship can really brighten our day. It’s written sing-songy and in our house, we really get into this story, with the whole family singing the refrain and acting out the “blubs.” The Pout Pout Fish has many sequels so you can continue to read about Mr. Fish and his underwater friends. The original is my favorite, and I love reading this one out loud at storytime 🙂
My son got this book for his birthday and it is AWESOME! It has fantastic pictures that were formed from clay by artist Jeanette Canyon that perfectly compliment Marianne Berkes’ sing-songy text. You and your little one will want to study these pictures over-and-over again to get all of the details incorporated onto each page. This book introduces a variety of cool sea creatures. It also lends itself well to movement activities that preschoolers will love to do. At the end, there is a seek-and-find activity to search for all of the sea creatures
This is great story about best friends who just happen to be a shark and a minnow. The minnow, Nugget, starts school with the other little minnows and learns that sharks are big, scary predators out to eat minnows and they most definitely cannot be friends. Fang is devastated by the news, and tries his hardest to keep their friendship in tact. It doesn’t look good for their friendship, until Fang saves the little minnows and teaches them that sharks and minnows can be friends. What is 10 minnows plus 1 shark = 11 awesome friends!
In this beloved children’s story, the Rainbow Fish learns what it means to be a good friend. The Rainbow Fish has the most beautiful sparkly scales and it was so very proud of its shimmery scales. Other fish want a sparkly scale too, but Rainbow Fish doesn’t want to part with them because they make it such a pretty fish. Hesitantly, the Rainbow Fish shares just one sparkly scale with a little fish. Soon everyone wants a pretty scale. Turns out Rainbow Fish likes sharing. Now the ocean is full of fish with glimmering scales! Even though the Rainbow Fish has only one sparkly scale left, it feels happy having shared and being a good friend.
We discovered this book at our library and it is perfect for young shark fans. It is a cute story about a girl who is obsessed with sharks and she is convinced that she is getting a real one for her birthday! She shares all of her favorite shark facts with her dog as she weighs the pros and cons of which shark species would make the best pet.
Oona, a mermaid, finds a lost baby beluga whale and sets out to help reunite the baby with its family. Heading north to the icy waters of the Arctic, Oona, her best pal, Otto, and the baby whale brave storms and other dangers. Illustrator Raissa Figueroa does a fantastic job of showing the underwater plants, and real life animals who inhabit the artic. Seals, orcas, and narwhals can be seen in the cold northern waters, as well as on the floating ice. The land pictures are just as stunning as the underwater portrayals, showing the beautiful northern lights and the snowy landscape.
This is a super cute picture book about a shark and an octopus looking for some love. You will giggle your way through the story reading the silly ideas these two friends come up with to get the beachgoers to give them hugs and kisses. In the end, the two friends realize that they don’t need hugs and kisses from the beachgoers because they have each other to exchange hugs and kisses with — awww!
Raffi turned some of his best-loved songs into books, including Baby Beluga! This book, illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Ashley Wolff, features a busy little beluga whale and many other animals that live in the Arctic Ocean. Read this book and find out what the little whale and its friends do all day! The picture of the baby beluga back with its pod for nighttime snuggles is especially sweet.
I love this rhyming story about ocean animals! Each animal gets its own little poem that tells something interesting about them. This book covers so many different types of sea creatures, from huge blue whales to small barnacles! Which one is your favorite?
My son loves this book! It is a true story about an octopus named Inky, who escapes from an aquarium in Australia and makes its way back to the Pacific Ocean. We learned a lot about octopuses from this non-fiction picture book, and we were fascinated by Inky’s journey. My son was so excited when he learned that Inky liked playing Legos just like he does! Out of all of the books written about Inky, this one is our favorite. Sy Montgomery is a gifted storyteller and we were absolutely fascinated by this amazing octopus. I check out lots of library books for my son and I to read together, but this is one book that we felt that we needed to own. We truly love this story and read it over-and-over again.
Disclaimer:
Thank you for reading ocean animal stories with us! Check your local library for these and great books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
Add some ocean-themed math fun into your preschooler’s learning with this ocean graphing STEM activity! What is ocean graphing? Ocean graphing is recording how many times an ocean animal picture shows up each time you the roll the di on the bar graph included in this set. The purpose of this activity is to introduce young learners to the concepts of probability, recording answers, and counting. Once you have completed your graph, count how many times you rolled each animal.
Ocean Graphing STEM Activity:
Start by printing this free template. The ocean graphing template includes the di, colored tiles, and graphing chart. I used regular printer paper; however, if you use cardstock, then your di will be much sturdier.
Begin by cutting out the dice. Once fully cut out, gently fold the gray tabs inward. Then begin to fold your squares into a cube shape. Add some glue to the tabs and glue them onto the underside of the squares as you form your cube. The very last tab is hard to glue and might require tape. Once your cube is formed, set it aside to dry.
Cut out all of the colored tiles. You will have 4 of each color–red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Each color corresponds with one of the ocean animals. Here’s the color scheme: crab=red, clown fish=orange, clam=yellow, sea turtle=green, whale=blue, and octopus=purple.
Let’s Graph!
Now it is time to begin ocean graphing. Ask you child to gently roll the di. Which ocean animals picture is on top? Is it a red crab? Take a tile of the same color and set it on the graph above the corresponding-colored ocean animal picture. Keep rolling the di and setting tiles in the correct columns until you reach the top of the column.
The best part is you can use this activity over and over again since there is no glue involved. Try this ocean graphing STEM activity again and see which ocean animal makes it to the top this time!
Why STEM?
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It is important to introduce these concepts to preschoolers in a fun way so that as they get older, they are excited about STEM subjects. What are preschoolers learning in this activity? Preschoolers are learning their colors (science)! They have to identify the color on the di, find the same color on the chart, and then correctly add the same color tile to the graph. Preschoolers are learning how to graph, an important math concept! Add some extra math into this activity by counting how many of each color tile is on your graph and how many tiles your have altogether. Preschoolers are also learning about engineering as they help build the di!
More STEM Activities
If your child enjoyed this graphing activity, I made a free blank di template so you can customize it with your own pictures. You can add computer images, stickers, or draw whatever you want on the dice and graph for your child to practice more graphing skills.
Here are a dozen great bug books for your preschooler to enjoy! Preschoolers love bugs and exploring outside. Feed their natural curiosity with these stories about butterflies, ladybugs, ants, bees, caterpillars, dragonflies, lightning bugs, and other insects. There are so many cute bug stories available, that I made additional booklists for LADYBUGS and BUTTERFLIES! At the end of this post are some fun bug crafts that you can make at home 🙂
When my son was 3 years old, this was one of his favorite books! He still loves ladybugs 🙂 This book hits all of a preschooler’s requirements for an entertaining read–it has a rhyming story, bright pictures, and stuff to touch! The story starts with 10 ladybugs, but one by one, they wander off. Read this and find out where they are all going.
This story about a little firefly named Leo who is having a hard time getting his “light” to come on. He practices and practices, only to be ridiculed by his friends. However, Leo is determined and sets out to practice again. A a storm comes and lightning strikes across the sky. Leo mistakenly thinks that he made the light!
Four bug friends–a bee, a ladybug, a beetle, and a dragonfly–are looking for a good place to live. Each bug has different requirements for their home. The bee wants flowers, the ladybug wants leaves, the beetle wants dead wood, and the dragonfly wants water. The friends keep trying different spots, but nothing is quite right. Will they ever find a good place to live? You betcha! Butterfly comes along and brings to an amazing garden that has everything they need. Great pictures and humor make this bug book a winner!
This story is a preschool favorite! The fantastic illustrations coupled with one of kids’ favorite bugs captures little ones’ attentions. The caterpillar eats more and more each day until it eats so much that it gets a tummy ache! Soon the caterpillar prepares for its transformation into a butterfly. Get ready to be wowed by the beautiful butterfly picture at the end. This is a must read if you haven’t read it yet. Borrow it from your local library or watch this read-aloudfrom Brightly Storytime Eric Carle has several other bug stories to enjoy too: The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Grouchy Ladybug, and (even though not technically a bug, but kids call spiders bugs) The Very Busy Spider.
Lois Ehlert is an amazing author and illustrator! This is a sweet, gently story about a flower garden awaiting the arrival of the beautiful butterflies. The book uses a rhyming format to teach about a butterfly’s life cycle in short, but informative text. My son and I love the pictures throughout this book. They are so bright and vibrant! This book not only uses color well, but it also utilizes paper as an artform within the book. There is a smaller book inside the book, and less wide pages that utilize the larger pages’ artwork. This artistic style makes reading this book more of an experience. At the end, there is a section that shows each caterpillar, it’s chrysalis, and matching butterfly. My son and I love to look at this part — it’s perfect for young biologists.
This is a truly educational book wrapped up in gorgeous pictures. In this book preschoolers will learn about the importance of bees, how honey is made, and a year in the life of a bee. In addition to all of the great things your preschooler will learn about bees, this book also provides a great look the four seasons and lends itself well to conversations about changes in weather and hibernation. The end of the book provides bee facts for further discussion.
This book has bright, exciting pictures that will capture preschoolers’ imaginations! Based on the Aesop’s Fable of the same name, this book shows that it is important to work hard and plan ahead, but that it is also important to be a good friend and enjoy some fun!
Preschoolers will love this rhyming book filled with fantastic, real bug pictures! Sue Fliess managed to pack a quick fact about most of the bugs into this short book. The pictures are the real seller here — children can see up close how many legs bugs have, a look at wings, and different camouflage.
With bright, bold pictures and short, rhyming text, young children will really like this book! Learn the names of several different kinds of bugs and something special about each bug. I love that the end of this book sows the bugs in actual size, as well as a spread about how many legs each had, whether they can fly, and whether they can sting. This is a quick read, but be prepared to read this one multiple times!
An inchworm convinces the birds not to it by proving its usefulness in measuring various parts of the birds. When the inch worm meets a hungry nightingale, the bird asks the inch worm to measure its song. How is the inchworm supposed to do that? Check this one out from your library to find out the inchworm’s cleaver plan!
This is one of my son’s favorite stories! He loves ladybugs and was really excited to read this story about two robbers who are outsmarted by the ladybug. All of the farm animals follow ladybug’s plan and the two thieves are stopped! This book is so funny and has great pictures that my son loves looking at.
Preschoolers can relate to caterpillar who is finding it very hard to be patient when good things are to come. This is such a funny story about a caterpillar who just can’t wait to turn into a butterfly. The book provides a good look at the metamorphosis process that caterpillars go through to turn into butterflies.
Check your library for these and other bug books. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I may get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂
More Bugs!
Bug Crown: print and color these bug pictures and glue them onto your own construction paper crown to make a Bug Crown!
Egg Carton Ant: paint an egg carton and add some pipe cleaners to make your own cute ant craft.
Mosaic Butterfly: make a beautiful mosaic butterfly from scraps of construction paper.
Toilet Paper Roll Bee: your preschooler will love making this cute bee craft out of an empty toilet paper roll!
Butterfly Note Holder: Create a cute butterfly note holder on a clothespin and then write a name, a message, or draw a picture on the note to customize it.
Whether you live near the ocean or not, you can enjoy beach-theme books and activities with your little one at home. Check your library for beach-theme books!
Beach-theme books and activities
We made it to the beach! And of course, we had to bring some of our favorite beach-themed books with us 🙂 Books, waves, sandcastles, and lots of splashing made for a great time!
Enjoy some of our favorite beach-theme books and activities with us!
Beach-Theme Books—
Duck and Goose Go to the Beach
Duck and Goose are some of our favorite picture book characters! My son has loved them for years (and I’ve loved them even longer!). We’ve been reading Duck and Goose stories since he was a baby. Their books come in a board book format that was perfect for when my kiddo was in the grabby stage, and now that he’s older, we read the picture books. We have actually brought Duck and Goose go theBeachand the stuffed animals to the beach with us a few times now 🙂 In this book, the two friends set off on an adventure and find themselves at the beach! But do they actually the sand, sun, and waves? Read it and find out 🙂
How to Catch a Mermaid
My son LOVES Adam Wallace’s How to Catch a Mermaid!It’s a fun book about 2 kids and dog who hatch all sorts of plans to catch a mermaid because who wouldn’t want to have a mermaid friend, right!?! Spoiler, the kids get themselves trapped instead and the mermaid saves the day! This book has rhyming text and bold, bright pictures that compliment the fun story. This has been one of my son’s favorites for a over a year now and we hope you like it as much as we do!
The Sandcastle that Lola Built
The Sandcastle that Lola Builtby Megan Maynor– based on the “House that Jack Built” story, this is a cute book about a little girl’s beach day. In this great example of teamwork, Lola and her new friends work together to make a sandcastle for mermaids. Fantastic pictures and rhyming text make this book a winner!
After reading this, we had to make our own sandcastle 🙂 And just like in the book, the tide washed away our castle too!
Inky’s Amazing Escape
Inky’s Amazing Escapeby Sy Montgomery — my kiddo loves this book! It is a true story about an octopus named Inky, who escapes from an aquarium in Australia and makes its way back to the ocean. We learned a lot about octopuses from this non-fiction picture book, and we were fascinated by Inky’s journey. My son was so excited when he learned that Inky liked playing Legos just like he does! Out of all of the books written about Inky, this one is our favorite. Sy Montgomery is a gifted storyteller and we were absolutely fascinated by this amazing octopus. I check out lots of library books for my son and I to read together, but this is one book that we felt that we needed to own. We truly love this story and read it over-and-over again.
Over in the Ocean
My son got Over in the Ocean: in a Coral Reeffor his birthday recently and it is AWESOME! It has fantastic pictures that were formed from clay by artist Jeanette Canyon that perfectly compliment Marianne Berkes’ sing-songy text. You and your little one will want to study these pictures over-and-over again to get all of the details incorporated onto each page. This book introduces a variety of cool sea creatures. It also lends itself well to movement activities that preschoolers will love to do. At the end, there is a seek-and-find activity to search for all of the sea creatures from the book, as well as a sneak-peek into the clay creations. We had so much fun reading this at the beach!
Beach Day!
Candace Ransom writes great beginning-reader books. The text is simple, but not boring and the pictures capture the joy of the kids’ adventures. In Beach Day!the family heads out to enjoy the beach together. The book captures the fun, excitement, and joy of family outing at the seashore. The kids gather seashells, build a sand castle, and see some neat sea creatures. As you read this one with your little one, you just can’t help but get caught up in the fun! Be prepared to read this multiple times 🙂
The Snail and the Whale
Another one of our favorite authors is Julia Donaldson; her books are perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners! For our beach-theme stories, my son and I read A Snail and a Whale. A snail yearns to explore in this rhyming book. However, snail finds that its explorations are hindered by its size. When whale offers to help snail take a journey, it is a dream come true. Snail enjoys adventuring with the large whale. Uh-oh, whale gets stuck and it is up to the small snail to help its new friend. This story goes to show that no matter how small you are, you can still help others.
Beach-Theme Activities —
To go along with our beach stories, my son had fun doing a beach and an ocean-themed I Spy challenges and an ocean-themed Find The Differences worksheet.
SPOUTING WHALE: this turned out super cute and my kiddo really enjoyed making this.
Spouting Whale
Supplies needed are white and blue construction paper, pencil, scissors, blue tissue paper ( 1″ x 1″ squares), glue stick, white school glue, and googly eyes.
1. I drew a whale shape on the blue paper and cut it out.
2. My son used a glue stick to glue the whale onto the white paper. Next he rubbed the glue stick all over the bottom of the paper and glued on the blue tissue paper squares to make the ocean water.
3. Together, we wadded up the blue tissue paper squares to make the water spout.
4. Using the white school glue, I added glue dots in the pattern of the whale’s water spout and then my son added the wadded the tissue.
5. To complete his craft he added the googly eyes.
TOILET PAPER ROLL OCTOPUS:
My son loves Inky’s story so much that we decided to make an octopus craft.
Inky the Octopus
Supplies needed are an empty toilet paper roll, washable paint, paintbrush, kid safety scissors, googly eyes, and a marker.
-First we painted the toilet paper roll red. (use whatever color you want). Then we let it dry.
-After it dried, my son made cuts in the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make 8 legs. He gently pulled each leg up so that they legs splayed out and his octopus could stand.
-Then he attached the googly eyes and drew a mouth, and our cute little octopus was ready to explore our house!
Hope you enjoyed our beach-theme books and activities!
To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate Program. I get a small percentage of the sale if you buy a book through one of my links. Thanks for your support! Happy reading 🙂
