Mommy School- Ocean + Mommy & Me

Welcome to the second unit of Mommy School. Today, the focus is Mommy School-Ocean!
You can read all about the purpose of this program, along with my goals here.Mommy school as been working out well at our house. We still have a set time for it each day, after nap time. It lasts up to 45 minutes, some days only about 20 minutes.
The key for me is to write what we we’re doing each day in my planner.You can also see other fun and purposeful play activities on our Mommy School Pinterest board.

The Ocean
*This theme will last two weeks*

Exploring everything about ocean life.

Vocabulary:

Shark / Fish / Water / Whale / Crab

MAKE SURE TO HEAD OVER TO EMILY’S BLOG FOR LANGUAGE ENRICHMENT IDEAS AND ACTIVITIES

Counting/ Colors/ Alphabet:
How many fish do you see? With your child point to each animal and count. Have your child touch the fish as you’re counting them. Same goes for colors and alphabet. Where is the orange fish? Shark starts with S, here is the S. Point together with your child.
Remember, modeling is crucial.

The Rainbow Fish / One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish / Big Al / Ten Little Fish

By The Seashore / Commotion in the Ocean / Mister Seahorse / A House for Hermit Crab

click on the links to see the words and hear the songs

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Sea Cruise

Three Little Fishies

Water World

You can find more ocean songs here

Handprint Fish: I printed out the fish bowl (link below pic) on card stock.

I let AG color the bowl while sitting in her highchair. When she was finished, I painted her hand orange and made her handprint into a fish. This picture is not hanging on our fridge. I smile every time I see it.

Fish Bowl Printable Here

Sensory Play:
If you’re new to sensory bins and sensory play, read this fabulous article to see why it’s so important.

Sensory Bin: This week I filled the bin with oatmeal and decorative glass rocks. I had a separate container of water tucked into the corner. I found a big container of plastic animals at Target for $10 over the holidays.

I want to note that while the sensory bin is open, I never take my eyes off AG. I am sitting next to her the entire time. These beads are a chocking hazard and a child should never be left along with them.

Ocean Puzzles: great for developing fine motor skills.

Sensory Bags: Fill a quart freezer bag with hair gel. I added some Swedish fish to ours (and took them out immediately after our “session” (or they’d disintegrate). I taped them to the window for AG to play with them. After she learned she wasn’t allowed to pull them off the window, she enjoyed playing with them and squishing the fish.

Magnetic Fishing Game: I bought foam fish at Jo Ann Fabrics for about $5 (an entire box). Hubs decorated all the fish and hot glued magnets onto one side of them. We tied string around a dowel and attached a magnet to the bottom. We actually used a large flat magnet that came with the set of magnet I bought. We glued get to the opposite side of the magnet to make sure there wasn’t any exposed glue.

AG isn’t really old enough to do this all by herself. But she loved playing it with me and helping me catch the fish. I have a feeling this game will be a hit for years to come!

Wave in a Bottle: I remember making this when I was in school and did it many times as a teacher. It’s so easy to make and provides lots of entertainment.

Snacks:

Pancake Fish: I already had a fish cookie cutter and pancakes in the freezer. Add a few blueberries and a chocolate chip eye. This breakfast took no time to make!

Octopus: Crackers with hummus (we don’t to PB yet) and raisins as eyes.

I plan on using goldfish and blue jello in some other snacks next week.

Ocean Flash Cards from Have Fun Teaching

Preschool Express Ocean Lessons

123 Child Ocean Lesson Plans

Preschool Plant It Ocean Life

Here is how most of our lessons looked:
Books- 2 per day, (both were read at least twice.) I always read the book through first and read it again for further comprehension. On the second read, I ask questions and talk about what is on some of the pages.
Song- 2 per day. I have a nursery rhyme CD that we also listen to. AG always says “more” when I sing, so each song was probably sung at least 3 times.
Craft/ Activity: The sensory bags were a big hit this week along with the fishing games.
Sensory Bin Play: This is what lasts the longest with our lessons.I kept the bin, puzzles and games out of her play areas. I only brought them out when it was time for our Mommy School time. I wanted them to be special, something she looked forward to and didn’t have at her fingertips all day.Since this unit lasts two weeks, we still have another week of Ocean at our house. Make sure to follow me on IG (LeahEverydayLove) to see these lessons in action throughout the week.