Our ocean unit study was one of the first studies we did during our kindergarten year, when our kids were 5, 3, and 1. I love surprising the kids with a fun display at the beginning of a new unit. In this unit, we got to have a lot of unique experiences, great snacks, and engaging sensory play.
The spine of our unit study was the National Geographic Kids Ocean Animals sticker book. We completed a few pages each day and learned about different ocean animals with extra read alouds. When we use sticker books, I always pre-cut the stickers and separate them out by day to make the lesson go more quickly. For my youngest, I peel the sticker borders off so she can peel the stickers easily.
We did some really fun ocean sensory bins throughout the month with different materials. The water beads shown below are NOT taste safe. Please make sure if you use them, your children are past the stage of putting things in their mouths.
Our field trips for our ocean unit study included the Bears Bluff Fish Hatchery and the pet store to get their own fish.
We had plenty of fun snacks to go along with our Movie Mondays and Poetry Teatimes. Without a doubt, tea time is a family favorite. It’s another part of Julie Bogart’s framework for teaching writing. We use my great grandmother’s china for our poetry teatimes. There are only a few pieces left that survived a fire decades ago, but I was able to complete our set on eBay. The kids LOVE getting to use the real fancy dishes.
Finally, we really enjoyed this mini unit study on Eugenie Clark, “The Shark Lady” from The Waldock Way. We read the picture book about her life which has beautiful illustrations and is so intriguing. Afterwards, each child chose their favorite type of shark and “researched” it by asking Alexa questions.
Although these are some of the highlights, we did a lot more during this unit study. Check out my FREE single page ocean unit study ideas here! And find other unit studies we have completed together here!
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