Ocean, Preschool Learning Activities

Ocean

With two thirds of the Earth surface covered by Oceans, it would only seem reasonable that a lot of the Earth’s most interesting things lie within it. Octopus, Whales, Dolphins, Fish, Seahorses and Sharks, just to name a few. So dive in!

Related theme: Beach

Activity Listings (page 1 of 2)
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Outdoors
MISTER SHARK, WHAT TIMES IS IT? __________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of all ages

The top ten most dangerous sharks:
#10: Lemon Shark
#9: Blue Shark
#8: Hammerhead shark
#7: Sandtigers
#6: Gray reef shark
#5: Maco Shark (The fastest sharks)
#4: Oceanic white tips (notorious for attacking stranded fisherman)
#3: Tiger sharks '(They eat anything and everything!)
#2: Great White shark
#1: Bull shark (Abundant, and can live up to 3 or 4 years in fresh water)

Science, Sensory
SHRIMPS IN THE WATER _____________________ View This Activity
Ages: Pre K to Kindergarten

Fun factors about our oceans:
* 85% of the earth's volcanic eruptions occur at the dark bottom of our oceans.
* The southern ocean (around Antarctica) has, on average, the strongest winds and water currents on earth. This is because the water forms a circular current around Antarctica, where there are no land masses to get in the way or slow it down.
* Saltwater freezes at 28.5 degree's, much colder than freshwater.

Related curriculum: Fill one ice cube tray with saltwater, the other with freshwater. Stick them in the freezer, and check each one at half hour or one hour intervales to see the difference between freezing.

*At 7 miles down under the ocean in the Mariana Trench, the water pressure is so great that it's like having 50 jumbo jets stacked on top of you.

Language / Fine Motor
OCEAN THEME SPELLING WORKSHEET

Good writing practice for younger kids and spelling practice for emergent readers.

Ages: Pre-K to Second Grade

Fun facts about sharks:
* Most (two-thirds) of all shark attacks occur in less than 5 feet of water. However ...
* You are in more danger of being killed by a falling coconut while on vacation than you are of being attacked by a shark.
* Baby Sandtiger sharks eat their brothers and sisters while still inside their mothers womb! And you thought your siblings were a pain.
* Most animals either lay eggs or give live birth. Sharks are known to do both.
* A Whale shark can exceed 40 feet in length and weigh more than 15 tons.
Related curriculum: Measure this length out with string in your classroom.
* The second largest fish in the world is a Basking shark, at lengths reaching 30 feet. The #1 is a whale shark, which can grow to 40 to 60 feet. (Remember, whales are not fish.)
* The great white shark has the strongest bite of any living species, with a chomping force of 18,000 Newtons.
* Manta Ray's and whale sharks commonly feed together.

Language / Cognitive
OCEAN WORD MATCHING WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for whole-word sounds.
Ages: Pre-K to Kindergarten

Dumb ocean-related jokes that little kids might like:
1. Did you hear about the mermaid and the fisherman? They met online.
2. Why can't jellyfish tell lies? Because you can see right through them.
3. Why don't jellyfish amount to anything? Because they drift through life without any direction.
4. Why don't jelly-fish watch scary movies? Because they don't have any guts.
5. What is a sea turtle's favorite sandwich? Peanut butter & Jellyfish.

Language
OCEAN MISSING LETTER WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for beginning sounds.
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

Fun facts about the jellyfish:
* A jellyfish isn't much more than a swimming stomach. It has no brain, heart, blood, bones or gills. Because it has so few body parts, it requires very little energy to survive. This makes it well-adapted to live in harsh conditions and outlast other animals.
* The Lion's mane jellyfish is the biggest jellyfish, growing to more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) in diameter.

Related curriculum: Use a string to measure this diameter in the classroom.
(Circle 3.3 feet from a point in all directions.) Mark the area with masking tape on the floor. Then provide a clear plastic tarp (or lacking that, a large blanket) and have children scrunch and pile themselves inside the area under the tarp to see how many classmates would fit in the belly of a Lion's Mane Jellyfish.

* Most jellyfish are harmless to human beings. But some are poisonous.
The sea wasp, or box jelly, is a deadly jellyfish found near Australia.
It's sting is more poisonous than the bite of any venomous snake. The tentacles of jellyfish are lined with stingers, which are like a self-contained firing mechanism. When it rubs against another creature, barbs called "nematocyst" shoot out like a harpoon, stinging its victim with venom. These stingers will keep firing until the creature stops moving.
* Scientists believe that jellyfish have been on our planet for more than 550 million years. Jellyfish are found in every ocean in the world and even in some freshwater lakes.
* The body of a jellyfish is made of a jelly-like substance called "mesoglea," that is sandwiched between two layers of cell lining. The outer layer of cells protects the jellyfish's body, and the inner layer makes up its stomach. A jellyfish has no control over its stingers. Even after it's dead, it can still inflict a painful sting.
* Jellyfishes can re-grow limbs and eyes. One type of jellyfish can even revert all of its cells to a young state (basically becoming a baby again, filled with stem cells) and re-grow entirely.

Printable Coloring Sheets / Coloring Book Pages:
D is for Dolphin
F is for Fish
J is for Jellyfish
Ell in the Sea
S is for Sailing Ship
Turtle
Starfish Coloring Sheet
Flounder Coloring Sheet
Pacific Sailfish Coloring Sheet
Asian Sheepshead Coloring Sheet
Angelfish Coloring Sheet
SH is for Shark Phonics Coloring Sheet

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