Pirate Week for Preschoolers Part 2

As a child, I never really cared much for pirates and so my knowledge of them is quite limited. I was a bit afraid I wouldn't come up with enough activities for this week but in the end, the planning was quite smooth. How I wish sailing through some waters was as smooth!  I did not tell Adrian that pirates really exist because he's a bit young and far from the affected waters (why worry him?) but older children might be interested in comparing and contrasting the "tale" pirates from the "real" pirates currently "plundering" around Indonesia, Somalia, Nigeria and al. 

Science & Art : Pirate Island

Having learned a few weeks ago about different land forms and water forms, I thought it'd be great to re-visit the island form. Pirates love islands after all! A square bowl was used as a way to contain our island and some gems and coins were put in a small bowl so the island would be filled with treasures. Prior to going outside, Adrian designed his own pirate flag. He took it very seriously and colored the entire flag template. Once outside, I asked Adrian if he remembered what the island looked like on the forms cards and he did. I asked him if he could replicate it in the bowl. Of course, a pitcher of water (lightly colored blue) and a bucket of sand and small shovel were available for him. Adrian loved his island so much that we brought it inside and kept it in for the entire day.

Math: Measuring Pirate Swords

Measuring with a measuring tape is something Adrian loves to do. You'll see him pick the tape out of the drawer just for fun. Today, I introduce a ruler with both centimeters and inches to show him we have other ways of measuring. We usually measure in inches but today we used centimeters to be more exact with the sword length. I made the swords myself using card stock and aluminum foil. Once all the swords were measured, we also discussed which was the longest and shortest and ordered them from longest to shortest.

Sorting Pirate Jewels

For the next activity, Adrian first needed to sort the jewels. I put in a "pearl" necklace, some "silver" coins (US dimes and quarters), some "gold" coins (euros cents), and mosaic gems of various colors. I color coded the names of the gemstones and Adrian quickly set to sorting them. Once they were all sorted, he was able to weigh them all separately.  This gave us a nice discussion after. The gold coins weighed the heaviest and amazingly, the "sapphires" weighed less than the "agate" although there was more of it! It was quite surprising to Adrian! :)

Weighing the bounty; Adrian loves weighing things

Art: Cutting Strip Sails & Pirate Ship Craft

A pirate ship...as seen in the movies! Although there are many ways to craft a pirate ship, I chose to go with Busy Bee Kids Crafts's template and idea because it looked really cute and simple for a preschooler. Adrian likes to practice his scissor skills so I cut turned the sails into cutting strips as well. I also had Adrian tear the dark blue sheet so it would look like water a bit more. Tearing paper is a good exercise for little fingers after all. As for the rest, he inserted the mini popsicle sticks (where did my regular sized ones go?) into the sails and glued them, just like he glued the sea, ship and "Cheerios" cereal. For a craft, I thought it involved Adrian much more than usual and he liked it. Hey, he's nearing 5, he can do a lot more now!

Sensory: Pirate Bin with I Spy Map

Seeing that Adrian's interest was back in regards to sensory bins, I prepared this one after seeing Counting Coconuts'. With a "I Spy" map to accompany the bin, it was "grown up" enough for Adrian to enjoy it yet very simple for me to put together. I used black beans as a filler, added our big treasure chest (Michael's), a jewelry velvety pouch, a silver spoon, some mosaic gems in different colors (was hoping to get our big "jewels" we ordered but they arrived too late), our pirate gold coins (Hobby Lobby), a pirate figure our neighbors gave Adrian, and a few necklaces from my huge stash of Mardi Gras bead necklaces. Then, armed with the I Spy "map", Adrian started looking for items. It was very easy of course but it gave him a little task other than simply "play" with the bin which he still did by the way...An agreeable surprise indeed!

I Spy "Map" for the Sensory Bin

Matching Eye Patches

What's a pirate to do without an eye patch? Here, a simple matching and memory game with eye patches I printed from Guildcraft Arts & Crafts. I also wanted to do some bandanna folding but I had none on hand. Shame! :(

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Today, I'm happily linking up to

Montessori Monday, The Kids Co-Op, Show-and-Share Saturday, Link & Learn, TGIF, Share it Saturday, Mom's Library, The Sunday Showcase, Sun Scholars's For the Kids Friday, Stress-Free Sunday, Thursday Toddler & Preschool, Tuesday Tots, Preschool Corner &5K, Hammock Tracks' Look What We Did, Money Saving Monday, Serenity Saturday, Virtual Montessori Sharing Fair, Artsy Play Wednesday, Kids in the Kitchen, and We Made That, Empty your Archive.

If you would like me to link up with you, please don't hesitate to ask, it might take me a week or two, but I generally do!