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Monday, June 17, 2013

By the Seashore for Preschoolers - Part 1

The beach is without any doubts my favorite place in the entire world. I've been very blessed so far in life and got to see some amazing beaches in the Caribbean, North America, Europe and even Africa. If you happen to be going to the beach this year, please enjoy it on my behalf! :)


Sand Combs
Art in the Sandbox - Sand Combs

Originally made these for little Zahavah back in September I believe after stumbling on a post from StoriesandChildren. Sand combs, if you haven't used any yet are quite cool for the beach and since we have a huge sandbox at our local playground, I thought we'd pretend it was a beach. Made our set from thick box cardboard and designed different "teeth" for each so they'd made different "tracks" when dragged on the sand. Of course, cardboard is flimsy after a while, so if you think your kids will be rough or will use them often, I recommend cutting those out of plastic lids like it was done by the lady on StoriesandChildren.


Pouring Coconut Milk
Pouring Coconut Milk

I have very fond memories of drinking a sweet, non-alcoholic, drink from a coconut while in Mexico. Don't know what it was to this day but it sure tasted good and that will forever make me associate coconuts with the beach. Well, that and the fact that lots of sunscreens smell like it too. :) Here, I put out two small pitchers, one with coconut milk,  and one awaiting the milk transfer. Later, the coconut milk was re-used for making some Thai food. Yummy!

Sifting Sea Glass
Sifting Sea Glass from Beach Sand

Quite the easy work here for an almost Kindergartner but not something he really liked. Although he knew how many pieces of sea glass to look for in the beach sand, he got tired of sifting quickly. I prepared the activity with 15 pieces of small 1/2inch polished sea glass (purchased off an Etsy seller), beach sand and a small mesh spoon usually used for powdered sugar decorations. After sifting all the glass out, the activity was further extended into sorting the different colors of sea glass (we had clear, brown, green and white) and counting.

Writing Letters in Beach Sand Tray
Writing in a Beach Sand Tray

Visited my Tedi Bargain Store to see what was new and saw a jar filled with "beach sand". How convenient! Poured it in a smaller "tray" for Adrian to practice writing letters. Used a smaller tray this time because I'd like Adrian to be able to produce smaller letters and to take his time in forming the letters.

Fruit Fractions
Math - Fresh fruit fractions

Another good memory of my beach days is eating fresh fruit on the beach. (My mom always brought a cooler filled to the top with fresh fruits and juices for the entire family). Of course, limes and lemons were usually not part of the picnic but for this activity, they were perfect and well, Adrian doesn't see these as often I'd say so I knew it would pique his curiosity. I simply thought fruits would be a good way to introduce him to the world of fractions. We looked at whole fruits, half fruits and quartered fruits. We did the same with slices of fruits. My presentation was originally done with the blueberry. Then I cut the lime in front of him to reinforce the blueberry presentation and asked him as I cut if it was a whole, half or quarter lime. Finally, Adrian proceeded to put the toothpick fraction numbers on the lemon slices to show me if he had understood...which he had. A beautiful and yummy "3 Period Lesson" with Fruit Fractions! :)


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20 comments:

  1. I really like the idea of using lemons and limes for factions. Definitely keeping that in mind for our kitchen unit!

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    1. Please do. It made math fun and quite hands-on (something I wish my teachers did!) On top of it, the house smelled great! :)

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  2. These are all great ideas! We live in Southern California so the beach is a huge part of our lives. I will have to try out some of these activities! :)
    Angela at sunnysweetlife.blogspot.com

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    1. Ah you lucky girl! :) Have fun enjoying the activities on the real beach! :)

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  3. I always love your posts on each of your units with your kids. Thanks for sharing these great by-the-seashore ideas.

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    1. Glad you like them Katie. I love mini-unit. Keeps everything organized for preschoolers! :)

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  4. I love that tray you used with the sand! Very cute.

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    1. Thank you! It's Danish porcelain actually. Made by Royal Copenhagen. A beautiful piece indeed. The design reminded me of a palm leaf...

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  5. The lemon/lime idea is great for fractions. We will have to try that. I love your whole beach theme lesson plan--so fun!

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    1. Thank you! Fruit fraction was very fun too. I think my son would have preferred it with oranges and apples though! :) His idea was to eat the whole fractions after we were done and he didn't like the limes and lemons much! :)

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  6. Writing in sand would be fun for my preschooler.

    Thanks for linking up at Artsy Play Wednesday. Pinned to our group board.

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    1. Glad you found me and like some of the ideas presented. My son loves practicing writing in sand and other textures. He has a tough time with a pencil so trays filled with sand and sugar and the like make him feel empowered. Definitely recommended! :)

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  7. A great variety of ideas for summer learning. I especially love the combs which can be done in a sandbox, a tray of rice, or many other places. Thank you for linking up with Mom's Library, I'll be featuring you this week at www.crystalstinytreasures.com
    Have a great summer!

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    1. Thank you Crystal! Glad you like the combs. They absolutely can be adapted to their environment and were very fun to work with. Thanks for the feature too!

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  8. I love the fresh fruit fractions! I'm going to have to do those with my kiddos!

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    1. Feel free. It's a yummy and fun way to teach! :)

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  9. These are fun summer learning ideas! We are featuring your post tomorrow on Share It Saturday. Thanks for linking up!
    Colleen at Sugar Aunts

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    1. Thank you so much! Have a wonderful summer ladies!

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  10. This looks such a fun summery unit! I love the way you used the shell sandtray

    Just popping by to let you know I featured this on The Sunday Showcase last week http://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/2013/08/03/summer-learning-the-sunday-showcase.html

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    1. Thank you Rebecca! So sweet of you to feature me again. I'll definitely check out all the features you've got on the Showcase when I link up this week. :)

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