Ocean Fun

My kiddos are LOVING our Ocean Research unit..... I mean head OVER heels! First we talked about what we already knew about the ocean and what lives there. I was surprised by how little they knew this year. Usually kindergarteners have quite a bit of background knowledge here, but not this year. So, we definitely started from the ground up!

Do you like our octopuses/octopi? They were super easy to make......We taped a piece of construction paper long ways and cut 8 strips about 3/4 of the ways up. Then we used markers to curl up the arms of the octopus. It's actually a great fine motor activity! I got the idea from HERE. I adjusted and changed it a bit though.

Here are our jellyfish and the kids especially loved making these because they got to use my Sharpie markers. We started with clear plastic cups I got at the Dollar Tree. Jellyfish come in all colors so the kids loved coloring the jellyfish. Then we used bubble wrap to make the arms inside and curling ribbon for the tentacles.

Here is a shot of some of our research. We used books, magazines, and Internet sites to learn about jellyfish and octopus this week. Next week we will dive in with sea stars, sea horse, sharks, and whales.

Here is a shot of my kiddos playing a Dolch word wall game from my Ocean Commotion pack. Here are some more activities included:

Flipsy Flopsy - place value to 30.

 silent e words (I forgot to take a picture of the darn recording sheet)

sorting short and long vowel words

Ahhh yeah!!! It's that time of year when WE (teachers) get a little appreciation - BRING IT ON! It's time to put our feet up, sit back, and ............shop! Hey what teacher doesn't love to shop. I love this time of year. Yes we are all tired and have our eyes on the prize....summer, but I also love this time of year because I can start to think of next year -- I love new beginnings!

Anyways, TpT is having a Teacher Appreciation Sale and I would LOVE if you take a look in my store. My store will be 20% off and TpT will take another 10% off (don't ask how it turns out to be 28% off........some fancy finagling) Important thing to remember: when you check out, put in the checkout code TAD13.

Here are some of my favorite items for this time of year:

SeaLife Animal Research

Ocean Commotion Literacy and Math Centers

Safari African Animal Research 

Mom and Me: Our Book of Us!