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Ocean and Beach Theme and Activities

Ocean and Beach Songs

Take Me Out to the Ocean tune: Take me out to the Ballgame
Take me out to the ocean,
Take me out to the sea,
There goes a starfish and sand dollar,
I'm having such fun,
I've just got to holler
Oh, it's swim, swim, swim, underwater
Catch a ride on a whale,
Don't fear, For the sea animals are our friends
Let's give a great big cheer!

Take me out to the ocean,
Take me out there right now.
Show me the sand and some sea shells, too.
I hear a seagull and boat that goes toot.
There are surfers riding the big waves.
And, I'm glad that I came.
Oh, it's one, two, three; build a castle
At the ocean today.

Take me out to the ocean
Take me out to the sea
Show me the foamy waves rolling there
As I breathe in the salty sea air
Let me swim, swim, swim in the ocean
See the sea and explore
Cause its so much fun from the sun
To the ocean floor!

Take me out to the ocean.
Take me out to the sea.
Show me the foamy waves rolling there,
As I breathe in the salty sea air!
Let me look, look, look at the ocean,
See the sea and explore,
For it's fun to dive from the top
To the ocean floor!

Take me out to the ocean,
Take me out to the sea.
Show me the currents and ocean tides!
Let me see where the seaweed resides!
When you look, look, look at the ocean,
Look at all it is worth!
For the ocean covers three-fourths
Of the entire earth!

Sing a Song of Seashells tune:sing a song of sixpence
Sing a song of seashells,
There's clams and oysters, too.
Some of them are shiny,
Some are white and blue.

When you pick a shell up,
Hold it to your ear.
If you're very quiet,
What do you think you'll hear?

I'm a Big Whale Tune:Clementine
I am swimming, I am swimming,
I am swimming in the sea.
I'm a big whale and I'm swimming
I am swimming in the sea.

I am singing , I am singing,
I am singing in the sea.
I'm a big whale and I'm singing,
I am singing in the sea.

I am spouting, I am spouting,
I am spouting in the sea.
I'm a big whale and I'm spouting,
I am spouting in the sea.

Five Little Sea Creatures
Five little sea creatures
On the ocean floor;
The lobster walked away
Now there are four.

Four little sea creatures
Living in the sea;
The octopus crept away
Now there are three.

Three little sea creatures
Wondering what to do;
"Good-bye," said the starfish
Now there are two.

Two little sea creatures
Not having much fun;
Off swam the sea horse
Now there is one.

One little hermit crab
Sad and all alone,
Back came the starfish,
Back came the sea horse,
Back came the octopus,
Back came the lobster,
Then all five went home.

Five Cranky Crabs
Five cranky crabs were digging on the shore.
One swam into a net and then there were four.
Four cranky crabs were floating in the sea.
One got tangled up in seaweed then there were three.
Three Cranky crabs were wondering what to do.
One dug a deep, deep hole. Then there were two.
Two cranky crabs were warming in the sun.
One got scooped up in a cup. Then there was one.
One cranky crab was smarter than his friends.
He hid between the jagged rocks.
That's how the story ends.

Ocean and Beach Crafts

Jellyfish
Children glue streamers to the edge of a paper plate. Attach a second plate on top of it with glue or staples. Children decorate the plates as the Jelly fish body.

Sand Art
Have children use glue to draw a picture on construction paper. Top with colored sand of their choice and shake excess sand off.

Wave Bottles
Fill a plastic soda bottle half way with water that has been tinted with blue food coloring. Then add vegetable oil. Secure the bottle's cap tightly. Just tip the bottle to make waves!

Ocean and Beach Math and Science Activities

Sand Table
Put random seashells in your sand table. Have children dig for shells. Include magnifying glasses so children can explore and look closely at the shells and sand.

Salt water vs. Fresh Water
Talk about the differences between salt water and fresh water. Have kids taste a little bit of each type of water. Test out floating items in both types of water. Have children guess if the object will sink or float. Salt water is heavier than fresh water, so very light things will float in both. Things that are heavy will sink in both. Some items to try:

Sorting Shells
Give children a variety of shells. Ask them to sort the shells by size, shape, color, etc.

Beach Ball Numbers
Write a different numeral (using a permanent marker) on each section of an inflated beach ball. Toss or roll ball to a child. Have him name & show one of the numbers. Give an activity - such as clapping, jumping, etc... for the group to do that number of times.

Ocean and Beach Theme Snacks

Sea in a Cup
Make blueberry jello in clear cups. When jello is just partially set add gummy fish.

Fishing For a Snack
For each child, fill a small cup with goldfish crackers. Supply pretzel rods for fishing poles and peanutbutter to put on the ends to use as bait to snag the fish.

More Ocean and Beach Fun