BIG Tot School: Beach Theme

After spending the previous week at the beach with my family, I thought it would be a perfect time to do a beach themed Tot School week.  So, we took a break from the Fruit of the Spirit to enjoy some sun and sand!

Literacy Activities

Prewriting Practice. Using these great prewriting cards from Walking by the Way and some sand, Sophie practiced her prewriting skills.  

Alphabet Bingo. I loaded these fish bingo templates from PreKinders with some of the letters that Sophie has the most trouble with and we played Bingo! I just drew cards from a set of alphabet cards until she had put dots on every fish.  It was her first time playing, and she hadn't quite figured out that she had to get all of the fish covered to win - she kept saying "bingo!" after every time she covered a fish.  After a while she was just doing it to be silly, but we had a good time.

Phonemic Awareness. I laid out five seashells in front of Sophie and would say a "beach" sentence, like "Sophie looks for shells." I showed Sophie how to repeat the sentence slowly and move one seashell forward for every word in the sentence.  This will take some more practice, but was great for listening skills as well as pre-reading.

Same and Different Sounds. Also a pre-reading activity (with a musical twist!), I got out our triangle and wood block instruments and would hide behind the couch.  I would play two sounds in a row, and Sophie would tell me whether they were the same or different.  This was a fun game that she wanted to play often! We also just had free music play with the instruments.

Math Activities

Fish Bubble Counting Mats. Using glass beads and counting mats from Measured Mom, Sophie practiced counting and one-to-one correspondence.  She really enjoyed this activity - it was probably her favorite of the week.

Pattern Blocks. She played with her Melissa and Doug Pattern Blocks and the fish template.  This was her first time using the "big kid" pattern blocks and they were tough on her perfectionism.  She got pretty upset when the pieces would move as she would add a new piece.  Poor girl comes by it honestly...

Sun Grid Game. Sophie rolled the dice (my latest Dollar Tree find!) and would cover the given number of suns on the grid (from Gift of Curiosity's Beach Printable Pack).  We used sun punches as markers (my super fabulous mom just gave me three boxes of sorted punches and cut-outs from her earlier card making days!) and played until she covered the whole card. 

Beach Pattern Practice. (from Gift of Curiosity's Beach Printable Pack)

Other Activities

Seashell and Sand Investigation.  Sophie loved getting to use her new magnifying glass to look at seashells and sand we picked up at the beach the week before.  We described the seashells and did some sorting. She looks so grown up in this picture!

Booklist.

1,2,3...By the Sea, A counting book. Dianne Moritz.

Clam-I-Am. Tish Rabe.

I Went Walking. Sue Williams.

On the Way to the Beach. Henry Cole 

Sophie has really taken to reading books lately.  She will sit and want me or Clay to read to her for almost an hour sometimes.  Love this candid shot of her "reading" on her own. 

Next week: Back to Fruit of the Spirit for an All About Me themed week centered around Goodness.