Sharks and Other Ocean Animals

Today we started our exploration of sharks and other animals that live in the ocean. Of course we had to listen to "Baby Shark" when we first got in the classroom this morning! We followed that up with some more ocean fun. At snack time we read The Very Silly Shark, and then talked about some of our favorite ocean animals. The children listed: shark, dolphin, seahorse, and turtle.

The children used paint rollers wrapped in bubble wrap to start making a bubbly ocean mural. We will be adding to this mural throughout the rest of the week. They loved watching the purple and blue paint mix to make different shades of ocean water!

The children also worked on making their own ocean creations with playdough, plastic fish, and seashells. They loved watching the shells and fish make imprints in the dough, and some of our friends tried to see how many items they could get to stick in the dough.

At the easel this week, we will be working on using our fine motor skills to make marks. This will help build hand strength for handwriting much later. Having it on the easel helps build the big muscles that the children will need for that same skill. 

We spent some time working on sorting colored fish into their matching jars. Most of our Katon children are doing an amazing job at identifying colors either verbally or by pointing when we ask them where a specific color is. 

Our sensory table is filled with magnetic ocean animals this week. The children are greatly enjoying the ability to "catch" the different animals with the magnet wands. 

Indiana Early Learning Foundations:

ELA1.2: Demonstrate continual growth in increasingly varied and complex vocabulary

ELA2.4: Answer simple questions about a story

ELA3.1: Imitate drawing marks or scribbling

M3.1: Identify similarities and differences in objects

M5.2: Sort objects into two categories based on attributes

SC1.1: Use tools to explore the physical environment

SC3.2: Identify living organisms by name

SC5.1: Demonstrate curiosity

CA2.1: Use whole body to respond to music

CA3.2: Use a variety of media

CA3.3: Look at pictures, photographs, and illustrations