Set up an area for the kids to dress up and use their imagination. Some idea for items:
telescope (paper towel tube or real)
lifejackets
pretend fishing rods
cardboard anchor
Captains and sailor hats
sea shells and starfish
ships steering wheel
anything else you may have around


2) Go Fishing

Make your fishing rods by using a long peice of string or yarn and tie a magnet on the end of it. Make paper fish shapes in various colors and each should have a letter of the alphabet written on it. Cover them with contact paper. Add a paper clip for its mouth either before of after you contact paper it.
To play, have the child(ren) kneel backwards on a chair and go fishing. We make a game out of it by having them name the color and/or letter they caught, catch their name, catch words, etc.


3) Sand Table Variation

Hide various shells, starfish, rocks, etc. in your sand table. Using sifters or their fingers, the children can find them, discuss the different sizes, count them, or talk about what used to live inside the shells.


4) Sandpaper Castles

Cut various fish, sandcastle, starfish, and shell shapes out of course sandpaper. Tape them all down on your table by putting lots of tape on the back of it. Give each child a large peice of paper and let them rub a crayon over the top of each shape to create a beach scene.


5) Peanut Butter Spread

1 1/4 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
apple wedges or celery sticks

Combine all ingredients except the apples and celery. Mix well. Serve on apple wedges or celery sticks.


6) Sailboats

Needed: old magazines, glue, scissors,light blue paper 8 x 8 " square, egg carton individual cups cut in half, toothpicks, any color paper for a sail
The light blue square is your background. Glue on the egg carton half about a third of the way up. Glue on a toothpick or two for the pole and cut out a sail to glue on also. Then use the old magazines to cut out different strips and shapes of blue. Glue those on as waves beneath your sailboat.


7) Buzzing Bees Game

One child closes his or her eyes while you hide a paper or real flower. The children buzz softly when the "bee" is far from the flower, and buzz loudly when the "bee" is close to finding the flower.


8) Golden Treasure from Colleen

I took my daycare kids on a nature walk, and asked them each to find a nice smooth rock. They carried them home carefully, then I laid out butcher paper in the driveway, and spray painted the rocks with gold paint (make sure it's not a windy day). It doesn't take long for the paint to dry, and once it was dry, the kids used glitter glue and glued on sequins, buttons, beads, anything from our craft box, and they looked absolutely beautiful.

9) Suggested Reading:
Berenstain Bears by the Sea

10) Give each child a piece of dark construction paper. (the kind that WILL fade in the sun) Have the children collect things from the room or outside to lay on their paper. This is to be done on a very still and sunny day. In the morning, lay the objects on the paper outside and then after nap or the next morning, check the objects to see if they left any prints!!