The Ocean

It's a little weird to do a post on what feels like it should be a summer theme, but I live in Florida, so a summer theme is anytime really. 

Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone. Each page of this book, the seahorse is hiding somewhere and you have to find it. I try to let the kids take turns and show me where it is, but this usually devolves into chaos.  Beautiful illustrations by Clare Beaton.

Papa Fish's Lullaby by Patricia Hubbell.  My problem with lullabies is that I always want to sing them.  I can't remember if I've cracked a tune for this one or not. There are several lullaby books that I read that I just can't get it. Basically this is papa fish calling the kid home as he passes all the other sea creatures.

Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer. Classics have that status for a reason. This book is totally a classic. It's about Little Monster and his grandma's day at the beach, the ups and downs, all told from his perspective.

The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist. It's another take on the 3 Little Pigs - and we all know how many of those there are out there. This one is cute because in the end all the shark's teeth fall out.  What they don't address is that the shark could just grow new teeth (or they'd move up), but I guess the little fish might be dead by then and he could terrorize new ones. *shrug* I have a great shark puppet from Folkmanis that I use whenever I do this story. The kids love it, but they all want the shark to bite them, and that can get a little out of hand.

Other books good for this theme include:

Over in the Ocean in a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

Bored! Bored! Bored! by Jill Newton

Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway

I've done a couple of fingerplays with this over the years.  One I tried last year is Did You Ever See a Fishy? (sung to the tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie?)

Did you ever see a fishy,

A fishy, a fishy?

Did you ever see a fishy

swim this way and that?

Swim this way and that way, 

and that way and this way?

Did you ever see a fishy 

swim this way and that?

You can also substitute with words like slide and splash on subsequent verses, but I'm doing good just to teach it to them and get them to sing it with me with the words that are there.

I've also done 5 Little Fishes 

5 little fishes swimming in the sea (wiggle 5 fingers, move arm)

The first fish said, "It's cold to me!" (hug self and shiver)

The second fish said, "It's really deep" (use low voice)

The third fish said "I want to sleep" (yawn and stretch)

The fourth fish said, "I spy a ship" (hand shading eyes)

Fishing boat comes, line goes kersplash! (throw in line)

5 little fishes swim away in a flash (fingers "swim" away quickly)

I found a site that had different wording, but I changed it because I didn't like that they said "pool".