Beach-Toddlers

Books

Note: I like to separate out the beach from the ocean. The books below just have to do with the beach although you can certainly use ocean animal books if you wanted to branch out.

Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach by Alison Lester
Sandy Feet! Whose Feet? Footprints at the Shore by Susan Wood
Sea, Sand, Me! by Patricia Hubbell

Flannel Boards

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Shell

Five Pretty Sandcastles

Music

Baby Beluga by Raffi
I take out the shaky eggs for this song to accompany singing along.
Octpus by Charlotte Diamond
slippery fish just put palms together, glide thru the air
octopus, hook thumbs, fingers as tentacles
tuna fish, two hands, fingertips touching, impression of bigger fish,
shark, flat palms at right angles, open & shut
whale, whole arms, open & shut motion
Swimmy Swim by Rachel Buchman
Swim right along to the song!

Five Pretty Sandcastles

Ocean and beach related storytimes are some of my favorite since there is such a rich variety of materiel to select from. I got the verse for “Five Pretty Sandcastles” from Katie at Storytime Katie. I did alter the words slightly from “the tide came in” to “the wave came crashing” since I though it would be a bit more accurate and understandable for preschoolers. I took my cue for the sandcastles from Stephanie at Imagine Our Life. She had designed a quiet book page about sandcastles. The seashells are all buttons.

Kids can wave their arms for each whoosh to simulate the sandcastles being washed away.

Five pretty sandcastles standing on the shore,
The wave came crashing (whoosh!) and then there were four.

Four pretty sandcastles standing by the sea,
The wave came crashing (whoosh!) and then there were three.

Three pretty sandcastles standing by the ocean blue,
The wave came crashing (whoosh!) and then there were two.

Two pretty sandcastles standing in the sun,
The wave came crashing (whoosh!) and then there was one.

One pretty sandcastle just out of reach,
The wave came crashing (whoosh!) but it stayed on the beach!

Five Pretty Sandcastles PDFDownload

Camping-Toddlers

Books

Camp Rex by Molly Idle
Duck Tents by Lynne Berry
Forest Tracks by Dee Dee Duffy
Oh So Quiet by Lindsey Craig
Scare A Bear by Kathy-Jo Wargin
Sheep Take A Hike by Nancy Shaw
Sleepy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Flannel Boards

Sleeping Bag Chant

Catching Fireflies

A-Camping We Will Go

Puppets

Nocturnal Animals

Music

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Old Town School of Folk Music
Dance right along to the song!