What are some items your kids might find on a beach by the ocean? Brainstorm with your children and you will find an interesting array of answers! Sometimes bottles wash up on the beach with notes inside! As recently as 2012, the oldest message in a bottle was found! In 1914, a scientist from Scotland threw 1,890 bottles into the ocean to test the undercurrents in the seas. In 2012, one of the bottles was found and recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
If you have a chance to visit an Ocean with your children, try placing a note inside a water tight bottle and tossing it into the sea. You never know who might find the bottle. Is is an exciting activity for both kids and adults! The ocean-themed “Messages in a Bottle” activities below are designed to encourage playful discovery at home or in the classroom.
MESSAGES IN A BOTTLE CRAFT FOR PRESCHOOL
Materials needed: Empty, dry water bottle(s) with label removed (or plastic “message in a bottle” craft kit), bingo dot markers, small plastic or foam letters, numbers, and shapes of assorted colors, real or pretend sand, a sand-based bin or shallow drawer (if real sand is not available – salt or sugar will work as a base for the bin and to spoon into the bottles), a small funnel, and real or plastic spoons.
Fill the bottle(s) half way with plastic or foam letters/numbers, and shapes of assorted colors. Demonstrate for the children how to use the funnel. Place the funnel on top of the bottle and have the children spoon sand into the funnel. Fill the bottles(s) slightly with sand (SAND + PLASTIC ITEMS should fill the bottles no more than two-thirds of the way full). Replace the cap and shake to mix all the items together (Tip: hot glue or tape the top on the bottle so the contents don’t accidentally shake out as the children play).
Messages in a Bottle – free pdf file to print (Alphabet, Numbers, Colors, and Shapes).
The pdf file (linked above) has four total activity sheets the children can use with bingo dot markers to record the items found inside the bottles: Alphabet, Numbers 1-20, Colors, and Shapes.
Additional Ocean and Beach-Themed Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten:
Crawdad Cookie Crafts; Beach-Themed Counting, Patterning, and Free Beach Scavenger Hunt Printable; Seashell Counting and Describing Seashells Free Printables; Sea Turtle Life Cycle and Sensory Bags; Fishbowl Free Counting Mats and Ocean Numbers/Letters; Ocean-Themed QR Code Game for Kids; and a Paper Plate Aquarium Craft!
For even MORE Ocean and Beach-Themed Activities (literacy, Power Points, math, science, large motor, dramatic play, crafts, and food crafts) for Preschool and Kindergarten, see the entire OCEAN THEMATIC UNIT here on the blog!