Do you have an ocean preschool theme? Are you looking for a fun ocean themed activity for an ocean unit? You’ve come to the right place. Your little learners will have so much fun with these ocean-themed games. Practice counting, shape recognition, sorting, and matching with these free printable ocean activities.
From different marine life in the ocean to different types of boats that you’d find at sea, there is so much to learn about this massive body of water. Investigating salt water versus fresh water or learning how different animals protect themselves from predators, there is so much to discover. Scientists don’t even know everything there is to know about the ocean which is incredible because the ocean covers 71% of the earth’s surface.
With these ocean printable activities you will also want to read books together about the ocean. Check out these books about the ocean for kids. Ask your kids what they wonder about the ocean. You can even make a list of wonderings. Maybe you will find the answer in one of the books you read.
- How deep is the ocean?
- What animals live in it?
- Where would you find the smallest ocean animal?
- Are different parts of the ocean, different temperatures?
- Is the salt in the water the same kind of salt we eat?
Preschool Ocean Games
Ocean Dice Game
This ocean activity is the perfect way to practice counting and number recognition. Use buttons, gems, candies, or play dough balls to cover the numbers. You can pretend that they are bubbles.
Roll the die. Cover the number you rolled. If you roll a number that is already covered, roll again. When all of the numbers are covered, you win! This fun activity is a great addition to a math center.
Download the Ocean Dice Game
Ocean Color Matching
Print the ocean animals and cut them out. Match the colored chips to the same colored animal. Placing these chips inside the circle is a great way to strengthen hand-eye coordination for younger children. You can just match one chip to each of the ocean animals or sort several chips and stack them on top of each other.
To turn this into an alphabet activity, print several copies of the ocean animals. Cut them out. Write a letter in each animal’s circle and write the matching letter on the colored chips with a permanent marker. You could write capital letters or lowercase letters, depending on what skill you are focusing on. Then, mix them up and match the letters.
Download the Ocean Color Matching Activity
Ocean Shape Matching
Print the fish shapes. Cut them out carefully. Match the various shapes of the ocean animals to the coral reef with the same shape. This is a great activity to try on a vertical surface. Stick magnets on the back and put them on an easel or refrigerator. Or you can add velcro to the back and put this matching activity on a flannel board. Working on a vertical surface is so beneficial for young children. It strengthens their arm and shoulder muscles as well as their core. All of those muscles are important for writing.
Download the Ocean Shape Matching Cards
Ocean Count and Clip Cards
Count the ocean creatures. Find the number that corresponds with number of items counted. Clip that number with a clothes pin. This activity is great for counting, one-to-one correspondence, and number recognition. Plus, working with the clothes pins strengthens finger muscles and fine motor skills.
Ocean Sensory Bin
Make an ocean sensory bin for hours of fun sensory play! This idea is the perfect addition to an outdoor water table and is a lot of fun. Fill a container with water. Add blue food coloring to make it more ocean like. Add plastic sea creatures. Use seashells as containers or for landing areas for the animals.
Craft foam floats in water so cut a few different shapes out the craft foam and add them to the sensory bin. You can also add gems and beads that will sink to the bottom and be a treasure to search for or DIY bottle top fish that float. Kids will have a great time exploring the sensory bin as it inspires pretend play.
Ocean Craft
Looking for hands-on activities that explore the ocean? These crafts are a fun way to get creative.
Create a paper plate ocean craft. I love this craft because it involves lacing the yarn which is great for fine motor skills. Then, use the free template to add ocean animals.
Make a coral reef with pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and an egg carton. The pipe cleaners help the fish float and swim. The coral reef is made from different colored tissue paper.
Check out this huge collection of whale crafts for kids too.
Ocean Facts
Do you have students or children that are interested in whales and dolphins? Read these Whale Facts for Kids and the Bottlenose Dolphin Facts for kids. Add an ocean science experiment to the plans too. What a fantastic, hands-on way to learn about the ocean.
