Commotion in the Ocean!

Commotion on the ocean!  Our preschoolers LOVE ocean animals so we decided to spend a few weeks learning about the creatures, coral reefs, animals, and environments of the ocean.

By adding sharks, fish, whales, jellyfish, eels, starfish, and shells to our  dough, moon sand, and water beads, we created several science and sensory stations to capture the imaginations of our little learners. 

​Of course it is EASY to have lots of meaningful conversations stemming from these natural elements of play.

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Look at those little hands and faces!!  SWOOOOOONNNN.....  

When children are engaged with all their senses they are LEARNING!  We were able to answer many questions about what types of animals were in the sand and water beads.  Were they mammals or fish? Did they eat plants or other animals?
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Even our littlest learners (ESPECIALLY our tiny tots) get to play and learn along side their older preschool playmates.  We do not separate by age, rather, we diligently work to create an inclusive environment for our students of all abilities and ages and by the looks on their faces I would say it is a grand SUCCESS!!!

The importance of daily sensory play for preschool.

​"Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. The sensory activities allow children to refine their thresholds for different sensory information helping their brain to create stronger connections to process and respond to sensory information." - http://www.educationalplaycare.com/blog/sensory-play-important-development/

"Here are 5 reasons why sensory play is beneficial:

1. Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks.
2. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.
3. This type of play aids in developing and enhancing memory
4. Sensory play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child
5. This helps children learn sensory attributes (hot, cold, sticky, dry)"

We LOVE sensory play for calming an anxious child.  We have several children in our preschool with varying degrees and varieties of SPD's. Water beads, sand, and dough's give these children a calm focus and allow them ample self-directed play time's that provide them with total control of themselves and quiet play practice with others.  

We also have added lots of math and language arts with our Ocean Commotion studies with our curriculum partners at Mother Goose Time!  See our following posts for how simple shells provide fun hands-on opportunities for matching, adding, subtracting, and sorting here at Woolsey Academy!

As always, we wish you well and we hope you get to play today!!

-L