My 15-month-old granddaughter, Zoey, has been in love with beluga whales for a number of months. Because of her interest in beluga whales, I prepared some Montessori-inspired whale activities for her. We’ve had LOTS of fun with toddler geography activities based on baby beluga.
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Montessori-Inspired Toddler Activities with Baby Beluga
Ready for the Baby Beluga Book – A Common Sight at Grandma’s House
Zoey’s love of beluga whales started with Raffi’s Baby Beluga CD. That was the favorite CD of my son, Will, (Zoey’s dad) when he was a toddler, too! Then, Zoey was given the Baby Beluga (Raffi Songs to Read) Board Book for Christmas. She loved it so much (and would often want to have it read to her 10 times in a row) that I got an extra one for when she spends afternoons at my house.
Beluga Whale Tray
Beluga Whale Tray
I just placed the Baby Beluga book along with a beluga stuffed animal on a Montessori Services tray. The stuffed baby beluga I had isn’t available any longer, but this baby beluga looks adorable and has great reviews. When Zoey walked into my living room, she immediately went to the beluga tray and squealed with joy. Her Baby Beluga book is still a favorite, and Zoey finds it very comforting to have her mom or I sing the book to her.
Ocean Sensory Bottle with Beluga Whales
Ocean Sensory Bottle with Two Safari Ltd. Beluga Whales
Zoey and I have had lots of fun with an ocean sensory bottle that was then added to the beluga whale tray. Go to Happy Hooligans to see how to make an ocean in a bottle. I used a small recycled water bottle and added a beluga whale from the Whale and Dolphin Safari Ltd. TOOB and a baby beluga from the Safari Ltd. Baby Sea Life TOOB. (Note: The beluga whale is also available in the Safari Ltd. Arctic TOOB.) The baby and adult beluga whales aren’t proportionate in size to each other, but most toddlers won’t mind.
Loving Baby Beluga and the Ocean Sensory Bottle
Montessori-Inspired Whale Tray
Whale Tray
Because Zoey was so interested in her beluga whale tray, I recently added a second tray with a free whale poem from Montessori Print Shop and types of whale cards from Trillium Montessori. (Normally, I would have just used the baby beluga tray, but Zoey was so interested that I added a tray that would typically be best for preschoolers. For preschoolers, I would add a beluga whale from one of the Safari Ltd. TOOBs, but they’re too small for a young toddler. That’s why I only have them in the ocean sensory bottle.)
The types of whale cards are available on the page of free printables for Trillium Montessori subscribers. There are twelve 3-part cards in the set, but I usually just use the image with identifying word for 4 of the cards until Zoey’s a bit older.
Looking at Types of Whale Cards
Zoey loves animal cards, so I gave Zoey the whale cards to look at.
Kissing the Beluga Whale Card
She was so excited to find the beluga whale card that she hugged and kissed it.
The final part of our beluga whale geography was to add a beach ball globe. I’m using one that I had from a National Geographic World subscription when my kids were little. At Zoey’s age, we don’t go into a lot of geography other than saying that beluga whales live in the ocean. I’ve also said that beluga whales live in the Arctic where it’s very cold and snowy. We’ve talked about the Arctic pictures in her Baby Beluga book, too.
Shelves with Animal and Geography Activities
Animals and geography are the main learning focus on Zoey’s shelves right now. Why? Because she loves animals and hearing where they come from. This is what Zoey’s geography/animals shelves look like now.
If you read my post yesterday (Montessori Monday – Land, Water, Air Activities from Montessori By Mom), you saw that Living Montessori Now has a YouTube channel! Here’s a video of my daughter, Christina, telling about our whale activities. Zoey’s in the video, too! We’d love it if you’d “like” the video and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
More Arctic Animal Resources and Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Arctic and Antarctic Unit {Hundreds of Resources}
- Montessori-Inspired Toddler Geography Activities with Baby Beluga
- Free Arctic Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Arctic Animal Activities
- Free Polar Bear Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Arctic Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Simple Arctic Sensory Bin with Vocabulary or Grammar Activity
- Simple Arctic vs. Antarctic Cut-and-Paste Activity {Free Printables}
- Free Arctic Animal Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Arctic vs. Antarctic Songs and Educational Videos
- Easy and Fun Antarctic Sensory Bin for Winter or Summer
- Free Inuit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Inuit Activities
- Free Igloo Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Inuit Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori Winter Activities Printables for Preschool Through Elementary from Every Star Is Different
- Free Orca Printables and Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities
- Free Reindeer Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reindeer Activities
- Kids’ Winter Activities Pinterest Board
More Ocean Resources and Activities
- Free Ocean Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ocean Activities
- Free Ocean Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Guided Ocean Meditations for Kids {Mindfulness Resources}
- Free Guided Ocean Meditations {Mindfulness Resources for Teens and Adults}
- Free Ocean Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- The Best Ocean Books for Kids
- The Ultimate Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- Free Shark Songs and Educational Videos
- Non-Scary and Montessori-Friendly Resources for a Shark Tooth Dig
- How to Make a Simple Ocean Animal Water Table or Sensory Bin Featuring Sharks
- Shark Water-Bead Number or Letter Sensory Bin
- Free Shark Printables and Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Ocean Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Resources for World Oceans Day
Montessori-Inspired Ocean Math Activities - Shells and Starfish Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
- Farm, Zoo, & Ocean Animal Sensory Bottles for Babies and Toddlers
- Coral Reef Kit and Sensory Bin
- DIY Coral Reef Water Table with Practical Life Activities
- How to Make a Simple Ocean Animal Water Table or Sensory Bin Featuring Sharks
- Ocean-themed, Editable Name and Word Tracing Pack in Print or Cursive
- Free Shark Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- Free Orca Printables and Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities
More (Non-Human) Mammal Resources and Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Toddler Geography Activities with Baby Beluga
- Montessori-Inspired Horse Unit
- Wonderful Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin
- Free Raccoon Printables and Montessori-Inspired Raccoon Activities {Kissing Hand Unit}
- Free Raccoon Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Raccoon Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Polar Bear Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
- Free Lamb Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Lamb Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Simple African Animal and Continent Map Cut-and-Paste Activity {Free Printables}
- Free Bear Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bear Activities,
- Free Bear Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download,
- Free Bear Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Panda Printables and Montessori-Inspired Panda Activities
- Free Panda Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Panda Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Red Panda Printables and Montessori-Inspired Red Panda Activities
- Free Giant Panda and Red Panda Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Bat Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bat Activities
- Free Bat and Vampire Bat Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Bat Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Rabbit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Rabbit Activities
- Free Rabbit and Kitten Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Phonics Instant Download)
- Free Rabbit Cutting Strips
- Montessori Vertebrate Resources (including a Mammal Printable Pack) for Preschool Through Elementary
- Montessori-Inspired Dolphin and Whale Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
- Free Orca Printables and Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities
- Free Reindeer Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reindeer Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Toddler Geography Activities with Baby Beluga
- Free Beluga Whale Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
Helpful Animal Classification Posts
- Living and Non-Living
- Plant and Animal Sorting
- Montessori Animal Classification
- Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Animal Units
- Montessori Vertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
- Free Amphibian Printables and Montessori-Inspired Amphibian Activities
- Free Reptile Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reptile Activities
- Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
- Free Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bird Activities post
- Free Mammal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Mammal Activities post
- Montessori Invertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
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I love the sensory bottle! That is a great idea!
Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!
Is that your granddaughter? She is adorable! Great post (of course), thanks for linking up at Share it Saturday, I’m featuring you this week!
This is too cute! I love the way you pulled the various aspects together into an engaging theme.
Deb, I love the idea of stuffing the whale into the bottle! It totally helps toddlers to understand the concept and makes it more concrete. And storybook props are the best, they bring the story to life for toddlers. My son loves them too. Such great ideas for toddlers!
I love this idea! And, how sweet is Zoey kissing that picture!? <3
It’s so touching to see your little one love an animal so much, even when it isn’t real. Toddlers are such sweet little people. Thanks for sharing a wonderful way to teach toddlers about Geography.
She is soo cute! I love this idea of introducing geography to big babies!
I love this unit! So sweet and educational!
Deb, what an awesome and creative idea for introducing geography to a young toddler!!! I love how you are truly basing your lessons on her interests in a genuine way.
I LOVE this post! The beluga whale ideas are perfect and absolutely adorable! What a great way to tie in geography! (We had a whale lover too at that age.) Oh, and the videos are fabulous!