Montessori-Inspired Beach Language Activities Using Free Printables

A favorite summer learning theme is, naturally, the beach. Today, I’m sharing links to lots of free printables with a beach theme that I’ve used to create Montessori-inspired language activities for young preschoolers to readers and children ready for creative writing.

You can even take your beach unit outdoors. Your child(ren) could carry some trays outdoors. I put these trays outdoors on tables, something easy to do. Trays could be placed on shelves or even lined up on a sidewalk or on the grass. I like to spread out beach towels on the deck or sidewalk along with having some tables and chairs outdoors, although you could use beach towels for all the activities.

Ocean Language Matching Activity

Ocean Language Matching Tray

The Ocean Flash Cards free printable is from iChild. The objects are from the Safari Ltd. Coral Reef TOOB. I like to use the 40% off coupons available most weeks at Michaels (craft store) when looking for Safari Ltd. TOOBS. There are more coral reef objects and ocean flash cards than I’ve pictured. The tray is a medium-size tray from Montessori Services.

This activity is for a young preschooler, although it could be easily individualized by using the cards as a concentration- or matching game. These are the only objects from the Coral Reef Safari TOOB that match this set of cards. The Helpful Garden has a free printable Montessori ocean animals matching game with cards to match animals from the Safari Coral Reef TOOB. The objects have lots of other potential uses as well (for example, as objects for alphabet boxes).

Ocean Language Matching Activity

J is for Jellyfish Beginning Sounds Activity

The J is for Jellyfish Magnet Page is from Making Learning Fun. Since I LOVE glass gems, I used the glass gems I got at the hobby store for the F is for Flower Activity last month. I put the exact number of glass gems for each color in a round candle coaster along with a sugar tong from Montessori Services. This makes a nice language activity and adds interest to a practical life tonging activity.

Instead of glass gems, you could use playdough balls, Power Magnets, pom poms with a strawberry huller, magnetized pom poms on a magnetic tray, or dot markers (if you don’t laminate the activity).

In Montessori education, we emphasize phonetic sounds rather than letter names. I would demonstrate the activity by placing the printable on a rug and saying, “/j/ is for jellyfish.” Then I would show how to use the sugar tong to place a few of the glass gems before returning the tray to the shelf for the child(ren) to use.

Beach Beginning Sounds Activity

Beach Beginning Sounds Tray

This activity is just one of many from the Beach Pack from 3 Dinosaurs. This is a HUGE pack with lots of fun ideas. The Beach Preschool Pack is literature-based, making it even more fun. I use a ¼” round color coding label in the color of the tray on the back of each card to correlate with the correct position of the clothespin. This serves as a control of error (instant self-correction devise). For presentation tips, see my last month’s post, Montessori-Inspired April Showers Activities.

O is for Octopus Sand Tray

The O is for Octopus card is from Alphabet Flash Cards – D’Nealian Pictures from Have Fun Teaching. I used colored sand from a craft store. I just used the O is for Octopus card, since it was the only ocean-themed card in the printable. I like to have sandpaper letters nearby so that children can trace other letters as well if they wish.

Real & Nonsense Sunny Reading Activity

Real & Nonsense Sunny Reading Tray

This activity uses Sunny Reading ~ CVC Word Game by Kristine Weyher at Teachers Pay Teachers. I thought this activity would be fun on a beach towel. It has 24 cards, although you can use as many or as few as you wish.

This is a great activity for beginning readers. Children could complete it individually or play it as a game. I would typically just show the child(ren) where the activity is and allow them to discover the words for themselves.

I added one color of color coding label to the back of each real word and another color of color coding label to the back of each nonsense word as a control of error.

Real & Nonsense Sunny Reading Layout

Summer Sentences Sort

Summer Sentences

This activity uses Summer Sentence Scramble (free sample from a pack available for purchase which includes 6 sentence scrambles rather than three) from The Teachers Cauldron. There are longer versions of the sentences, although I would typically start with simpler versions as shown. I wouldn’t generally present the activity in a group, as I’d like the children to be able to discover the sentences for themselves. Children who are ready could then add the capitalization and punctuation as they write out the completed sentences.

Summer Sentence Layout

Ocean Creative Writing Activity

Ocean Creative Writing Tray

Update: This creative writing free printable is no longer available, but you can get free dictation/creative writing printables in my ocean unit or seashell unit. It’s hard to find a much easier activity to prepare. If you have pencils available, you just need to print out copies of the page and place them on a tray (or on a clipboard if the children will be working outdoors without a table).

Younger children could dictate a short story to you. That’s an activity I always enjoyed doing with children as a Montessori teacher.

More Ocean Resources and Activities

Free Ocean Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ocean Activities

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Comments

eryn says

May 15, 2012 at 8:41 pm

I love that blue sand in the sand tray! So pretty!
- Deb says
  
  May 15, 2012 at 10:56 pm
  
  Thanks, Eryn! I really love colored sand- and salt trays. 🙂
jbunny says

May 15, 2012 at 10:12 am

I love the beach themes! This artwork is so creative. Thanks for sharing!
- Deb says
  
  May 15, 2012 at 5:53 pm
  
  Thanks, jbunny! There were some great printables to work with! 🙂
JDaniel4's Mom says

May 15, 2012 at 7:32 am

I love the summer sentence layout!
- Deb says
  
  May 15, 2012 at 5:51 pm
  
  Thanks! I think that’s such a fun printable … I had so much fun putting together these beach activities and photographing them outdoors! 🙂

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Ocean Language Matching Activity

J is for Jellyfish Beginning Sounds Activity

Beach Beginning Sounds Activity

O is for Octopus Sand Tray

Real & Nonsense Sunny Reading Activity

Summer Sentences Sort

Ocean Creative Writing Activity

More Ocean Resources and Activities

MONTESSORI-INSPIRED PACKS – SUBSCRIBER FREEBIES

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