I had so much fun with Shark Week activities that I had to prepare one more. This activity – a shark water-bead number and letter sensory bin – needed its own post.
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Shark Water-Bead Number and Letter Sensory Bin
UPDATE: Water beads have been found to be dangerous for children, so I now recommend using tapioca pearls instead. They can be colored with food coloring to make the color you’d like. They’re totally non-toxic and edible, and they don’t cause life-threatening obstructions if swallowed.
This is an activity that would work well for an ocean unit study or for a more specific shark unit study. I decided to use the free shark-fin printables from “Shark in the Park Alphabet Game” by Juggling with Kids for a sensory bin. (They no longer are available, but you can get some great, free shark fin letters from 3 Dinosaurs.) I used a shoebox-size storage container from the Dollar Tree for the sensory bin. I like that size because it fits well in a small space and is easy to carry to and from the shelf.
Cassie from 3 Dinosaurs used blue and turquoise water beads for her shark sensory bin. I love using water beads and wanted to use a more ocean-like color than the solid blue or green water beads that I had. So I combined my water beads by using 2 parts blue water beads and one part green water beads. I added the two hammerhead sharks and the tiger shark that came in my Safari Ltd. Ocean TOOB. (I think it normally has one hammerhead shark and one tiger shark.) If you have the Safari Ltd. Sharks TOOB or Safari Ltd. Pelagic Fish TOOB, you could add all those sharks to your sensory bin. If you use enough water beads, the sharks will float near the top. (Note: T
I printed out and laminated the lower-case letters and numbers 1-10 from Juggling with Kids. (Those are no longer available, but there are a number of free shark fin printables available. You can print by hand the numbers you want to emphasize.) I set my printer at 50% to allow for the small-size sensory bin. I also printed out and laminated two different fonts of free movable alphabet letters. (Note: Here’s the link to my favorite laminator … it’s inexpensive, easy to use, and works great.)
Often, I print out and laminate pages before cutting them out. When I’ll be using cardstock in or near water, like it is for this activity, I cut out each piece before laminating. Then I leave a laminate edge of 1/8″ or so to be sure each piece is sealed.
Shark Water-Bead Number Sensory Bin
Shark Water-Bead Counting Sensory Bin
This just uses the number shark fins 1-10, which stand up in the water beads. If you use two colors of water beads like I did, you can have both a counting activity and an addition activity.
Shark Fin Number Layout
The child can simply choose a shark fin and count out that many water beads from the sensory bin. For children who are ready to work on addition, the child can count the number of blue beads and the number of green beads chosen to make up a specific number.
Shark Water-Bead Letter Sensory Bin
Shark Water-Bead Letter Sensory Bin
For this sensory bin, I used the letters s, m, t, a, p, f, c to go with the first set of letter sounds commonly introduced. (See “In What Order Should You Introduce Letters to Your Preschooler?” for examples of an order you can use to introduce letter sounds.) You could use whichever letters are best for your child or students.
Letters and Sponge for Shark Water-Bead Letter Sensory Bin
I added a basket with two different letter fonts and a sponge to wipe off the letters after use.
Shark Fin Letter Layout
It was all amazingly easy – and fun!
More Shark-Related Resources:
Montessori-Inspired Shark Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Fish Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Ocean Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my newsletter to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Shark Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
Favorite Books for a Fish Theme
Free Fish Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
The Ultimate Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- August Themed Activities for Kids
- 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
- 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
- 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
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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And all about SHARK WATER-BEAD NUMBER AND LETTER SENSORY BIN and the fact that it the activity works well for an ocean unit study or for a more specific shark unit study is good news to me.
This article is very informative.
Thanks for sharing.
Regards
I love this idea. Will definitely have to try this with y 4 year old.
There are so many fun ideas here!
Are water beads safe to use? Do they contain any chemicals? Are they all the same or do you use a particular brand? The ones I’ve seen come in plastic toobs and are usually meant to usw for plants…
Thanks!
Great ideas for Shark Week! I especially love that water bead sensory bin that incorporates letters or numbers.
What fantastic ideas! I really love this post 🙂 It’s definitely going to my montessori inspired pinterest board!
Thanks for hosting as always!
Thanks for linking to my Shark Water Bead Sensory Bin! We had so much fun with that!