Ocean Sensory Activities

Three fun ocean-themed sensory activities to captivate your little learner. An aquatic rice bin, water tub, and playdough tray are featured.

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Ocean sensory activities are among the most attractive and calming play invitations one could offer. The serene blue water, neutral sand, crisp shells, and fish that add pops of color are eye-appealing and offer many tactile opportunities.

The inspiration for the sensory activities featured in this post is aquatic Easter eggs, repurposed for three learning through play invitations. I was excited to spot the eggs at a local dollar store.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Ocean Sensory Activity Supplies

The following supplies will work well in all three sensory activities.

rocks in various sizes
shells
marbles
set of miniature ocean creature figures
set of aquatic plastic Easter eggs

If it is difficult to find ocean creatures or aquatic plastic eggs, using just one of these ocean sets is fine too. An economical alternative to offer is creatures from toy fishing or dive toy sets. Paper fish could also be substituted.

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Ocean Rice Bin

Set up this easy and fun rice-based ocean sensory bin. Aquatic Easter eggs are the highlight of the play invitation.

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The base for this ocean bin is white glutinous rice. Its light neutral color is a good contrast for loose parts, so it’s often my go-to choice for a rice bin. The bin for this activity is a round serving tray.

Spread the rice in the bin, and set in the rocks, shells, marbles, ocean creatures, and aquatic eggs.

Little learners will enjoy scooping up and pouring the rice, and putting marble “eggs” and mini ocean creatures inside the eggs. They may discover that the fillable eggs become shakers that make soft sounds when rice is added, or loud sounds when marbles or small rocks are inserted.

Take the opportunity to discuss the names of the ocean creatures, and model them in speech.

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Ocean Water Tub

Set up this easy and fun water-based ocean sensory tub. Aquatic Easter eggs are the highlight of the play invitation.

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The bin for this activity is a kitchen tub, commonly used in the foodservice industry. I keep a stack of them around for organizing my current theme supplies, and for sensory activities. When offering a sensory invitation for two or three children to explore at the same time, a bin this size works well.

Water with blue food coloring added is the base. But little learners would be more than happy to explore the supplies in clear water.

Add the same supplies to the tub as used in the rice bin. I added marbles here, but also could have included them in the rice.

This water-based activity offers the same learning through play opportunities as the rice bin does, and little learners can experiment with floating and sinking objects.

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Ocean Playdough Tray

Your little learners will love this inviting ocean-themed playdough tray. Good playdough recipes are included in the post.

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For another sensory opportunity, the ocean-themed loose parts can be offered in a playdough tray. Set them out in a large party tray, along with turquoise, marbled or plain dough. Add a few ocean-themed cookie cutters and the playdough invitation is ready to go.

Your little learners will love this inviting ocean-themed playdough tray. Aquatic Easter eggs are the highlight of the tray.

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Playdough Recipes

The marbled playdough was repurposed from a winter playdough recipe,

A scented jello playdough recipe makes lovely turquoise dough.

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The aquatic Easter eggs are the latest addition to my plastic egg collection. If you spot them, you may want to purchase two sets – one for ocean sensory activities, and another to fill with Easter treats.

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