LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR CHILDREN IN THE BEACH CENTER: To expand their knowledge of the beach, sand and water To develop their oral language as they talk about the beach and participate in related activities. To appreciate and value the natural environment and the elements that are a part of their world. * TIME FRAME FOR THE BEACH CENTER: The beach center will be interesting to young children for two to three weeks. If the children have visited the beach frequently or live near the beach, their play may contuinue for a longer period of time. * LETTER TO THE PARENTS: Dear Parents, Young children are very interested in exploring sand and water. This week we are apitalizing on this interest by setting up a Beach Center in our classroom. In this center children will be able to examine sand and discover its special properties. While playing in this enjoyable center they will talk about their activities and expand their vocabulary. As they experiment with wet and dry sand they will discover the different ways the elements respond. In addition, they will learn about water, sand and fishing. These experiences in the beach Center will expand theiir understanding of their environment. Our Beach Center will be open for the next two weeks. If you need a break from your busy day, this might be the time to visit our classroom to observe the children participating in active learning in our Beach Center. * TEACHER COLLECTED PROPS FOR THE BEACH CENTER: beach chairs and unbrella wading pool (for sand or water) shells beach towels/air mattress sunglasses empty sun lotion bottles lifesaving ring, floats, life jackets radio/tape player and music tapes swim clothes flip flops, goggles and fins beach hats and visors beach balls sand toys old cameras * VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT: sand, shovel, ocean, seafood, beach ball, umbrella, pail, wave/tide, crabs, pavilion, pier, sand castle, sailboat, shells, surfboard, jelly fish, lifeguard, motel/accommodations, fishing, boats, dolphin, snorkel, salt water, sunburn, surf, float, postcard, lighthouse. * WEB OF INTEGRATED LEARNING FOR THE BEACH CENTER: MUSIC: listening to the sounds of the ocean LITERACY: books about the beach, writing postcards from the beach, writing in the sand MOTOR DEVELOPMENT: pouring sand into containers, rolling, throwing beach balls ART: building sand castles, decorating their work, creating prints, making shell frames for their pictures SELF CONCEPT: personal beach bags, building a boat they can use in their play, self portraits at the beach SCIENCE: learning about the ocean, experimenting with sand and water, sunglasses or sun shields, exploring wet sand SOCIAL SKILLS, lifeguard and tools for work, sharing toys and tools, learning what people do at the beach MATH: comparing and grouping shells and other beach items, creating patterns in the sand * This is a good time to throw in WATER SAFETY * BOOKS: A BEACH DAY BY DOUGLAS FLORIAN SWIMMY BY LEO LIONNI TOM AND PIPPO ON THE BEACH BY HELEN OXENBURY THE OCEAN ALPHABET BOOK BY JERRY PALLOTTA * OTHER PRINTED MATERIALS: Provide motel stationery and motel brochures Bring in travel magazines with pictures of the beach Hang sea life posters on the walls * WRITING OPPORTUNITIES: Use cake pans filled with sand for drawing and writing. Use sticks, plastic knives or shells as tools for writing messages in the sand. Collect used postcards of the beach. Cover old messages with paper. The children write their own ideas about the beach on the postcards and send them to classmates. * CHILD CREATED PROPS FOR THE BEACH: BOATS: appliance boxes, paint and brushes, crayons and markers, if possible, child size life preservers. The children make fishing boats, sailboats or speed boats using appliance boxes. Make the boats large enough for children to sit inside during role playing. The children paint and decorate each boat. Add child size life preservers to the boat for a realistic element. (self conncept) * LIFEGUARD POST: classroom chair, paper and glue or pieces of coontact paper, if possible, a beach umbrella, rescue board, life preserver, megaphone. Transform a classroom chair into a lifeguard stand. Decorate the chair using paper and or pieces of contact paper. If possible, include items a lifeguard needs such as an umbrella, a board, a life preserver, sun lotion and a megaphone (whistles for you brave soles) (social skills) * PALM TREES: large cardboard rolls, paint and brushes, green crepe paper scissors, glue. Construct palm trees using the large cardboard rolls, (from carpet and linoleum stores). The children paint the rolls. Then construct large green leaves from crepe paper and glue the leaves to the inside of the top of the rolls. (motor development) * ACTIVITIES FOR THE BEACH CENTER: BEACH PICTURES: paper, crayons and markers, glue, cardboard, shells. The children draw pictures of themselves at the beach and glue them to pieces of cardboard. Make frames for the beach pictures by gluing shells to the cardboard. Display beach pictures in the center. Take real photos of the children for scrape books. (art) * BEACH BALL PARTY: two beach balls of different sizes. Place the beach ball on a small blanket while several children hold the sides of the blanket and make the beach ball move from side to side by moving their arms. (mootor development) * SAND CASTLES: sand, water, wading pool, small shovels, spoons, and plastic knives, plastic cups, geltain molds, margarine tubs, etc. Add water to sand in a wading pool. The children use the moist sand to create sand castles or other structures. Use small shovels, spoons, and plastic knives to decorate the work. Some children like to use molds to create their castles. Suggestions for molds include plastic cups, gelatin molds, plastic glasses of different sizes and plastic margarinee containers. * MUSIC TO RELAX BY: a variety of tapes (beach boys, my favorite), tape recorder, beach bag, if possible, ear phones. Put a tape player in a beach bag. Include tapes of a varieety of types of music in the bag. A child selects a tape to hear whild relaxing on the beach. Earphones make the selecion and listening more private for the child. (music) * SAND PRINTING: items from the beach, spray bottles of water. Collect items that chilldren might find on the beach, spray the sand with water so the children can make imprints easily. Materials to make imprints include shells, tennis shoes, aluminum cans, seaveed, bare feet, wheels, horseshoes, sand dollars, coral, strafish. (math) * LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF THE SHELL: (music) * A BOTTLE OF SAND: dry sand, dry tempera paint or food coloring, small plastic dish pans, plastic bottles, spoons, small funnels. Mix sand with dry tempera paint to make colored sand, or add food coloring to bags of white sand. Place the prepared, colored sand in small plastic dish pans. These dish pans catch spills while the children work. The children use a spoon or their hands to pour the sand into the bottle. They use the amount and color seequnce they prefer. Fory yound children, use bottles with large openings and provide funnels. In this activity, the children are not creating perfect sand paintings but rather they are enjoying the creation of an interesting bottle that contains colored sand. * ADDING SPARK TO THE BEACH CENTER: play music with nature sounds from the beach. These sounds are intriguing for yound children and will keep em coming back. * EVALUATION OF THE BEACH CENTER: Are children expanding their understanding of the sand, water, and sea life? Are children expressing their ideas and thoughts using new vocabulary related to the beach center? Are children working cooperatively on activities and proects in the center? Are children demostrating that they appreciate and value their environment?