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Ocean theme for 2 year olds: a week of activities

A ocean theme lesson plan for 2 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (about five minutes, standing up for the song), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 2 year oldsThe whole ocean week

A day of the ocean theme with 2 year olds

  1. Arrival, hands washed, free play.
  2. Circle (about five minutes): hello song, then “What lives in the ocean?” and sing “rub-a-dub-dub”.
  3. Craft with a grown-up pouring and cutting: paper-plate fish.
  4. Snack: Kiwi Turtles.
  5. Outside: waves and crabs.
  6. Read Chip and the Shell, the same book again tomorrow.
  7. Rest, then color the letter O picture page.

Ocean circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “What lives in the ocean?”
  4. Sing: Rub-a-Dub-Dub.
  5. Read: Chip and the Shell (level 2).

Twos: about five minutes; stand up for the song.

Ocean theme books

  • Chip and the Shell (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A crab looking for a shell to live in.
  • Kip and the Crab (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A day at the beach and a crab.
  • Fish in a Dish (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A fish and someone kind.
  • Under the Sea (read aloud, level 4): Under the sea, in a pattern book with whales.

Ocean craft: Paper-plate fish

You need (5): paper plate, paint or crayons, a paper triangle tail, glue stick, a sticker eye.

  1. Color the plate as a fish.
  2. Glue the tail on one side.
  3. Add the eye and give your fish a name.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Twos: a grown-up pours the paint and holds the glue.

Ocean song: Rub-a-Dub-Dub

The words

Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker; Turn them out, knaves all three!

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Ocean snack

Kiwi Turtles from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter O activities

OoO is for ocean. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Twos: the picture page only; color it and say the word.

Outside activity: Waves and crabs

Children are crabs walking sideways; when the grown-up shouts "Wave!" everyone runs to the fence.

Ocean theme for toddlersOcean theme for 3 and 4 year oldsOcean theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30