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Ocean theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A ocean theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole ocean week

A day of the ocean theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Rub-a-Dub-Dub” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (ocean), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of kiwi turtles (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for fish.
  6. Read Chip and the Shell on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Ocean circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Rub-a-Dub-Dub.
  5. Read: Chip and the Shell (level 2).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

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.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

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.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

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).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page 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 2 year oldsOcean theme for 3 and 4 year oldsOcean theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30