Ocean Small World and Sensory Bin for Kids

Learn how to make an Ocean Small World and Sensory Bin for your kids to play with. This fun sensory activity is perfect for a summer or under the sea themed unit either in your early years classroom or at home.

If you want to make your Summer themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Summer Activity Pack. It’s filled with math and literacy centers, fine motor activities and arts and crafts templates. All of which are aligned with preschool learning standards. Check it out today.

Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Summer Themed Sensory Activities

My kids just love sensory play during the summer. It’s a fun way to get outside and cool down on a hot day. Here are some more summer themed sensory activities that toddlers and preschoolers will love.

For more ideas, take a look at these 30 water sensory bins for summer, or these 25 Summer Sensory Activities.

Materials Needed

Ocean animal toy figures
Sand
Water
A large plastic container
Pebbles
Sensory bin tools (like cups, spoons and bowls)

How to make an Ocean Small World and Sensory Bin

1. Place some sandbox sand and pebbles along the bottom of your large tub.

The layer of sand doesn’t have to be too thick, but you will need enough to cover the entire bottom of the container that you are using.

Using pebbles is also optional. You can still make a fantastic under the sea small world without them. I always choose to include pebbles because my kids love playing with them.

2. Arrange your sea creatures.

I used aquarium plants and toy sea animals to decorate the rest of this sensory bin. I love using aquarium plants for play because I can use them both with water and without and I don’t have to worry about them getting destroyed if they get wet. They’re also the perfect size for small trees in pretend play setups.

3. Fill the tub with water.

Fill the tub roughly ⅔ with water. You can use more or less, depending on how you want your sensory bin to be.

If you like, you can also add a couple of drops of blue food coloring to the water. This will give the water a lightly blue tinge that your kids will love. However, if you use too much food coloring your kids won’t be able to see the sea animals hiding in the sand. This could be either good or bad, depending on your kids, on you and what you want to achieve with this activity.

4. Enjoy playing.

How to Play

Sea animal scavenger hunt

Find all of the sea animals hiding in this ocean small world. If you have older kids, you can always hide some of the animals under the sand instead of sitting them on top. Then the kids will really have to go digging to find them all.

You can also make a checklist for your kids beforehand.

Write down the names of the toy animals you have on a sheet of paper. When your children find that animal in the tub, they can cross it off of the list.

Scoop and pour

Use cups, spoons and bowls to practice scooping and pouring water. This is a super simple activity that has a surprising amount of learning hiding inside it.

What You’re Learning

Sensory

Experience the different textures inside this small world. The sand, pebbles, water and seaweed will all have a different feel to them.

This sensory input is a great way to engage kids in learning, or as part of a sensory integration exercise for children with special needs.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills refer to the small muscles in the hand and fingers. Developing these skills are important in being able to write when the kids go to school, as well as being able to complete tasks independently. (For example, dressing and feeding themselves)

Picking up the small toy animals, scooping and pouring the water are all going to help young kids develop:

Pincer grip
Palmar grasp
Hand-eye coordination
Hand strength
Dexterity.

STEM

Science – Talk to your kids about the different sea animals they find and have a mini-science lesson. You can discuss things like:

What is that animal called?
Where does it live?
What does it eat?
How does it move?
Interesting facts you may know about that animal.

Math – When your kids are pouring and scooping water, they are also doing some informal measuring.

For example, they will learn that it takes 2 small cups filled with water to fill up the large bowl.

This is also a wonderful opportunity to practice counting. Count how many animals you have, how many pebbles you have or how many spoons of water it takes to fill up the cup.

Technology – If you have made a checklist for the sea animal scavenger hunt, your children will be working with pencils, paper and possibly a clipboard. These are all examples of simple technology that we use on a daily basis.

Cups and spoons are also an example of technology, we use them to hold and transfer liquids. If you have a measuring cup available for your kids to play with, the kind with the numbers written on the side, this is even better. Because it shows your kids how we use this cup to measure a precise volume.