7 Books on Tide Pools for Children

Seven new titles have rotated into our class library for our last summer inquiry on tide pools. Check them out!

Ocean Soup by Stephan R. Swinburne. Student learn about different tide pool creatures through rap and rhyme.

Is This a House for Hermit Crab? by Megan Mcdonald. Readers follow a little hermit crab along the sandy shores as he searches for a new home.

A Swim through the Sea by Kristan Joy Pratt. An alphabet book about creatures from A-to-Z of both tide pools and the ocean deeps. There's specific facts per each animal given as well for older students to expand their knowledge further. 

In One Tidepool by Anthony D. Fredricks. Follow a young curly-haired girl to the beach as she explores the creatures that make their home in tide pools through a clever rhyming narrative.

Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske. Underneath the pier lives a barnacle who's grown bored with the predictable rise and fall of the tide life he lives. One day a bright, colorful fish swims by and barnacle learns a lesson that 'excitement' isn't sometimes all we imagine it to be.

Shell by Alex Arthur. From DK Eyewitness, all the information a young scientist could need about shells with corresponding photographs.

Flotsam by David Wiesner. A wordless book that tell the story of a young boy who is treasuring hunting along the beach--and treasure he does indeed find--through vivid illustrations.

Salt Lifting Some Sand Castles

       Here you can see, third and fourth grade art students have added a bit of table salt to their wet watercolor paintings of sand castles; this is called salt lifting. Although the end product is unpredictable, it is a fun additional step to add to your young student's watercolor painting experiences. That last additional step will give their castles a bit of extra sandy grit.

Use ordinary table salt to add texture to

 your watercolor paintings.

The Sea Gull by Mary Howitt

The Sea Gull

by Mary Howitt

Oh, the white Sea-gull, the wild Sea-gull,

A joyful bird is he,

As he lies like a cradled thing at rest

In the arms of a sunny sea!

The little waves rock to and fro,

And the white gull lies asleep,

As the fisher's bark, with breeze and tide,

Goes merrily over the deep!

The ship, with her fair sails set, goes by,

And her people stand to note

How the Sea-gull sits on the rocking waves,

As if in an anchored boat.

The sea is fresh, the sea is fair,

And the sky calm overhead,

And the Sea-gull lies on the deep, deep sea.

Like a king in his royal bed.

Break! Break! Break!

Break! Break! Break!

Break, Break, Break,

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,

That he shouts with his sister at play!

O, well for the sailor lad,

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on,

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that it still!

Break, Break, Break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

Will never come back to me.

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Song for All Seas, All Ships

Song for All Seas, All Ships

TO-DAY a rude brief recitative,   
Of ships sailing the Seas, each with its special flag or ship-signal;   
Of unnamed heroes in the ships, Of waves spreading and spreading, far as the eye can reach;   
Of dashing spray, and the winds piping and blowing;   
And out of these a chant, for the sailors of all nations,            
Fitful, like a surge.   
 
Of Sea-Captains young or old, and the Mates - and of all intrepid Sailors;   
Of the few, very choice, taciturn, whom fate can never surprise, nor death dismay,   
Pick'd sparingly, without noise, by thee, old Ocean - chosen by thee,   
Thou Sea, that pickest and cullest the race, in Time, and unitest Nations!     
Suckled by thee, old husky Nurse - embodying thee!   
Indomitable, untamed as thee.   
 
(Ever the heroes, on water or on land, by ones or twos appearing,   
Ever the stock preserv'd, and never lost, though rare - enough for seed preserv'd.)   
 

Flaunt out O Sea, your separate flags of nations!     
Flaunt out, visible as ever, the various ship-signals!   
But do you reserve especially for yourself, and for the soul of man, one flag above all the rest,   
A spiritual woven Signal, for all nations, emblem of man elate above death,   
Token of all brave captains, and all intrepid sailors and mates,   
And all that went down doing their duty;     
Reminiscent of them - twined from all intrepid captains, young or old;   
A pennant universal, subtly waving, all time, o'er all brave sailors,   
All seas, all ships.

by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Craft an entire school of "Rainbow Fish" from paper plates!

"The Rainbow Fish" by Pfister.

      The Rainbow Fish is an award-winning children's book drawn and written by Marcus Pfister, Swiss author and illustrator, and translated into English by J. Alison James. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of Rainbow Fish. Decode Entertainment turned the story into an animated television series of the same name, which has aired on the HBO Family television channel in the United States since 1999. Read more...

      I designed my own versions of rainbow fish for my preschoolers from extra thick, large, white paper plates. Because I am working with preschoolers, I will need to assemble the project up to the point of coloring for these little ones.  However, 1rst and 2nd grade teachers may choose to teach every step to their students over a period of two to three sessions.     

Supply List Per Student

• scissors
• white school glue
• magic markers
• stapler
• glitter or metallic paper for scales
• pattern (below)
• two large white paper plates
• white typing paper
• white string

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. Print and cut out the pattern. Cut the body first and then trace it onto the inside of a large, white, paper plate. Then flip the pattern over and trace it again to the inside of an additional large, white, paper plate. Cut out these two fish and staple them together with the fins facing fan out.
2. Cut out the face pattern and trace around it twice onto a piece of white typing paper. Then cut these two faces out and staple them both to the correct position on top of each side of the paper fish.
3. Draw both the fins, eyes, and mouth onto each side of the dimensional paper fish.
4. Paint or color the fish on both sides
5. Cut additional fins (circles) from metallic paper and glue these between the fish face and body. 
6. Then paste down the edge of the fish face to the paper fish body where the scales meet the fishy cheeks.
7. Staple a long string between the two fish bodies to hang your school of rainbow fish from the ceiling.

Left, I cut and traced my xerox paper pattern onto a paper plate and cut this first fish to trace around for all of my other fish. Don't forget to trace this same fish in the reverse also in order to have both a front and a back fish. Center, See how the fish fits easily into the large paper plate so that students or teachers can duplicate this version's shape. Right, Students may then draw their own fins and face onto the assembled pattern. The face of the fish must be traced twice and cut from white typing paper. You will need to staple one on each side of the fish body.

I stapled two paper fish plates together to give my rainbow fish a bit of dimension and strength. In fact, this paper plate version could stand up to paint if teachers should prefer to use it. I took care not to staple the face onto the body near the edges of the fins. This will make it simpler to glue in the metallic fins.

The blue side of my teacher's sample.

This is the back side, orange version of my teacher's sample.

Print, cut and trace the fish body template and head both. Remember to reverse and cut/trace the body on a second paper plate. You will need to cut and trace two fish heads on regular paper in order to make both the front and back side of this rainbow fish craft. Because teachers will likely hang these paper fish from the ceiling, both sides of the fish should be colored.

More "Rainbow Fish" Crafts:

• Kid's Craft-Rainbow Fish
• Ocean Theme - Tissue Paper & Foil Rainbow Fish Craft
• Make razzle-dazzle fish!
• Raindrop/Rainbow Fish
• Recycled rainbow fish from old CDs
• Rainbow Fish Coffee Filter Craft

By Marcus Pfister. Read by Ernest Borgnine.
"The Rainbow Fish is an award-winning book about a beautiful fish who finds friendship and happiness when he learns to share. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of the Rainbow Fish." Visit Storyline Online for more videos.

Are there such things are real rainbow fish? The rainbowfish are a family (Melanotaeniidae) of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, islands in Cenderawasih Bay, and the Raja Ampat Islands. The largest rainbowfish genus, Melanotaenia, derives from the ancient Greek melano (black) and taenia (banded). Translated, it means "black-banded", and is a reference to the often striking lateral black bands that run along the bodies of those in the Melanotaenia genus. Read more...

More activities and lessons used with "The Rainbow Fish"

• "The Rainbow Fish" Lesson
• Friendship Activities for  The Rainbow Fish
• Rainbow fish theme unit
• Rainbow Fish Activities
• Alabama Learning Exchange "The Rainbow Fish"

Design and Craft a Sailor's Valentine

My "hybrid" sailor's Valentine craft for young students includes both real
 and drawn seashells. I needed to develop a method for producing this
craft on a very limited budget for my classroom. This is the solution that
I came up with for next year's ocean unit.

      A sailor's valentine is a form of shellcraft, a type of mostly antique souvenir, or sentimental gift made using large numbers of small seashells. These were originally made between 1830 and 1890 and they were designed to be brought home from a sailor's voyage at sea and given to the sailor's loved one or loved ones. Sailor valentines are typically octagonal, glass fronted, hinged wooden boxes ranging from 8" to 15" in width, displaying intricate symmetrical designs composed entirely of small sea shells of various colors glued onto a backing. Patterns often feature a centerpiece such as a compass rose or a heart design, hence the name, and in some cases the small shells are used to spell out a sentimental message.

      Although the name seems to suggest that the sailors themselves made these objects, a large number of them originated in the island of Barbados, which was an important seaport during this period. Historians believe that the women there made the valentines using local shells, or in some cases using shells imported from Indonesia, and then the finished products were sold to the sailors.

      In his book Sailors' Valentines, John Fondas concludes that the primary source for sailors' valentines was the New Curiosity Shop, located in McGregor Street, Bridgetown, Barbados, and a popular shop where sailors would purchase souvenirs. The shop was owned by the English brothers B.H. and George Belgrave. Fondas' research tells of a sailors' valentine reconstruction, during which the reconstructing artist found pieces of a Barbados newspaper inside the backing.

      Today, antique sailors' valentines are collectibles, valued for their beauty and unusual qualities. Collector interest has sparked a resurgence in sailors' valentines as an art form, and shell kits and patterns are now sold at craft shops. Many sailors' valentines, both new and old, can be found on Nantucket, Massachusetts. Wikipedia

      I adapted this paper sailor's valentine project for very young students by printing small black and white shells in advance for them to cut, color and then glue down into a pattern of their own choosing during our craft time for next year. My budget is very limited; I estimate that I will spend approximately 5 cents per student on this craft by the time it is finished. Teachers may, of course, glue real seashells to heavy weight paper plate alternatives if they live in areas where seashells are free and plentiful. I will glue a handful of scallop shells that I collected during a beach vacation to the middle of each child's plate to give them something from the sea to touch and view.
      If your students are much older than my own, first, second, third or even fourth; you may teach a similar project using larger paper plates, more real shells and a chart displaying types of seashells. In fact, this would be a nice project to incorporate into a unit about sea life/ oceans in a regular classroom. My teacher's sample on this post was drawn free hand. Students in fourth grade would certainly be able to create this kind of "doodle" challenge without the aid of cut and pasted design elements.

Craft Supplies:

• small white paper plates
• one real scallop shell per project
• tacky white glue
• a variety of magic markers
• sheet of black and white seashells and scissors for young students (optional and included below)

My teacher's sample Sailor's Valentine drawn in black and white prior to coloring.

Left, I pasted a scallop shell down with white tacky glue before drawing my seashell design. I've estimated that I will not have more than twenty children to teach this project to next year, so I have already completed this step in advance for my own resources. Center, I drew my shell design first in black ink. Right, I then used pastel colored magic markers to color the shell design.

A few close up shots of the completed paper Sailor's Valentines. I will staple a black ribbon to the back side of the paper plate in order to hang this project on the wall.

Small seashells for pattern making. I will print and cut these out in bulk for my preschool
students to paste into their Sailor's Valentines. Teachers may wish to do likewise for
their younger students.

View More Sailor's Valentines:

• A Showcase for Seashell Art
• Sailor's Valentines and Shell Art Pinboard by Sharon Pollard
• Sailor's Valentines and Some Good Competition

Octopus Clock Craft

My teacher's sample of the octopus clock made from a paper
plate, magic markers and a bit of industry. The long "hand"
of my clock is one of the octopus tentacles, the smaller
"hand" mimics a piece of kelp or coral. Please pin the
photos only not templates, so that folks will have
 a reason to pay us a visit!

      This little paper plate craft is so easy to assemble.  Simply print, cut and paste the octopus parts as they are seen below. I backed the "arms" of the clock with cardboard so that the project might be crafted with durability. Punch a hole in each clock arm piece and also in the center of the paper plate. I used the pointed tip of my scissors to make a hole in the plate. Then I inserted the brass brad through all three holes and bent back the prongs on the backside of the paper plate. Now my students will be able to spin the "arms" or "hands" of the clock to mimic those of a real clock.

      I have included two options for the project so that teachers may either use my own solution for the coloring of the project or give their students simpler unadorned versions so that they can come up with their own unique interpretations of this paper plate craft.

Craft Supplies:

• large white paper plate
• variety of magic markers 
• printed template of octopus (blank or decorated)
• white glue
• scissors
• hole punch
• printed numbers 1-12
• brass brad

The clock as it appeared in black and white before I colored it. I printed out the numbers 1-12 in
 a classic font and pasted these around the edges of the paper plate to mimic a real clock face.

Here are a few closeup shots of my paper octopus clock craft.

Make sure to click directly on to the templates in order to download the largest versions for printing.

More Octopus Crafts:

• Octopus craft using colorful paper bags
• Craft a yarn octopus
• Sock Octopus Craft for Kids
  

More Time Telling Crafts:

• My Day Timer craft by Ashleigh Slater
• Time: teaching from secondgradeperks
• Routine Clock by thetrophywifestyle

Author Cheryl Block discussing award-winning "You're Blushing,
 Little Octopus," a children's picture book with a heart-warming story
 based on science and packaged with a CD-ROm as entertaining
as it is educational.