The underwater world is a magical place full of life and color. World Ocean Day, June 8th, celebrates this world and promotes the conservation of our ocean’s many treasures.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to teach your child about what lives under the sea and how we can protect this part of the environment!
Visit the Water
If you live near the ocean, take your child to explore. Without a doubt, many coasts are rich with opportunities to swim in the water, build sandcastles, play on the shore, or relax and have a picnic with a view.
However, if you can’t make it to the ocean, you can visit any nearby lakes, ponds, or rivers. All water is part of the same water cycle, and these ecosystems are also brimming with small creatures like freshwater fish, frogs, and water bugs that your child will be delighted to discover.
Learn More About What Lives in the Ocean
Your child will be amazed at all of the life happening below the ocean’s surface. Schools of fish, beautiful coral, and dramatic underwater rock formations are all found under the water.
Going scuba diving to see these things first-hand isn’t possible for young children, but there are many other ways you can gain access to the underwater world. If you’re lucky enough to live near an aquarium, they often offer guided tours to teach visitors about their animals and the ocean. In addition, they may even have special events to celebrate World Ocean Day!
Alternatively, you can cozy up on the couch and watch a documentary like the BBC’s Blue Planet series. These award-winning films are full of information, and the beautiful images are sure to mesmerize your child.
Read an Ocean-Themed Book
You can easily adapt your daily story time to celebrate World Ocean Day. There are lots of choices—everything from The Little Mermaid to the children’s classic, Rainbow Fish.
If you don’t have an ocean-themed book at home, no problem! There are plenty of YouTube videos of children’s stories being read aloud alongside illustrations from the books.
Music to our Ears Podcast – What happens to the water in the puddle once the sun is out? In this episode we observe the water cycle and learn all the “-ation” processes that are involved in it!
Friendly Fish Craft
In fact, you can even create your own fish crafts to act a story out with your child!
Instructions:
- Cut out a fish shape from a piece of paper
- Draw a face
- Add lots of colorful scales using whatever you have on hand: colored paper, crayons, buttons, or pieces of old cloth
- Glue a toothpick or popsicle stick to the back, and you’ve got a puppet
Dive in! Allow your imaginations to run wild with your fish puppets by putting on a play or swimming around the house.
Taking Care of Our Oceans
Above all, World Ocean Day is a great opportunity to teach children about the importance of taking care of our oceans. If you live near the ocean—or another body of water—bring your children along for an outing to pick up litter and explain why it’s important to keep our areas clean.
Better yet, see if there are any organized local ocean clean-ups in your area that you can participate in. Encourage children to respect and care for the ocean by urging them not to disturb marine life, conserve water, and decrease plastic use (which often ends up in our oceans).
Every gesture, big or small, makes a difference. Happy World Ocean Day!
World Ocean Day and the Lingokids App
Interested in Learning More about the Oceans by Playlearning™ with Lingokids?
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