Super Fun Beach Learning Activities For Kids

Beach activites are perfect for preschoolers in the summer. There are few things my kids love more than water activities and playing in the sand! All of these activities will keep your kids engaged and happy, and you will be happy as well once you see how easy they are to set up and use!

Many of these activities can be used over and over again this summer after they are set up for the first time. This makes them perfect for grab and go activities, independent centers for quiet time, or even a quick activity to work on while you are trying to prepare breakfast or lunch during the day!

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Beach Themed Activities

Beach themed activities can be used many different times of the summer. Leaving for the beach soon? Do one beach themed activity a day to help build the excitement and keep kids occupied and busy while you pack! Just coming home from vacation? Fight off the ending of vacation blues with some fun beach themed activities and keep the fun of vacation going! Not going on a vacation this summer? Make your own beach fun at home with all of these activities. There are so many different possibilities for creating your own beach experience!

Reasons to Use Beach Themed Activities:

Fine Motor Skills: There is an entire category devoted to fine motor skill activities in this post, but honestly any of these activites you do will help with fine motor skills. Any activity where your child is using their hand and fingers to arrange letters or numbers, manipulate arts and crafts materials, or explore sensory materials is doubling as a fine motor skill activity as well. Fine motor skills are so important for tasks such as cutting, writing, coloring, zipping, and tying shoes! The more we can help strengthen our child’s fine motor skills, the better!

Engaging the Five Senses: Doing beach themed activities that engage the five senses is a wonderful way to help with brain development and language development! Sensory exploration helps children to become familiar with the world around them and learn how to describe what they are seeing, hearing, and feeling. Read more about the benefits of sensory play in this article!

Pretend Play: Beach themed activities provide so many opportunities for pretend play! Whether your kids are pretending to be on a deserted island, pirates sailing the ocean and landing on a beach for buried treasure, or just pretending they are at the beach digging in the sand and playing in the water, they are using their creativity and imagination, which is a wonderful thing to do!

Habitats: Beach themed activities are a fabulous way to introduce habitats to kids. As you are working on the activities, you can casually talk about the terrain, characteristics of a beach, animals you would find in a beach habitat, and the climate at the beach. Such an easy mini science lesson with every activity and awesome for vocabulary development!

Super Fun Beach Learning Activities For Kids

Beach Themed Art Activities

Beach themed art projects are one of our favorite ways to spend our free time over the summer.  These art activities offer a wide range of projects and can be easily differentiated for kids of all ages!  As an added bonus, as you are allowing your kids to express their creativity and use their imagination, they will also be strengthening their fine motor skills while they manipulate the art materials and create their projects.

1. Guide to Hydro-Dipping Sand Dollars Art Activity

Sand dollars are one of the most beautiful creations found in nature!  What if I told you I had a way to make them even more beautiful?  This Guide to Hydro-Dipping Sand Dollars Art Activity not only shows you how to create amazing art work, but also makes hydro-dipping sand dollars simple and easy to do!

2. Toilet Paper Roll Sun Painting Activity for Preschool

There is no better way to brighten up your summer than with this adorable Toilet Paper Roll Sun Painting Activity for Preschool.  With all of the kids home for the summer, we always have a surplus of empty toilet paper rolls in our house and this art project is one of our favorite ways to reuse them.  Make some decorative summer art for your house, create some fun summer cards, or dream up another amazing way to use this fun toilet paper sun stamp!

3. How to Dye Seashells for a Summer Sensory Bin

Finding yourself with a few extra shells lying around after your beach vacation?  Use them in your next sensory bin!  To make them brightly colored and extra eye catching, check out How to Dye Seashells for a Summer Sensory Bin!  Your kids will love helping to dye the seashells and then will really enjoy playing with them in a summer themed sensory bin!

More Beach Themed Art Activities

• Bring the saltiness of the ocean water into your artwork with this Ocean Salt Painting for Kids.
• Transport your kids to a tropical oasis with this fun Palm Tree Paper Plate Craft.
• Get ready for some deep sea diving with this Paper Plate Scuba Mask Craft For Kids!
• Make some lasting memories this summer with Sand Clay Recipe and Handprint Keepsakes.
• Try this cute Sea Shell Sand Craft!
• Make a fun bulletin board display with a Paper Plate Seashell Craft For Preschoolers.
• Sea creature lovers will enjoy this Ocean Starfish Kids Craft.
• Puffy Sand Paint is so much fun to paint with!

Beach Themed Math Activities

Seashells, crabs, fish – there are so many things to count at the beach!  Whether you are at the beach, or bringing the beach to your house, there are endless opportunities to work on math skills this summer with a beach theme.  These math activities are all creative and interactive ways to practice math skills such as counting, number recognition, addition, and numeral writing with your kids!

1. Addition Facts Slap-It Card Game

Teachers and parents know that math facts are an important part of a strong mathematical foundation for kids.  Flash cards are one way to practice math facts, but if you are looking for something more exciting, look no further!  Can you be the first to find the match and slap-it?  This Addition Facts Slap-It Card Game is a fast paced game that is super engaging and interactive. The beach themed cards only add to the fun of practicing math facts!

2. Summer Theme Printable Number Posters for Preschool

Summer Theme Printable Number Posters for Preschool are a great, visual way to reinforce numbers.  The cute crabs are eye catching and make for the perfect summer math practice for numbers.  Be sure to check out the blog post for all the awesome ways that you can use them!

3. Free Ocean Theme Puzzles for Making 10

We love doing puzzles over the summer!  Work on the skill of making 10 with these Free Ocean Theme Puzzles for Making 10.  Your kids will love adding up the adorable ocean creatures to make sets of 10 and complete the puzzles!

4. Free Printable Sea Shells Roll and Count Activity

My daughter loves collecting seashells on the beach.  We always love to come home and do crafts with the shells we collect, but something else we love to do with our shells is math!  This Free Printable Sea Shells Roll and Count Activity is a great way to work on counting skills and put all the shells you collect on vacation to good use this summer!  Number recognition, numbers in written form, and counting are just a few of the many skills you will get to practice with this activity.

5. Free Pirate Play Dough Mats Numbers 1-10

Ahoy matey!  Little pirates everywhere will love these Free Pirate Play Dough Mats for practicing numbers 1-10.  Kids will have so much fun creating the number with play dough and then practice counting out all of their gold into a ten frame!  Wearing pirate costumes and hats are optional, but will only add to the fun in this activity!

More Beach Themed Math Activities

• Match the starfish to the bucket in this Beach Bucket Number Match for practicing base ten and number matching.
• Kids will love feeding the shark in this fun Shark Math Game.
• Another great way to use your seashells are these Beach Themed Counting Mats.

Beach Themed Literacy Activities

Working on literacy skills over the summer is one of the ways that you can help prevent the summer slide with your child!  By working on skills like letter identification, CVC word building, and letter formation, you can reinforce all the knowledge your child gained this year.  You can even use these activities to introduce and practice some new skills this summer! 

1. Summer Beach Theme CVC Word Building Mat

Build your way to CVC word fluency with this Summer Beach Theme CVC Word Building Mat for Kindergarten!  These beach themed mats provide a great space to work on reading, writing, and building CVC words this summer.  With 96 different CVC picture cards included, this will be an activity you can use over and over again for practice.

2. Stamping Compound Words with Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand makes the perfect canvas for practicing word writing in this activity!  Preschoolers, kindergartners, and any other word lover in your house will have a blast Stamping Compound Words with Kinetic Sand.  Major bonus – kinetic sand is not quite as messy as regular sand and will hold the shape of the words really well!  Get ready for some word making fun!

More Beach Themed Literacy Activities

• Building letters with seashells is a great way to practice letter formation in this Ocean Themed Writing Tray.
• Practice sight word writing in the sand with this Beach Themed Sight Word Activity.
• Beach Beginning Sound Puzzles are a cute and fun way to practice matching the letter to the beginning sound it makes.
• Can you find the letters in Beach Letter Find Printables?
• Little readers will love this ‘At The Beach’ Emergent Reader!
• Work on letter formation with Beach Letter Dot Printables.
• Play dough and seashells make practicing sight words super exciting in this Seashell Sight Word Practice activity.
• Practice upper and lower case letter matching with a Free Sandcastle Letter Match.

Beach Themed STEM Activities

Get ready for some fun STEM beach themed activities!  Building and engineering sandcastles is just one of the many ways you can explore STEM this summer.  These fun beach themed science experiments and engineering activities will keep your inquisitive kids busy and entertained this summer!

1. Ocean Currents Science Experiment

Curious little scientists will love learning about water and currents in this Ocean Currents Science Experiment.  Food coloring, ice, and water of different temperatures helps create an awesome visual for kids who are wondering how currents work.  Check out the activity for more detailed instructions and other information.  Once you do this activity, your kids will be begging to do it over and over again!

More Beach Themed STEM Activities

• Make some ocean waves in a jar with this Ocean Waves Experiment.
• Explore salt water density with a Salt Water Experiment.
• Watch seashells magically disappear when you do this Seashell Acid Base Experiment.
• Who doesn’t love a volcano experiment? Check out this Sand Beach Volcano!
• Try these Sand Science Experiments!
• Grow your own Crystal Seashells.
• Get your little pirates ready for Exploding Treasure Chests!
• Yum! Try some delicious and Easy DIY Sea Glass Candy.

Beach Themed Sensory Activities

There are so many opportunities for sensory exploration during the summer at the beach.  Crashing waves, coarse sand, and the smell of the salty ocean water make the beach one gigantic sensory bin for kids.  If your summer beach vacation is over or if a beach vacation isn’t in your plans this year, here are some amazing ways you can bring the wonderful sensory exploration opportunities from the beach into your home this year!

1. Free Printable Beach Themed Scavenger Hunt for Kids to Use This Summer

Scavenger hunts are one of our favorite ways to get moving around the house on a hot summer day.  Brightly colored, beach themed pictures make this scavenger hunt a great visual sensory experience for little eyes.  This Free Printable Beach Themed Scavenger Hunt for Kids to Use This Summer can be used with a single child, or a group of children at a party, or in a preschool classroom.  An extra sheet for drawing each picture is included and adds to the fun by providing another fun activity for little artists!

2. Ocean Sensory Bin with DIY Sand Foam

DIY sand foam makes the best sensory bin filler for a beach theme!  This Super Fun Ocean Sensory Bin with DIY Sand Foam is a twist on the traditional ocean sensory bin that just has regular sand in it.  Kids will love helping to make the sand foam and then will love it even more when they add it into an ocean themed sensory bin to continue the fun and creativity!

3. Ocean, Sand, and Seashell Sensory Bin Activity

Bring the beach to you with this fun Ocean, Sand, and Seashell Sensory Bin Activity!  Squishy sand, cold water, and bumpy seashells make this bin an awesome tactile experience for kids.  They will be asking for this sensory bin over and over again all summer long!

4. Ocean Animals Preschool Ice Excavation Activity

Cool off with this fun Ocean Animals Preschool Ice Excavation Activity!  You will quickly see how easy it is to freeze ocean animals and then let your child dig them out of the ice.  The hardest part will be waiting patiently while the animals freeze after your child asks to do this activity over and over again!

5. Preschool Turtle Theme Sensory Bottle

Kids will be mesmerized by this Preschool Turtle Theme Sensory Bottle!  Sensory bottles are a fun and mess free way to let your toddler have some sensory exploration.  They will love imagining that the turtles are swimming their way through the ocean as they are twisting and turning the bottle back and forth in their hands.

More Beach Themed Sensory Activities

• Toddlers will love squishing and squashing this Beach Ocean Sensory Bag!
• A Frozen Sand Sensory Bin is sure to cool your kids off.
• This Beach Themed Sand Tray is perfect for any little one who enjoys playing in the sand at the beach.
• Homemade cloud dough makes for some Sandcastle Messy Play.

Beach Themed Fine Motor Skills Activities

Summer is the perfect time to work on fine motor skills and strengthen hand and finger muscles this summer.  Building, digging, and playing with small toys are some ways kids can naturally strengthen their fine motor skills. If you’re looking for some other ways to work on fine motor skills, check out all these fun ways! Sensory bins, slime, and play dough are just a few of the many ways that you can work on fine motor skills this summer.

1. Exciting Pirate Sensory Bin Using Chickpeas

Whenever it is time for dress up in my house, my kids always fight over who gets the pirate costume!  There’s just something so exciting about pretending to be a pirate searching to find the buried treasure on a beach somewhere.  This Exciting Pirate Sensory Bin Using Chickpeas is the perfect way to keep the pretend pirate play going, work on their fine motor skills, and allow for sensory exploration all in one activity!

2. How to Make Golden Slime for Kids

Slime is always an instant hit in my house!  The gooey texture makes it super fun for kids and as a parent I love hearing the squeals of excitement as they touch it.  Fine motor skills are being strengthened every time they squish, squash, and pull apart the slime.   If you have never made your own slime, this post on How to Make Golden Slime for Kids will show you just how easy it is!  You may never buy pre-made slime from the store again!  This slime goes perfect with any beach themed or pirate activity!

More Beach Themed Fine Motor Skills Activities

• Create your own play dough beach scene with these Beach Play Dough Mats.
• Summer Lacing Cards are great for fine motor skills.
• Try these fun Gross and Fine Motor Skill Beach Themed Activities.
• Play dough invitations are a great way to keep kids busy! Try this Beach Themed Play Dough Activity {An Invitation To Play}.
• Sand and slime? Sounds like every kids dream to me! Make it using this Homemade Sand Slime Recipe.

Summer Activities You’ll Love:

• Summer Flamingo Sensory Bin
• Summer Counting Book
• Orange Prints Painting
• DIY Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone Activity
• Summer Sun Emotions Board Game