I shared previously that I will be attempting to plan activities for Little Lion this year based on a monthly theme. June’s theme is my favorite…ocean animals! These activities are intended for Little Lion, who will be 15 months old, but they could easily be adapted for an older or younger child. Please consider your child’s current development when planning activities for him/her since you know your baby best.

D I S C O V E R Y  B A S K E T S

Water Basket – Jars and small bottles filled with water and various other materials, like these that Mrs. Deer wrote about.

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Animal Basket – This month will require another special purchase, but I am loving stocking up on one animal group at a time. I know that Little Lion (and most likely future siblings) will get years of use out of these toys, so I don’t mind the expense. I love this set from Learning Resources pictured below, since they are large and realistic looking. I also like this set. It is much less expensive and has a wider variety of animals, but they are much smaller in size.



A R T  /  S E N S O R Y  A C T I V I T I E S

1. Jello Ocean Sensory Bin – This looks like so much fun!

2. Montessori Based “I Do It” Sensory Bin – I love this idea for older toddlers. LL isn’t old enough to be able to make the choices and create his bin himself, but I love the bin ideas, and thought maybe some of you with older kiddos may want to try giving them some extra independence.

3. Painting with Animals – An old favorite. Put paint on paper and have your child use the animals to move the paint around the page.

4. Finger painting Waves – Use your fingers in the paint to make waves. I love this homemade fingerpaint!

5. Frozen Ocean –  We are learning to use “tools” to do things, so this will definitely require modeling to get the animals out of the ice. This would be so fun for toddlers just a little older than LL who could do it independently too.

6. Sticker Ocean – Little ones love stickers, and LL hasn’t had much opportunity to experiment with them yet. Since ocean animals are pretty standard in the sticker department, I figure this would be a good month to introduce them. Try sticking reusable stickers to a window, or one time use stickers to a sheet of construction paper. I like these from Eyelike because they are reusable, but any stickers will work!

S O N G S  /  V I D E O S

1. Baby Einstein – Baby Neptune

2. Fish in the Ocean Fingerplay – This is one that I would sing to LL myself rather than showing him the video, but it is nice to see it acted out instead of just reading the lyrics.

3. Five Little Fish – Another fingerplay that I would sing to LL myself instead of showing the video.

4. Slippery Fish – This is a full body “fingerplay,” which the creator calls an “action poem.” I love all of the movement…although I know I will feel awfully silly doing this at home by myself with just LL.

O U T D O O R  /  A D V E N T U R E

1. Water Play – Perfect for summer. We plan to play in the pool at our local YMCA or in our tiny pool in the backyard every day. Lots of opportunities to splash around! (for more ideas for outdoor water play see my outdoor edition from April)

2. Aquarium – This seems like a perfect opportunity to take a trip to the aquarium! We have one about 2 hours away (at the beach!). We may need to plan a long distance adventure this month.