Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz and published by Orchard Books is a brilliant book about the creatures who live under water. It has little poems about each of the creatures and also has some longer poems about the ocean. It has bright, interesting pictures and is a joy to read and look at.
Activities
Fish nuggets
Star fish sandwiches
Underwater dessert
Solids and liquids conversation
Star fish
Stone fish
Octopus
Jelly fish
Ocean sensory mat
Underwater animal play
Scooping sea creatures (plastic ones)
Underwater scene and imaginative play
Sea creatures homes
Cooking/Food
As the book is based under the sea a good dish could be fish nuggets with cucumber tails put in an ocean of peas but you could also use chicken nuggets if your child/children don't like fish. If you wanted to do chips with it you could use another fish nugget as the octopus head and use the chips as its legs. Star fish are found in the ocean so you could make some sandwiches and your child/children could cut them into star shapes using a shape cutter. For something sweet you could create an underwater dessert. Put green or blue jelly in the bottom of a see through container like glass, plastic cup or small bowl and add some underwater jelly sweets, leave to set and then top with a biscuit crumb (for the sand) and add a cocktail umbrella on the top. Your child/children could help you make them and you could have a conversation about solids and liquids and the different creatures mentioned in the book.
Indoor
You could make some of the underwater creatures as the book mentions lots of different ones. If you cut some star shapes out then your child/children could decorate them as star fish. This is a good activity for younger children or if you just wanted a quick activity. For a textured look if you add some sand to the paint it will make it look more starfish like and then add some googly eyes to make it look nice and friendly. Children love googly eyes. If you can get hold of some large stones then your child/children could turn them into fish using paint. If you want the paint to stay (like if your child wants to put the stones underwater or in sand) cover in clear nail varnish or glue or real varnish and then they will become waterproof. A lot of the children's paints just wash off when they come into contact with water. An octopus can be made using half a paper plate for the head and some paper cut into strips can be attached for the legs. Your child can then decorate the head in what ever colour or colours they would like. You could use glue, sticky tape or staples to attach the legs to the plate. Using the other half of the paper plate you could make a jelly fish and use pipe cleaners for its tentacles. For a fun activity that is slightly messy to make but clean to play with you could make an ocean sensory mat. Put some washing up liquid or hair gel into a see through zip lock bag and add some glitter and some plastic underwater creatures. Zip the bag and if it doesn't seem very water tight you could add some strong tape. Your child/children will love to push the creatures round and watch the glitter move as they play with it. For a more wet activity fill a tray or bowl with water and put in some underwater animals for your child/children to play with. If you want to jazz it up a bit add some food colouring, glitter or bubbles or all three if you want and let your child explore and get wet.
Outdoor
If you have some little sea creatures then you could put them in a water tray with some water and then your child/children could scoop them out using spoons or different utensils. Depending on the creatures and child's age you could turn this into a sorting activity by using cards or coloured dishes to put similar creatures into. If you have a paddling pool or large container your child/children could make their own underwater ocean using stones and other things from the garden and then they can play with their sea creatures in there. Imaginative play is good for children and most seem to really enjoy it. You could discuss with them what the different creatures are doing and what their homes look like.
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