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Ocean in a bag

August 25, 2013 by Katie 9 Comments

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I recently completed a preschool ocean unit with my two kids, 4-year-old QBoy and 3-year-old XGirl. Whenever the kids are learning about a new subject I try to create some sensory experiences for them. At 3- and 4-years-old, XGirl and QBoy still love all sorts of sensory experiences. I thought they would have a lot of fun creating their own mini ocean in a bag. This activity doubled as both a sensory play activity and an activity to learn about the ocean.

Note: For more resources, printables and activities related to the ocean and its inhabitants, please see my ocean unit study page. And for more sensory play ideas, see my sensory play page. 

Make an ocean in a bag | Ocean sensory play | Ocean squish bag || Gift of Curiosity

 

To create an ocean in a bag, we used the following materials:

  • A ziplock bag
  • Duct tape (not pictured, but added later)
  • Sand
  • A bottle of clear hair gel (from the dollar store)
  • Colorations liquid watercolor paint in blue
  • Some plastic fish

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

The kids started by scooping sand into their baggies.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

I had them put in just enough to cover the bottom of the bag.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

Then they each squeezed about a bottle of clear hair gel into their baggies.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

Next they squirted in the blue liquid watercolor paint.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

Finally, they added some fish.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

To be safe, I not only closed the closed the bags, I added some duct tape on top to prevent any accidental openings from overzealous squishing. (I knew from prior experience an accidental opening was a definite possibility with this activity! :-))

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

Once the bags were sealed, I invited the kids to squish them as much as possible, especially to mix the blue coloring into the gel. Plus, the kids just like to squish things.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

After they had enjoyed plenty of fun squishing the bags at the table, I used some duct tape to hang them from our glass door. This allowed the sun to shine through them, making the colors even more vibrant.

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

I noted that QBoy had put in a lot more blue coloring than XGirl, making his bag much darker. He told me: “My bag is darker because it is the deep ocean.” I was really pleased that he remembered from our reading how the deep ocean gets a lot less light than the ocean water closer to the surface!

Ocean in a bag - squirt colored hair gel into a plastic bag, then add sand and fish to make an ocean in a bag || Gift of Curiosity

More resources for learning about the ocean

More ocean posts from Gift of Curiosity:

  • Ocean Montessori activities
  • Learning about ocean animals
  • Salt water and waves science
  • Shell activities
  • Blubber experiment
  • Ocean animals book & 3-part cards
  • Ocean Printables Pack
  • Ocean Do-a-Dot Printables
  • Ocean I Spy

For more resources, printables and activities related to the ocean and its inhabitants, please see my Ocean Unit Study page and my Oceans Pinterest board.

Follow Gift of Curiosity’s board Ocean Unit Ideas on Pinterest.

Don't miss out!

9 Comments

Comments

  1. Emma says

    August 26, 2013 at 9:31 am

    This looks like fun and the bags come out so pretty in the end. I love that the kids got to put everything in too 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 26, 2013 at 12:13 pm

      Thanks Emma! My kids love putting the items into the bags. Sometimes things get a bit messy when I turn that job over to them, but it’s all part of the process. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Anna@The Measured Mom says

    August 30, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    This looks like a great sensory activity! Thanks so much for sharing at the After School linky!

    Reply
  3. Deceptively Educational says

    September 1, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    This is awesome! When you can’t get to the aquarium, why not make one at home? Totally cool. I’m featuring this tomorrow on my blog at the After School Linky Party. Stop by to check it out and share more while you’re there!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      September 1, 2013 at 9:18 pm

      Thanks so much for featuring our activity!

      Reply
  4. Mrs. G says

    May 13, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    How much hair gel do you think 14 kids would need?

    Reply
    • Katie SG says

      May 13, 2014 at 8:41 pm

      My two kids used up most of a 20 oz bottle of hair gel. You could certainly use less gel in each bag, however.

      Reply

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