Pirate ships & Mermaids

Yo ho, yo ho...

Each child was encouraged to create their ocean picture at the easel by blending blue, white and green paints. They then were given the option to use a stencil or create their own pirate ship and add details. I love how they all came out so different and creative!

Next, is our egg carton pirate ships complete with sails held up by straws and pipe cleaners.

This year we had individual pirate ships made from laundry baskets and brown fabric in our dramatic play area! We also had pompom cannonballs which we made from thick grey yarn. Our plank was back once again but this time the children had to watch out for the sharks!

Click here to see some of my shark activities.

 

Paper plate Mermaids!

 

  First, I had the children color / decorate a paper plate and then cut out a spiral pattern for the tail. Next, they simply attached a stencil of a person which was cut at the waist. Lastly, they were able to embellish the mermaid as desired. I put out markers, sequins, small shells and let the children's creativity run wild.



Sink vs Float

Sink vs float pirate ships!

 

 

During our pirate theme I like to add in some science fun and what better way to go along with our pirate ship discussion then a sink vs float experiment.

Now, anyone that knows me is aware that I am not a worksheet fan!!! However, in this case it is a great visual tool to go along with the experiment that the children can bring home and discuss with their parents to further their understanding of the lesson.

 

To begin I called the children over to the table in groups of two to try the experiment. Since our letter of the week was letter X the children used x's to indicate if the item floated on the water or sunk to the bottom.

 

When all the items had been tested I encouraged the children to begin making their own pirate ships out of tin foil to try out their own individual experiment. To test and see how many unifix cubes they could fit on their boat before it would sink.

 



 

Once the children were satisfied with how their boat looked I had them make a prediction as to how many cubes the boat would hold. A note to teachers or parents who are trying this activity, many of these boats held over 100 unifix cubes so this can be a very time consuming process! However, it's a great way to get the students who do not usually like to count, engaged in the counting! 

When we were done we graphed our results as a class and discussed the attributes of the boats which held more cubes versus the ones which sank with only a few cubes on board.

 



 

As a follow up activity the children each completed a paper where they illustrated something that floats and something that sinks and were challenged to write the word which corresponded to the item.

 

We also made these painted egg carton ships complete with popsicle stick pirate flags which are held in place with our old playdoh! : )

 

Happy learning sailors!!!



Pirates!

Ahoy there mateys!

 

Here are a few things in the classroom that my little pre-K pirates have been exploring!

 

Our pirate song, to the tune of "This old man."

 

This pirate has a hat, where a skull and crossbones sat. With an ar, ar, ar and an aye matey, this pirate sailed on the sea.

This pirate with a patch, sailed the sea without a scratch. With an ar, ar, ar and an aye matey, this pirate sailed on the sea.

 

X marks the spot on the treasure map!

 

Shells and treasure have been added to the sand table, as well as some sweet colored sand.



 

 We put our pirates and the ship into the water table!

 

Click here for sink/float pirate ship ideas.

We built a pirate ship from a cardboard box!

 

 Complete with a steering wheel that really turns and a mermaid on the front! haha!

We added the balance beam into our dramatic play area to walk the plank! We attached the anchor with a paper chain so that the children can move it in and out of the boat. We cut the anchor out of cardboard and covered it with tin foil for a more realistic look. We added costumes, bandanas, maps, gold coins, and more for a creative and fun area!

 

Arrrrrr!!!