_edited.png)
Beach Days, Beach Fun!
Following on from last week’s post, I’ve been thinking about beach activities some more. The beach offers us many opportunities for learning (without knowing) – it brings out our curiosity and our inner explorer 🕵️
This week I took our dog out for her usual walk on the beach (well, I say walk, but being a spaniel she doesn’t really do walking! 😆). Within 200 metres I saw both a jellyfish out of water and a discarded balloon.
The first was obviously fascinating. We had a lot of jellyfish last year and even as I write this, I saw another four today. Never pick them up because even if they don’t sting, you can damage them, just look…
The second is a lesson for us all and one that we can talk to our children about whenever the opportunity arises. This balloon had quite obviously been on a journey… luckily this one was washed up on our beach and I was able to rescue the ocean and put it in the bin, after I’d untangled the living seaweed that it had ensnared on its way into shore.
Having discussion subjects like these spark interest and curiosity about our world and develop that sense of wonder in our world. How does this help creativity? Well, understanding how the world works is vital to being able to think about how to make it better (problem-solve). Seeing things and taking notice of something, whether that is a natural wonder (jellyfish) or a natural disaster (balloon), can trigger a much better understanding than if we chose to ignore them or walked away with a “don’t touch that, come away” attitude.
For a child to develop a creative mind, they truly need to understand the world around them.
I digress a bit, but it’s important to make the point 😉
Anyway, beach activities…
Obviously there are the usual suspects where beach activities go and they are, of course, not to be put aside as they are all great for learning and being active:
· Rock-pooling
· Sand castle making
· Rounders
· Cricket…
The list is pretty endless, so it was difficult for me to think of more, but while I was lying on our pebbly beach after an impromptu swim today, I started playing pebble “jenga”. Well, I called it that, but actually it’s in reverse because you have to build the tower rather than take it down 🤭
Anyway, take it in turns or play by yourself. Use big pebbles or small. Strategically choose your pebble though! 😉
Another thing I always used to like doing as a child was making channels for the sea to fill as the tide came in. Mine were very simple affairs – a long channel leading to a moat around my castle, but why not get creative and make a water maze or spiral? Make the water work!
You can also easily create treasure hunts, where the treasure is a rock pool creature. Laminate or pop into a clear file pocket and seal for a waterproof version! I created three beach i-spy sheets back in lockdown which I have shared here for you to print (answers are here too! 🤫):
beach ID 1
.pdf
Download PDF • 698KB
beach ID 2
.pdf
Download PDF • 750KB
beach ID 3
.pdf
Download PDF • 808KB
beach ID 1 ans
.pdf
Download PDF • 717KB
beach ID 2 ans
.pdf
Download PDF • 756KB
beach ID 3
.pdf
Download PDF • 808KB
They aren’t as cheap as they used to be, but waterproof disposable cameras are great for budding photographers who want to record their day and how good is it to take your camera for developing and get your photos – remember that?! So often these days everything is on our phone and stays on our phone. Understanding the process and seeing the product makes it much more special!
So, add some sparkle to your day at the beach but throwing in some extra activities that will be fun and also challenge your child’s thinking. Always remember, a problem is learning and a mistake is learning.
Happy beach days!
Debbie x