During the weekend we headed out to an adventure in Half Moon Bay to explore Tidepools. A tide pool is an isolated pocket of seawater found in the ocean's interdial zone where the ocean meets the land. These small basins at the ocean’s edge typically range from mere inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across, they are packed with sturdy sea life such as snails, barnacles, mussels, anemones, urchins, sea stars, crustaceans, seaweed, and small fish.
After exploring the tidepools we collected so many cool shells. My oldest son wanted to sort through his collection when we got home, and suddenly the idea came about of making a Tidepool Small World Play. In our Discount School Supply Tuff Tray we mixed corn starch with water + Colorations liquid colors, placed rocks & moss (to be seaweed) from our yard, grabbed some of our sea life figurines, aquarium rocks, and all of the shells we collected.
Through this type of play, exploration they were able to recall & reflect about what they saw during our adventure, deepen their understanding about the environments in the world, engage in sensory play with the variety of materials & textures that stimulate their mind & body, and expand their language. When children engage in this type of play they break through the walls of reality, use their imagination, pretend to be someone or something different from themselves, explore different worlds, and have actions to go along with the roles they have chosen to play.
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