Ocean Adventure!

We have got a bit of a fishy theme going on at the moment and to extend the children's playI thought I would make them an ocean world in our black tray.  I had been lucky enough to pick up some blue vinyl flooring at the Materials Bank a few weeks back, which once cut to size, with its dark blue, grey and glittery bits, made a perfect ocean floor  (A piece of laminated blue paper would work just as well).

I then added a couple of the large rocks I brought back from holiday (which also helped to weigh down the vinyl and stop it floating to the top), the small world sea creatures, some shells and made some plants. 

 

These were simply pieces of green plastic (a green carrier bag would also work), wrapped around small stones and fastened with elastic bands.  I then cut the top part of the plastic to look like the leaves of plants. 

These were great because the 'leaves' moved around in the water, giving a realistic quality to play and also the creatures could 'hide' or 'play' amongst them. 

I set the tray up on a blue piece of material and added some larger shells and books to make the area more interesting and to give some ideas for play.

Oh and I forgot, we added water of course!
The children have certainly enjoyed playing in this area last week.  We've made up stories as we've played, talked about the fish that can breathe under water and the mammals that can't, practised naming the fish and had a good look at all the shells. 

I did think twice about doing this activity as I look after one little boy who loves to splash in any water and too be honest, I didn't relish the idea of having a flooded dining room. But much to my surprise, he has not splashed once!   I don't know whether this is because he hasn't experienced water in this context before, or because he has been too engaged in exploring the tray so think about splashing.  I wonder if this will last next week!
This week we hope to extend play by creating our own fish to add to the blue material, visiting the beach and pet shop to see some fish, and possibly making some boats to add to our underwater tray.  We may even have a go at the oat starfish that looked fab on the Its Playtime link-up!
Links to EYFS:
KUW: Place (Enjoy playing with small world equipment / show an interest in the world in which they live
CD: Developing Imagination and Imaginative Play (Making up stories to accompany play)