Shark Week (A Simple Summer Theme)

So although we were headed on vacation a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to have a Simple Summer Theme we could still explore. As we were at the ocean we went with a theme that matched - Shark Week!

I packed a few things I figured we might do in between trips to the beach and in case of bad weather. But, we had such a great week exploring a new place, hanging at the beach, and enjoying some amazing weather that we barely got to any of the activities.

Instead although we got to a few activities fit in on the trip instead we wound up having something closer to a "Shark Day" when we got home from vacation. But it was a great way to come back home and unwind from the trip.


1. Read More About Them! 
You're probably not surprised to hear that we fit some reading in about sharks both during our vacation and when we came back home. I had a couple of shark nonfiction books we brought with us to read. We also picked up a new one at a gift shop during our travels which we quickly fell in love with. It's part of the "Cat and the Hat's Learning Library Series:" Hark! A Shark!: All About Sharks.

2. Shark Play Playdough 
Before going on vacation I made up a fresh batch of our basic cooked playdough and colored it ocean green. We added a little bit of blue glitter too. Along with the playdough I brought our Safari Ltd Sharks Toob. This proved to be a great quiet play activity a couple of different times we were needing a moment to be low key.

3. Shark & Crayon Watercolors

I packed a couple of different boxes of crayons and even a small watercolor set in case we got to it. And although we began drawing sharks during our trip, we never finished the activity until we got home. This activity has simple materials but also can be enjoyed by different age levels. Kiddos draw the sharks (and other underwater creatures and objects) and then watercolor on top of it with blue paint. It makes the sharks look like they are swimming in the ocean! 

4. Paper Plate Shark Hat 

This was an activity I thought we would get to on the trip, but we wound up doing it once we got home. Again, I was looking for ideas with simple materials. In this case: paper plates, markers, scissors, and a stapler. The boys each colored their hats with blue marker. (You could also paint them.) I then cut them out so that there was a hole in the hat like you would find on a visor. Out of the hole a shark's "fin" stuck up. Our plates were a little large for their heads, so I just folded the plate in on itself and stapled it. When both hats were done, I put on the "Jaws" theme song and the boys swam around the deck. It was hilarious! 

5. Sharks and Minnows Snack 

Our local grocery store sells gummy "sharks." Add the sharks to a small bowl of goldfish and you instantly have a '"sharks & minnows" snack! 

6. Pick up some Shark Souvenirs 

Yup, we hit one of the touristy beach shops and looked for fun shark souvenirs. We wound up with a large, squeezy, noisy shark and a small shark's tooth in a glass bottle. And of course, the book we mentioned above too! 

So although Shark Week turned out to be a more slightly more brief Simple Summer Theme, we still had a lot of fun with. Definitely a theme we could come back to again next year too! 

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