Shark Week officially kicks off this Sunday, July 28th at 8:00 p.m. and in order to celebrate we decided to partner with our friends at Safari Ltd, and share a few fun activities you can do with your kids this week to get them excited!
We decided to create sensory bins and used the following materials that are easy to find, plus a very special "Shark" treat from Safari Ltd ( you can shop your favorites by clicking here and using our code BambinaDiaries for 20% off your purchase)
- Kinetic sand
- Orbeez aqua bubbles in blue and clear
- (4) sharks from Safari Ltd - Leopard Shark, Bamboo Shark, Lemon Shark, Tiger Shark
- Oval serving tray from Target
- Rectangular serving tray from Target
- Goldfish baby and multi color
Sensory bins are a great activity for all ages and so we decided to show you how you can use a sensory bin with three different age groups, while still making it fun and having them learn.
We were also excited to partner with Safari Ltd because they have a wide variety of animal life available, which pairs perfectly with learning anything in and out of the classroom. These figurines stand the test of time and come in convenient sizes appropriate for all ages and kinds of activities, and nothing in these toys is toxic or bad for your child. Each Safari Ltd toy is designed both to last and be eco-friendly. This includes no UV coating on our hangtags and recyclable packaging.
Here is our first bin:
1. For the toddler - we created a simple sensory bin to showcase the sharks in their natural habitat. Sofia was more than excited to help me place the sand, rocks and then aqua bubbles just before she placed our Safari Ltd sharks where she pleased. This sensory bin is to be supervised but they will have tons of fun! Sofia would reposition the sharks in a variety of ways, keep two, remove two, make them splash etc. Fun Tip: consider adding in baby goldfish for extra playtime fun.
2. For the elementary school child - we decided to incorporate the counting and color theme in our next sensory bin and showcase the Safari Ltd sharks in a new habitat. This sensory bin now included multi colored goldfish for a fun color sorting game, where your little one can scoop out (with their hands or a spoon) a different color gold fish based on what color you want to cover. Fun Tip: add in a coloring activity for them to do and hang on the wall or fridge at home! Or consider a fun search and find book. We used it as a part of our activity below, where Sofia could find the sharks and more.
3. For the child almost reaching middle school - here we took one of our favorite dollar tree finds, Shark Frenzy and used this book as a fun way to learn more about the different sharks that Safari Ltd has sent us. We learned about shark anatomy, shark size and even found one of our sharks in the book. See below for a sample of what we did, while still using our original sensory bin. Fun Tip: consider visiting your local library this week and checking out the various Shark themed books they have on file.
We had such a great time learning about sharks today but before we ended our activity our friends at Safari Ltd shared with us a very special video that you too can watch with your child! Click here to view now or visit YouTube here. The video is great for all ages and is pretty quick. It provides, interactive learning and best of all you can buy the different sharks mentioned in the video by clicking here. That way your kids can follow along and learn with the figurines in a hands-on way while they watch (see below for Sofia).
We really enjoyed this activity with our friends at Safari Ltd. Sofia is obssesed with the shark figurines and wont leave them out of her sight. They are perfect for her age and really well made. Plus, she really enjoyed singing along and finding the new sharks that popped up on the screen during the special shark themed video from Safari Ltd.
In case you love sharks as much as we do, below we included a few more ideas for you to try on Pinterest as well as Safari Ltd. Remember, if you love their products as much as we do, use the code BambinaDiaries for 20% off your entire purchase!
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