How to Make a Simple Ocean Sensory Bag for Kids

Make an ocean sensory bag for your toddlers and preschoolers to explore. It’s a great activity for summer fun before or after a tip to the beach!

Whether you’re gearing up for a trip to the beach or just studying the ocean from afar, this ocean bag is a great addition to your summertime sensory activities.

If sealed properly, this sensory activity is perfect for even your youngest kiddos. My 15 month grandson loves it when I make a smaller version of this and tape it to his highchair tray.

Ocean Sensory Bag

This preschool sensory bag will make a great addition to so many preschool units. Add it to your O is for Ocean and B is for Beach lessons. If you’re studying animals or animal habitats, this works well with those themes too.

What You’ll Need

• Freezer Bag

• Ocean animals ( can be found at the dollar store or party supply)

• 1 cup of Sand

• Bottle of blue body wash, or blue hand soap

• Sea shells

• Blue Orbeez ( optional )

What You’ll Do

To start, set your freezer bag upright so you can pour the items in. You may want to set it in a tall cup or vase so that it doesn’t fall over as you add items.

First, add the sand. You can use natural colored sand or colored sand. Pouring is a good skill to teach preschoolers, so you could let them do the pouring. If you plan to let your little ones do this step, you may want to do it outdoors or on newspaper so as not to be messy if there is a spill.

Now, it’s time to add your ocean animals and sea shells. This is a great time to talk about the animals and shells. You can talk about the unique characteristics of each animal. Which ones have your preschoolers seen at the zoo or aquarium?

Add in some literacy practice by discussing beginning sounds and/or syllables. Match the animals to animals in your child’s favorite ocean animals books.

To make the “ocean”, add bottle of blue body wash or hand soap. You could use hair gel, as well. If you can’t find blue liquids, you can use clear liquids and add blue Orbeez or food coloring.

Talk about the ocean, waves, and your child’s favorite part of their last beach vacation.

To finish this project, zip the bag closed. Try to squeeze out as much air as you can so the bag will lay flat.

For preschoolers, I would add a strip of duct tape around each of the edges so that the bag is less likely to pop. For infants and toddlers, I suggest taping the bag to their highchair tray, table top, or the floor. This will keep the bag out of their mouths.

Now that your ocean sensory bag is complete, let your preschoolers play. This activity bag is sure to inspire sensory play for days to come.

Teaching Resources

Preschoolers will have fun using these free printable ocean animals flashcards to learn the names of more than 20 ocean animals!

Egg carton ocean animals make great summertime crafts! Whether you’re heading to the beach or just learning about it, try one (or more) of these ideas.

This amazing collection of preschool ocean theme printables is perfect for your summer activities. Kids can learn more about oceans and ocean animals.

RESOURCES I LOVE FOR ocean theme preschool activities

This super cute ocean felt board set is a wonderful quiet toy for your preschool-aged kiddos.

13 pairs of hand stamped and colored ocean images make this a fun and interesting game for your child. Use this ocean matching game to build your child’s concentration, memory and language skills, and have fun doing it!