Mommy Maestra: The Ocean: Bilingual Printables, Activities, Books & More

As part of our summer learning series, we're looking at different themes related to the season for our studies. Today's post is a bilingual unit study of the ocean!

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Summer Learning Series: The Sea

Since we will be headed to the beach this summer, we have started learning about the ocean in both English and Spanish.

We began reading about the ocean with this fabulous little book from DK Publishing titled, Voyage: Ocean A full-speed-ahead tour of the oceans. Unfortunately, it is really hard to find now, but it was a gem that I discovered in one of my overstock book stores. We really love it because it includes a poster, fact cards, and some fun stickers.

My kids are young artists. So as part of their learning, I also asked them to create a poster of an underwater scene.

I had them use the book, How to Draw 101 Animals, to help them with drawing their animals. I did not help them choose or draw the animals, so they had to rely on what they already knew about the ocean or what they have been learning in our book studies. (Which explains why there is un loro at the top of the poster! Ahem.)

And then we went through and labeled all the animals in Spanish. I have some more projects in Spanish to include using pictures that I have taken of their drawings. More on that later.

I've been exploring other awesome resources for learning about the ocean. And here are some of my favorites.

Ocean-Themed Crafts & Activities

First, be sure to check out my 24+ Ocean-Themed Activities for Kids! There are SO many good ideas there and most can be done in ANY language. Here are a few others that I would add:

If you need a whimsical activity, check out this mermaid fin hair clip craft by Finding Zest.
Are you reading the book, The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (it's also available in Spanish: El pez arcoíris)? If so, this Easy Rainbow Fish Craft from Jinxy Kids may be for you!

Ocean Printables

• I have a packet on Sharks of the World available in English and Spanish. This 20-page packet focuses on 12 species and includes activities to learn about the parts of a shark, the life cycles of different shark species, apex predators, keystone species, as well as interesting facts about each of the above species in the fact files for the fandex. They can then use the fandex to complete a few activities. And finally, students can review what they learned after putting together my Shark Fortune Teller.

• Homeschool and Happiness has a dolphin facts and activity printable that you may enjoy, also.

• Hess Un-Academy has this comprehensive unit study on sea turtles.

If you are looking for something a little simpler, like a one-page printable, then consider one of the following:

Creatively Beth has an ocean life word search and coloring page.
Jinxy Kids has this print-and-go Shark Word Find Puzzle.
For Spanish printables, I have these free beach-themed printables for preschoolers.

Bilingual Books about the Ocean

I have a comprehensive post of 15 Children's Books about the Ocean (in English and Spanish) that you may want to look through.

If not, here are some of the books in Spanish or English that you may enjoy:

Spanish books:

• El Mundo Marino (Discovery Guides ("Ocean Worlds")) by Francesca Baines

• Oceanos Y Mares/ Oceans and Seas (Spanish Edition) by Nicola Davies

• Habitats Acuaticos/ Water Habitats (Introduccion a Los Habitats / Introduction to Habitats) (Spanish Edition) by Molly Aloian and Bobbie Kalman

• Océanos: El planeta bajo el agua como nunca antes lo habías visto by DK Publishing