Ocean Magic In Preschool

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Thank you for supporting our classroom adventures!

This week in our classroom, the ocean has found its way right into our play. There’s something so special about watching little ones dive into a theme—suddenly every scoop, swirl, and sparkle feels like a brand-new adventure.

We set up our sensory table of kinetic sand, and right away, the children’s hands got busy. Some were building little “sandcastles,” others were burying treasures deep under the surface, and a few were just slowly squishing and squeezing, fully enjoying that calming, sandy texture. Sensory play has such a quiet kind of magic—it helps children regulate, slow down, and stay fully present in the moment.

But tucked inside all that fun was a little extra sparkle. This week, we introduced our tiny sensory jars filled with glitter and letters—our “alphabet in a bottle.” The children shook them, turned them upside down, and watched the glitter swirl around before the letters peeked through like little treasures from the sea.

I loved watching how naturally they began to connect the play. One child buried the jars in the sand, then proudly “discovered” them like seashells. Another gently shook hers and shouted, “I found an S!”—the sparkle making learning feel more like magic than a lesson.

That’s the thing about preschool. The best learning often happens when the children don’t even realize they’re learning!! I can't express that enough! To them, it’s just glitter, sand, and giggles. But to us, it’s letter recognition, sensory exploration, and even early science as they wonder and notice how things move and shift.

And maybe my favorite part? The joy. The smiles as they watched the glitter dance, the quiet focus of small hands shaping sand, and the tiny voices saying, “Look what I found!” These are the moments that remind me why preschool teaching is such a gift.

When we lean into play, learning feels like discovery. And when we weave in a little sparkle—well, that’s when the magic truly happens.