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Make a Snail and the Whale Ocean Tray

April 12, 2017 by Rosie 13 Comments

Here I’m sharing my idea for a Snail and the Whale Ocean Tray.

I expect you might have gathered by now that I LOVE everything about the ocean and I think this has rubbed off on my children too! The ocean makes for such a magical and fascinating backdrop for children’s games and stories, don’t you think?

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Recently we’ve been reading lots of ocean themed books – one of our favourites is The Snail and the Whale. If you haven’t read this book with your children already, give it a whirl, you’ll love it! It’s such a sweet story of how even a tiny creature can make a difference in saving her friend – the whale. This book is one of Little M’s favourites at bed time. We love looking at the illustrations and spotting something different every time we read it.

Little M’s imaginative play has really exploded recently, so I thought it would be fun to make him a snail and the whale ocean in a tray, as an invitation to play. This was really quick and easy to do, it literally took me about ten minutes!

You can make a similar tray just with toys and bits you already have around the house. Make one as a surprise for your child or involve them in the making. Or set them a challenge to hunt for things to go into the ocean!

I based our tray on the story of The Snail and the Whale, but you can add anything you like to your ocean! You honestly don’t need anything fancy. This is more about a simple idea to spark your child’s imagination and give them a fun play opportunity.

I’ll go through the things that I used to create our ocean tray to get you started. You’ll come up with a few things of your own to add too!

I used a foil baking tray to put the ocean in – mainly as I had one lying around! I thought the foil would look all shiny and lovely with the water. Feel free to use any other tray, or dish you might have. I put the things into the tray before adding the water.

First I put some sand in to make a beach. I used kinetic sand as it’s what we had, but any sand would do fine. Or a few pebbles or rocks – maybe something from the garden or park?

I parked up a tiny fire truck on the beach – as in the story the firemen help to rescue the whale.

I added a bit of branch which was supposed to be the island in the snail and the whale story. You could add any bit of branch or leaves – or skip that bit altogether!

A few rocks and stones made a little Antartica area. We had a lego penguin, so he went in! You could also add some seals if you had them – we didn’t! Try raiding the lego, duplo or playmobil boxes, you’ll be surprised what you find!

A big piece of rock became the ‘rock’ that the snails live on in the story. I made some snails and sea stars out of play doh. This perhaps wasn’t the best choice, as they didn’t last that long in the water! But they lasted long enough to play for a while and we had plenty of play doh! You could use something else – maybe some wire curled up? Or some little sea shells if you have some?

Finally I added a clown fish in a little shell case, a dolphin – and of course a whale. If your child collects little ‘surprise toys’ from kinder eggs, blind bags and and so on then you will probably have lots of little bits lying around! Or perhaps you have some plastic sea creature figures? They would work great! Challenge your child to see what they can find!

I put some water in a cup, then added a tiny drop of blue food colouring. I carefully poured this into the tray. That was it!

Although I tried to recreate the snail and the whale story, you can really do whatever you like – maybe make a little tide pool, or a deep sea? The possibilities are endless!

Little M absolutely LOVED his ocean tray. The exact words were “I LOVE it!” He then played with it for about an hour – job done! He tinkered about with the figures and found some other things of his own to add (and of course pointed out all the things I’d forgotten from the story! Ha!)

Will you try this at home? Can you think of anything else you could add to a snail and the whale ocean tray?

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Filed Under: Books and Activities, Crafts and Activities, Ocean Ideas

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Biscuit Please Mummy

    April 13, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    This is so lovely – and one of our favourite books. Reminds me of making miniature gardens with my mum when I was tiny! Lovely, will give it a try. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Emma

    April 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm

    Oh I want a brilliant idea. A really lovely activity to do with the children. We also love that book!

    Reply
  3. BookBairn

    April 24, 2017 at 2:11 am

    Wow! This looks great! BookBairn and I are just getting into using sensory trays and I don’t think it will be long before she enjoys small world ones too. Thanks for the inspiration – I love the idea of linking it with a familiar book! #KLTR

    Reply
  4. Helena

    April 25, 2017 at 8:57 am

    You’ve inspired me. We’ve got Julia Donaldson’s book but alas none of the sea creatures. #KLTR

    Reply
  5. suz

    April 25, 2017 at 10:20 am

    Wow. That is fantastic.
    Will HAVE to try this with the grandchildren.
    Thanks for a great post
    #KLTR

    Reply
  6. Claire

    April 25, 2017 at 11:49 am

    This is such a great ocean tray. I can see why your son loved it. #kltr

    Reply
  7. Kate

    April 27, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    What a lovely idea – such a fab book too! #Kltr

    Reply
  8. Imperfect Mum

    April 28, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Thank you for sharing! This looks fab. I love small world play. And julia Donaldson is always a big hit. We’ve read snail and the whale many times! #KLTR

    Reply
  9. Acorn Books

    April 29, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Such a fab idea! I love how creative you can be from one story. I’m sure my 4yo would love to help make a tray like this as well as play with one. #kltr

    Reply
  10. Laura's Lovely Blog

    May 10, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    The Snail and the Whale is one of my husband’s absolute favourite books to read to the children. I love the tray you have made too, so creative and imaginative. Thanks for linking up to #KLTR

    Reply
    • Rosie

      May 15, 2017 at 9:27 pm

      Thanks so much! I’m so glad that you like it. It’s one of our bed time favourites too! x

      Reply
  11. Angela Milnes

    May 11, 2017 at 4:36 am

    This is awesome Rosie! I love the effort you went to to create some an amazing activity! This is so pinterest worthy and a fabulous post! Thanks for linking up to #KLTR

    Reply
    • Rosie

      May 15, 2017 at 9:26 pm

      Thanks so much Angela! That means so much , especially coming from a fantastic blogger like yourself! xx

      Reply

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Lover of tea on the beach and avid recycler!

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