Sea Turtles are beautiful, fascinating creatures. From adorable little squirts that pile into the sea, to the calm graceful animals that ride currents and swim the length of the oceans despite overwhelming dangers, Sea Turtles are impressive. 

We had an incredible opportunity to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center a few years ago. Our kids walked away fascinated and spent the afternoon in the pool pretending to be turtles. I walked away equally fascinated and with a few new picture books about sea turtles.

When we got back home from our road trip, I set about creating a mini-unit for our three year olds on Sea Turtles to extend their learning and our Sea Turtle Unit was born.

Sea Turtle Unit

GO : Field Trip Ideas

*Aquarium

This is an obvious one, I hope. Go see some Sea Turtles swim up close at the aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is one of our favorites. 

*Science Museum

Some Science Museums, or Natural History Museums, have information about turtles. For instance, the Natural History Museum in New York has sea turtle skeletons.

*Pond

You won’t see Sea Turtles, but turtles are potentially the next best thing.

*Georgia Sea Turtle Center

If you happen to be in Georgia, the Sea Turtle Center on Jekyl Island is an awesome place to visit for sea turtle fans. 

READ : Sea Turtles Booklist

We read a lot of books about Sea Turtles after our trip. These were our favorites:

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National Geographic Kids: Sea Turtles by Laura Marsh
I love the photographs in this series of non-fiction books for kids. Simple facts, easy to read, a great first book about turtles. 2+

Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! By April Pulley Sayre
The life of a turtle is a somewhat frightening one and this can be a tricky thing to appropriately relay to a young audience. This book, however, nails it. It is equal parts factual and playful. My kids are huge fans.  2+

One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
This follows the life of one tiny turtle from being a baby to laying her own eggs on a beach. Informative and beautifully illustrated. 3+

Lifesize Ocean by Anita Ganeri & Stuart Jackson-Carter
Ever wonder how big a sea turtle would look swimming past you? Or a blue whale? This book offers you a glimpse at a range of sea animals. Awesome photos and interesting information in the back. 3+

PLAY : Sea Turtle Unit Activities

MATH

*Measuring Animals

After reading Lifesize Ocean all three of us were amazed by the size of some of the animals. I took advantage and did a basic measuring activity. I gathered a measuring tape, painters tape and the book. We went into the kitchen where there is a big empty space. First, I measured them. Being twins and about a half inch different in height, this was not overly exciting. Then we added some tape lines for different animals from the book, starting with a Sea Turtle. 

*Mapping Sea Turtles.

Our kids are obsessed with maps right now. We have a huge world map from our Little Passports program on the wall of our group area right now and they love finding things. During our Sea Turtle unit we looked for all the different oceans where Sea Turtles swim. 

SCIENCE + SENSORY

*Small World Sensory Play

Create a simple sensory invitation to reenact how turtles start. Mama Turtles bury their eggs in the sand so when Sea Turtles hatch they crawl into the water. This is one of my daughter’s favorite facts about turtles and she loves sensory play, so I tied the two together. I filled half of our sensory table with sand and the other half with water. Then I buried green gems in the sand and added some sea turtles and some of our other water toys to the water portion. 

*Watch Finding Nemo…or Dory

*Watch Finding Nemo. We don’t watch a lot of tv or movies, but this is one of my favorites and after our trips to the Sea Turtle Center and Georgia Aquarium they loved spotting different animals including Sea Turtles.

CREATIVE

*Watercolor Paintings

Many of the books we read had watercolor illustrations. Watercolors perfectly mirror the soft, watery under sea world. After looking closely at illustrations, like those in Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out, we painted our own watery creations. 

GROSS MOTOR

*Under The Sea Yoga

I’ve been doing yoga with our twins since they were toddlers. We started using these ABCs of Yoga for Kids cards this year and my kids love them. Each card has a letter, picture, and description of the pose. My children love these visuals. Our favorite routine is our Train Yoga routine, but this Under The Sea yoga routine is quickly becoming a popular request. 

UNDER THE SEA YOGA

Seated or Easy Pose. 
Invite your child(ren) to go for a boat ride out on the ocean.

Boat Pose.
Row your boat out to sea and sing “Row Row Row Your Boat” as you go.

Easy Pose.
Ask “What do we see out at sea?” (we do this in between each of the following poses and then move around like the animal)

Turtle Pose.
I see a Turtle!

Alligator Pose.
I see an alligator!

Shark Pose.
I see a shark! 

Otter Pose.
I see an otter!

Dolphin Pose.
I see a dolphin!

Fish Pose.
I see a fish!

Savasana.
Take a nap after your adventure. I invite them to close their eyes and think about their favorite animal in their mind. 

Namaste.
Back to seated pose + we say Namaste to each other. 

Find All of Our Previous Unit Themes Here

This post is included in a weekly round up of amazing unit study ideas. Check below for more Sea Turtle Themed ideas.