Materials
Apples
Newspaper
Folder labels
Marker
Baby food jars, one for each child
Apple stickers
Vegetable peeler
Knife (adult only)
Blender
Instructions
1. Set out a variety of shells on a table (or a sand table, if desired). Try to have at
least five different kinds of shells.
2. Ask the children to choose five shells to classify.
3. Encourage the children to classify their shells by matching them to the pictures
on the shell poster.
4. Design a graph to include the type, shape, and color of the shells as well as
anything else you feel is important, such as whether the shell is rough or
smooth. This encourages the children to really research their shells and, hopefully,
to realize that the shells are really different from each other!
5. Children can record their answers by drawing pictures. Or, you can ask questions
and make tally marks (for example, "How many of your shells are
rough? How many are smooth?" and so on).
More to do
Ask the children to seriate the shells from smallest to largest. Also tally shells in a
group. Tally shells with the same shape, size, roughness, smoothness, and so on.
Art: Make jewelry, such as a bracelet or necklace, using small shells and beads.
Decorate a picture frame with shells. Make an animal with shells be creative!
Language: Encourage the children to make up a story about a favorite shell.
Then they can illustrate the story.
