Beach Day

What used to be called Water Day was recently turned into Beach Day.  In the past, this special reward day were strips of blue plastic table covers laid all over the floor.  Then I would have a spray bottle, on mist, that I would periodically spritz the students while calling out, “we hit a wave!”  The only rule was when moving about the room they would have to swim until they docked in their seat.  This added a bit of fun and exercise.   

As the years went on I added a little more of the extras.  Scattered throughout the floor I started placing laminated sharks.  The kids still had to swim but also avoid the sharks.  I’m a little outside of the box, so adding, "If you step on a shark you lose a toe!" wasn’t all too shocking.  They loved it!  


Evolving into Beach Day was perfect for the kids to wear summer clothing, hats, sunglasses, and of course bring a towel.  The towel was key because I was able to bring the special day outside.  Note: always plan Beach Day on a warmer month.  We grabbed our towels to head outside with a fun reading book and relax in the sun.  If by chance the weather was bad we just moved the desks aside and spread the towels out around the room and pretend to sunbath. 

This past year I really went all out and added floats.  This took planning ahead of time because I am super cheap and floats are expensive.  During the summer, before the school year started, I bought all the clearance floats I could find.  I left them in the wrapping until the special day arrived.  That morning I turned on the air compressor and brought them to life.  My van looked like a mobile fun house it was so packed.  Along with the plastic table covers I also added a mega large teal silk rope fabric, borrowed from daughter, to add more blue!  Then I grabbed all our beach umbrellas and popped those up for some fun seating options.   It was magical!!  Right before the kids came in I turned on a 24 hour tropical ocean waves sounds with video and we started our adventure.  


Side note: if you plan on keeping the floats for long term use, you might not want to let the kids relax in them.  The problem with cheap floats is that they don’t last and the second a bouncing butt lands on it outside of water they lose life forever!  

Tropical Beach Video and Waves

I also saw on Pinterest a teacher who something similar as our water themed day but used a dark blue tarp for the floor.  I love this idea because the tarp is reflective, industrial, and crunches as you walk.  You would really have to know your students though as the crinkling sound may be too over stimulating for children with sensory issues. 

Happy Teaching,
​Karen Delaney