Under the Sea

This week, we started a new topic in my class- 'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'. I have themed the indoor space as 'Under the Sea' and outside as 'The Beach' (post to follow).

Here are my ideas for the 'Under the Sea' theme.

1- the ceiling

One of the best things about teaching in a mobile classroom is the low ceilings. It means that they can become part of the theme too.

For this topic, I've used thin strips of organza, in shades of blue, tied to small hooks in the ceiling for the water, There are also nets and plastic lobsters/crabs stuck in them. I have also used wider strips of organza, hanging under the strip lights, to create a wave/tide effect. Doesn't show in the pictures but there are turtle shapes cut from black card sitting in these strips to look like the turtles are swimming in the rip tide (think Finding Nemo).

2- the book corner

My current class love stories but aren't all that keen at looking at books on their own. They're too busy role-playing! I've tried to combine the two with my book corner for this topic.

I started by using a cheap grey sheet, double bed size cut in half, to cover 2 large beanbags so that they looked like rocks. I then used some old pyjama bottoms to make mermaids tails. These are simply the pyjama bottoms with the top two thirds of the legs sewn together and the bottom third attached with an elastic band. The children have enjoyed wearing them around the classroom and there's plenty of physical challenge in moving whilst wearing them!

3- the small room

We're lucky enough to have a small room, off the main classroom. We always use this as our main indoor role-play space. This term, I was inspired by the children's love of Peter Pan (after a visit to the pantomime last Christmas) so made a desert island.

I started by covering the floor in both blue and yellow display backing paper to create the sea and the sand. I also added a strip (torn to make it wobbly) of the paper up the wall to make the sea in the distance. The children have all decided that they must take their shoes off before going into this room "so we don't get sand in our shoes" so it had the effect I was looking for!

I then took 4 of our room dividers and placed them across the room, where the blue and yellow paper met. I covered them in brown paper and shaped it to look like a pirate ship. I added an Ikea table, plastic anchor, treasure map and Jolly Roger flag & bunting to the space. There's even a plank of wood for them to walk up to get into the boat.

You can also just see the dressing up clothes & accessories and the inflatable crocodile!

The 'island' needed a palm tree so this one was made from old plant pots, stacked from largest to smallest. I put plaster in the base pot to create weight and stability and used bamboo canes to hold everything together. I stuffed newspaper inside each pot to stop it dropping too far down onto the one below.The leaves were made from display backing paper and attached to the tree trunk with sellotape and the wall with pins.

The treasure chest was a brilliant gift from a colleague with connections at a local educational resource supplier. It didn't look quite like this when I got it though! It was originally brown and blue with big logos on it. I started by painting the pale brown 'planks' with an emulsion paint and then painted the dark brown edges and details with standard school water based paint. I then used metallic gold paint for the metal details and a sharpie for the wood grain.

Throughout the room, I've used elements from the Twinkl website such as labels, portholes, number coins and the bunting.

The children love it and their reactions when they first walk into the room are worth all the hard work.