Beach/Ocean Sensory Box

We are planning a day trip to the beach this month so I wanted to teach my kids about the ocean and the beach this month. The bottom of the sensory box is filled with white rice (I could have used sand but I really did not want the mess and I could see my children throwing it in each others eyes!)

Here is the rest of the box:

Ocean finger puppets (IKEA)

Ocean animals by Animal Planet (Toys R Us)

Sea shells (The Dollar Store)

Little umbrellas (The Dollar Store)

Plastic Shovel

We will be reading the following books and watching the following movies this month:

Berenstain Bears By the Sea by the Berenstains
Bill Nye the Science Guy Great Big Book of Science: Oceans and Dinosaurs by Bill Nye
I Wonder Why the Sea is Salty by Anita Ganeri
Atlantic Ocean by John Prevost
Discovering my World: From Pup to Shark by Melvin and Gilda Berger
Amazing Sharks/Amazing Dolphins by Sarah L. Thomson
Reading Rainbow: Coral Reefs
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Ocean Life