But let's get on with the blog so you too can start making aquariums with your little ones. When I did this lesson, I didn't jump right into making the aquariums.  Even when I do activities, I like to start off with an actual lesson first. With doing this I find that my kids are a lot more attentive because they know something fun is coming. First, we watched some fun and informational YouTube videos.  One of them taught the kids fun facts about the ocean and the other was a cool song to learn the name of the 5 oceans.  After each video I gave the kids a mini quiz to see exactly what they learned. 

    I also created a couple of worksheets to go along with the lesson.  The first was an ocean animal worksheet. In order to complete this worksheet, the kids were supposed to circle all the animals that can be found inside the ocean. The second worksheet was an ocean animal math worksheet.  My girls still need a bit more practice with simple addition, so these worked out perfectly! If you would like to get these free worksheets to add to your lesson, feel free to click the link below.

    After we got all of the learning out the way, it was on to the aquariums! This activity was pretty simple, and you can find all of your supplies at your local Walmart or on Amazon. I will say, if you have younger kids like I do, I would try to purchase some clear plastic containers like these instead of the glass mason jars. Thankfully we didn't have anything break, but I could feel myself tense up every time the kids picked up the aquariums lol.

The supplies that you will need are:

• Glass Mason Jars (Or Plastic Jar with twist cap)
• Aquarium Gravel
  
• Bottle Water 
• Blue Food Coloring
  
• Aquarium Plants (If the plants you purchase are too tall you can always trim the tops)
  
• Plastic Ocean Animals
  
• Paper Bowls or Plates

     Next I let the kids pick out which ocean animals they wanted to add to their aquariums. After they placed their animals into the aquarium I gave each kid the water bottles I prepped and they poured the water into the jars.

     Once the water was in the jars, that's it! I tightened the lids, and they were done! I quizzed them again on some coral reef facts as they watched their ocean animals float around the aquarium. We ended the homeschool day by having goldfish crackers as a snack and watching Finding Neemo.