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Activities for the Book Hello Ocean: Beach Shoebox Diorama

June 16, 2014 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

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I’m originally from the coast and I miss the beach so much. In fact, I think it actually intensifies as I get older.

So when summer time approaches, my mind lightly turns to thoughts of warm sand, salt air, and waves.

Unfortunately, we live several hours inland now, so a trip to the beach is not always feasible.

But we can always head to the shore with a beach shoebox diorama activity!

Sandy Beach Diorama Craft

This was such a fun summer activity and it only took a few minutes. Plus, it was a great tie-in for a beautiful beachy read-aloud!

If you enjoy this project with the kids, be sure to try our simple Coffee Filter Beach Ball Craft!

This simple beach shoebox diorama craft is a fun way for kids to create their own sandy scene!

Beach Shoebox Diorama Activity

To make this beach shoebox diorama, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Empty shoebox
  • Crayons
  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Cotton balls
  • Play sand (If you want to make your own, try our DIY play sand recipe!)
  • A copy of our Day at the Beach Diorama Pack (See below)

We decided to read the book Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan to introduce our beach theme.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

I love this book. It’s very simple for young readers and the pictures are absolutely beautiful.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

The poetry does an excellent job of capturing the feel of a day at the beach, right down to the taste of the salt water.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

After we read the book, we decided to put together a shoebox diorama featuring a beach scene.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

This was another of our super simple activities.

We only needed a shoebox, some crayons, scissors, glue, and our printable Day at the Beach Diorama Pack!

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

The kids colored the bottom and sides of the shoebox using the colors mentioned in the story: grey, blue, and green.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

We cut out the background scenes…

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

and pasted them to the bottom of the shoebox.

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

Our background is all done, so it’s time to add a few props!

Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

We cut out each upright scene image, including the bottom square, as one piece.

Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

Then we folded the bottom square under to make the image stand up.

Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

After we used a stretched cotton ball as a cloud, we poured a little play sand in the bottom and added our upright images to get a feel for the beach in our dining room! 🙂

Printable Beach Shoebox Diorama - Look! We're Learning!

Scroll down to get your printable beach shoebox diorama pack!

Don’t miss these other posts!

Make this DIY play sand for some beach fun at home!

Try some of these fun and easy summer crafts for kids with your children this year!

The Best Beach Books for Kids

To see even more fun summer crafts, follow my Summer Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

If you’d like to complete this activity with your littles, grab our free Day at the Beach Diorama Pack by clicking the image or the link below to download it!

Learning Printables from Look! We're Learning!

>>>> Day at the Beach Diorama Pack <<<<

This post is part of the “A Book and a Big Idea: Summer” linkup at iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read the great book activities of our fellow bloggers!

Summer Book and Big Idea

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: beach crafts, beach shoebox diorama, crafts for kids, kids crafts, shoebox diorama, shoebox diorama printables, summer, summer crafts

Comments

  1. Stephanie Harrington says

    June 16, 2014 at 8:58 am

    What a lovely gathering of homeschool joy!

    Reply
  2. ciwin22 says

    July 9, 2014 at 1:11 pm

    Really lovely idea! Thanks for sharing! I love dioramas.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Over 100 of The Best Book Clubs to Inspire Your Kids to Read says:
    November 27, 2018 at 8:59 am

    […] Hello Ocean by Selena at Look! We're Learning […]

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  2. 21 simple DIY summer crafts for kids | 10 So Peachy says:
    May 28, 2019 at 9:01 am

    […] This was such a fun summer activity and it only took a few minutes. Details […]

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Hi! I'm Selena, a teacher and a veteran homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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