Mister Seahorse

Language Arts

Phonics-Letter S
Show your child the word seahorse in the title of the book.  Point to the S and tell your child that S says "ssss" like sssseahorse.  Draw a large letter S on a sheet of paper. Allow your child to color or decorate the letter for you. Tape the paper to a box, basket, or tub. After helping your child say the "ssss" sound take the box through the house searching for things to put in the box that begin with the S sound like seahorse. Once you have gathered a few items lay them out on the floor and say their names with your child, emphasising the "ssss".

Pre-reading
Before reading the story the first time show your child the cover of the book. Ask if they know what animal is shown. Tell them that this story is about a very special animal called Mr. Seahorse. Then read the story and let your child enjoy the fun acetate pages that hide animals and reach the surprise ending.

Math

Counting
Help your child count Mr. Seahorse’s babies on the last page of the book. There are 12. Help your child gather 12 toys and practice counting to 12 again.

Seahorse Size
Seahorses come in different sizes just like people do. They can be as small as a fly or as big as a robin. Most seahorses are about 4 to 6 inches from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Draw a seahorse on paper that is somewhere between 4 and 6 inches tall. Cut around the seahorse. Have your child lay on a large piece of paper or poster board and trace around their body. (This can also be done on a sidewalk or driveway with chalk) Measure you child in seahorses!  How many seahorses tall is your child? 

Science

Animal Dads
Go back through the book with your child and take a look at the many fish fathers who are caring for their eggs. Help your child to find the different places each animal carried the eggs. Answers include in a pouch, in their mouth, on their head, even along their belly

About Seahorses
Where do seahorses live? In salt water. Seahorses like to stay in shallow water near the beach. They do not swim far out into the open sea. The best seahorse habitat has lots of things for seahorses to wrap their tails around, and moving water. The moving water helps bring prey (food) close enough for the seahorse to suck it up, like a vacuum cleaner. A seahorse eats zooplankton, very small animals in the ocean, smaller than a mosquito.

Help your child pretend to eat like a seahorse. Give them a straw and some yogurt, water, or other liquid of choice and have them drink away!

Camouflage
Take a look at the acetate pages in the book that help hide animals. Talk about how this ability to hide or blend in with their surroundings is called camouflage. Ask your child why camouflage is important or helpful to the fish. Camouflage helps animals hide from predators so they don’t become lunch!

Using plastic transparencies or page protectors and markers draw two or three different scenes on the plastic. Have one with seaweed, one with coral, one with rocks, etc. Have child take make a few fish and seahorses on paper with different colors and patterns. Try to hide the animals by laying the plastic scenes over them.

Bible

Go back through the book with your child and talk about how God created everything, from the plants to the animals to the people. God made the seahorses and all the animals throughout the book. Talk with your child about how everything reminds us of God’s love for us, especially the beautiful animals He created for us to enjoy learning about. You may remind your child that when he reads the story of Mr. Seahorse and the other fish fathers who cared for their babies to remember that God cares for them too--because He is our Father.

Art

Look through the book at the many shapes of fish and sea creatures, including Mister Seahorse. Help them to draw and decorate their very own fish and name it. Will it have any stripes, spots, or camouflage? Is it big or little? If your child is very young feel free to draw several fishy outlines for them to decorate! Cut these fish out and paste on a piece of blue construction paper, or punch a hole in the top of each fish and make a fishy mobile by hanging them on yarn or string from a hangar or rectangular piece of paper with the words "My Fishy Creations". If you use paper be sure to hole punch places along the bottom of the rectangle to tie each fish’s string.

The author, Eric Carle, uses collage to make his pictures. Draw the outline of a seahorse and give your child several pieces of different colored papers. Help them tear pieces off and glue to the seahorse until it is all covered. Then cut out the seahorse and glue to a blue piece of paper. Have the child make some collage seaweed or rocks that cover part of their seahorse so he is hiding in the ocean, if desired.

Website

The official Eric Carle website

Book Basket

Seahorses and Sea Dragons by Mary Jo Rhodes and David Hall Nonfiction title where the facts for this unit were drawn from.

One Lonely Seahorse by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers Counting book where the animals and scenery are made from fruits and vegetables! A masterpiece!

Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone Neat hide and seek book. Several pages of information in the back highlighting the sea creatures encountered in the story.