Squeak or crinkle the sea creatures to create sounds from different directions. Observe if your child’s gaze follows the sounds.
Encourage children to grasp the sea creatures with both their right and left hands.
Encourage children to squeeze and shake the sea creatures to create rattling and squeaking sounds.
Teach children the names of sea creatures.
Name different sea creatures and encourage children to point to them.
Encourage children to match the stuffed sea creatures with the printed sea creatures on the mat. For example, the dolphin should be placed in the sea and the turtle on the beach.
Allow children to make up stories, using the sea creatures as the main characters, and the ocean as the setting.
The mat can be folded in half to form a bag. This makes it easy for children to carry the toys around with them. Encourage children to place the sea creatures back into the bag after playing.