15 rainy day ocean activities for 3-5 year olds

By Verity's mum · 23 September 2026

Some links on this page may be affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. How this works.

It's raining. Again. You've got an ocean-mad preschooler and a whole afternoon. Here's our list. Most of it uses stuff already in the house, and none of it needs a trip to the shops.

My rule of thumb: pick one messy thing, one moving-about thing and one calm thing. That's an afternoon sorted.

Messy (put a towel down)

1. Washing-up bowl rock pool

Blue water, a few pebbles, some shells and whatever sea animal figures you've got. Add a small cup or a spoon for scooping. That's it. It'll hold a four year old for longer than you'd think. If you want figures, our sea animal toys guide has the ones that last.

2. Paper plate octopus

Paint a paper plate, cut it in half, stick on eight paper strip legs. Curl the legs round a pencil. Googly eyes are compulsory. Full steps and more ideas in our easy ocean crafts guide.

3. Bubble wrap turtle prints

Paint bubble wrap green, press it onto paper, and you've got a turtle shell pattern. You do the cutting out, they do the squishing.

4. Frozen sea rescue

Freeze small sea creature figures in a tub of water the night before. Hand over the ice block, a cup of warm water and a spoon. Mission: rescue the animals. Keep it in a tray or the bath.

5. Loo roll jellyfish

Paint a cardboard tube, snip the bottom half into strips for tentacles, hang it up with string. A whole jellyfish swarm looks great in a window.

Moving about

6. Sofa-cushion submarine

Cushions on the floor, a torch, and you're going deep. Turn the lights down, shine the torch around, and "spot" creatures. Stick a few drawings on the walls first if you're feeling keen.

7. Sharks and fish

Musical statues with a twist. When the music stops, the shark catches anyone still moving. Works with two people. Works better with a grandparent as the shark.

8. Move like a sea creature

Call out an animal and everyone moves like it. Crab: sideways. Octopus: wiggly arms. Turtle: slow. Jellyfish: floaty. Dolphin: big jumps. Great for burning off energy before tea.

9. Shell treasure hunt

Hide shells (or paper fish) round the house. Give clues if they're older, just "warmer, colder" if they're younger. Count them at the end.

10. Bath-time ocean adventure

Run an early bath and make it the main event. A few sea creature toys, a cup for pouring, and a story: the turtle needs to get home, who can help? Our ocean bath toys guide covers the toys that don't go mouldy.

Calm (for when you need a cuppa)

11. Sticker book scene

An ocean sticker book is the best quiet-time tool there is. Peel the backing off the first couple of sheets before you hand it over. See our ocean sticker books guide.

12. Ocean story den

A blanket over two chairs, a torch and a pile of ocean books. Let them "read" to a teddy. Our ocean picture books guide has the ones worth having.

13. Draw the deep sea

Black paper and chalk or white crayon. Talk about how it's dark down deep, then draw glowing creatures. Nobody has to know what they are.

14. Sort the sea creatures

Tip out every sea animal toy you own. Sort them by colour, size, legs or no legs, fins or no fins. Sneaky maths.

15. Ocean jigsaw

A floor puzzle or a pocket puzzle is a good wind-down. Our ocean gifts guide has a couple we like.

Keep it easy on yourself

You don't need to do fifteen things. Two or three is plenty. Let them repeat the one they love. And if the whole afternoon ends up being the washing-up bowl rock pool, that's a win.