I walk into the living room to find one of my twins standing on the couch, pretend sword in hand (thanks birthday party guest) about to leap into the “sea” where my other child is swimming “surrounded by sharks” (which might appear to be pillows to the naked adult eye). There is lots of loud pirate speak volleying back and forth and for a moment I’m not sure what to think.
While I calmly remind them that jumping off the couch isn’t nice to our neighbors (apartment life is rough) my mind is reeling. Clearly we have caught the pirate bug. This isn’t an interest that I ever had but fortunately with Talk Like A Pirate Day approaching my blogging pals have tons of creative ideas!
Below are my top preschool picture book picks for a pirate worthy story time along with ideas for all things sea, pirates and scallywags from my blogging mateys.
affiliate links are included below.
Ahoy! Pirates Story Time
Our story times always have the same parts; We start with a hello song. Next, I read 2-3 books about a topic with a rhyme/song and group activity that works on a developmental goal in between each book. We end with a goodbye song and then head to the table. At the table there is an invitation of some sort that works on another one of the developmental skills they are building. These elements are all listed below so you can move them around into whatever order works for you!
Sing Hello.
Read Book About Pirates
We have a basket full of picture books about pirates right now. From laugh out loud hilarious ones to informative ones to rollicking poems and everything in between. Click the link below for our full list.
10 Best Books about Pirates for Kids from My Story Time Corner
Non-Scary Pirate Books from KCEdventures
Even More Pirate Books from Sight & Sound Reading + Lesson Plans
Sing Pirate Songs & Rhymes
4 Pirate Songs for Kids from Let’s Play Kids Music
5 Little Pirates Song from My Storytime Corner! Lyrics and printable visuals are available in my Story Time Pack along with an extra table activity. Click below for details.
Pirates Themed Activities
This post is part of the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day Blog Hop! Packed full of ideas, activities and all things to do with the sea, pirates and scallywags! Make the 19th September a fun-filled, ship-shape day and remember to have lots of swashbuckling and arrrrrring as well!
Join my pirate mateys and me by hopping over onto the posts below before you walk the plank, me hearties!
Go on a Treasure Hunt
There are a lot of different ways to do this or so I learned from asking my blogging pals – but they are all fun. We are now officially addicted to treasure hunts.
Treasure Snack Maps – Hide their snack and then draw up a map for them to go find it. Low tech but my kids love this!
Alphabet Treasure Hunt from School Time Snippets
Pirate Alphabet Hunt from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes
How to Make a Pirate Treasure Map of Your Yard Using Google Maps from Teach Beside Me
Ideas to Play and Create at the Table
After story time we head to the table to play or create. Since we had so many fun pirate books and songs (and we’re kind of obsessed with pirates right now) we did several pirate themed story times. Below are some ideas that we did with these Pirate stories along with a few extra alternatives.
Science & Math Ideas
Cooking and experimenting are two of our favorite things. These activities were some of our favorites.
Make Neverland Nuggets. We got this fun packet from What’s Cooking with Kids that included a recipe for Pirates Granola. So Yum!
Pirate Science Experiments from Share it! Science News
Treasure Math Game from A Little Pinch of Perfect
Pirate Themed Crafts & Art Ideas
My kids are huge fans of pretend play so these crafts are all geared towards things you can use afterwards to pretend and play.
Salt Dough Pirate Coins from Witty Hoots
Swirling Seascape Art from CrArty Kids
Easy Pirate Cork Boats from Red Ted Art
Make a Pirate Puppet from Sugar Aunts and retell your favorite story.
Wood Spoon Pirates from iHeart Crafty Things
Pirate Treasure Chest Craft from Messy Little Monster
Pirate Eye Patches and Pirate Looking Glasses from The Natural Homeschool
Last Minute DIY Kids Pirate Costume from Apple Green Cottage
Cardboard Roll Swords from Messy Little Monster
Paper Bag Pirate Craft from iHeart Crafty Things
Sensory Play Ideas
Do your kids love to get their hands messy? Mine sure do. We did a couple sensory bins that involved digging for treasure while we learned about pirates and here is a whole collection of ideas!
Lego Treasure Hunt from Little Bins for Little Hands
Pirate’s Map Activity from Every Star is Different
X Marks the Spot Sand Dig from Adventures with Mum
Pirate Sensory Bin from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes
Pirate Word Treasures from Every Star is Different
Pirate Playdo Mats from Picklebums
Pirate Treasure Hunt Sensory Bin Play from Let Them Be Small
