Celebrating Shark Week with Kids

It’s the most wonderful week of the year!

Yes, Shark Week is back and kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, June 26, on the Discovery Channel. But if you’ve been following along with this blog, you already know that every week is indeed Shark Week at our home thanks to this little guy right here.

He really loves sharks.

While most children dream of going to Disneyland or meeting Spiderman, my son dreams of going to South Africa to witness great white sharks breaching and meeting shark expert and photographer, Chris Fallows.

I dare say he knows every shark by name; his current favorite is the thresher. We’ve all become more knowledgeable about sharks through his obsession, and Shark Week documentaries are a big part of our learning. We don’t let him watch anything too bloody or gory, and we skip the shows pertaining to humans getting bitten by sharks. We focus on education — the Air Jaws series being his all-time favorite — and incorporate some quality family fun time along with it.

So if you’ve got a little shark enthusiast of your own or if you just think sharks are cool, here are some terrific kid-friendly ways to celebrate Shark Week! <•)))^><

1. Read books about sharks.

Books are a wonderful, non-threatening way for kids to learn about sharks. Even when it’s not Shark Week, we spend a lot of time reading and re-reading books and magazines featuring sharks. From our vast collection, here are five must-read books for shark lovers {according to my four year old}.

1. Usbourne Lift-the-Flap Sharks   2. Hark! A Shark! All About Sharks
3. Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks   4. Discovery Ultimate Book of Sharks
5. Wild Kratts Wild Sea Creatures

2. Make your own shark craft.

Kids love to do crafts so use this occasion to make sharks with {a} paper plates, {b} cupcake liners, or even {c} toilet paper rolls. Pair the activity with a book from the list above and you’ve got a pretty great white afternoon, if you ask me.

3. Bake shark cookies.

I made these shark-tastic sugar cookies for my son’s preschool class. The cookie recipe is delicious and the decorating is a lot of fun. Give it a go and enjoy some sweet treats with your favorite show.

4. Eat sharks for breakfast.

We swear off any foods containing shark fin in protest of illegal {and cruel} fishing practices, but I’ll gladly whip up these adorable shark-shaped pancakes using the same cookie cutter from #2. Be sure to give the cutter a good spritz of PAM before filling.

5. Search for sharks.

Download and print this fun and educational word search all about sharks. Race one other to find all the words!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

6. Get set for a snack attack.

How cute are these shark bait snack cups by Tonya Staab for MyPrintly? Print, assemble and fill with popcorn to binge watch Shark Week on your DVR.

7. Turn a watermelon into a shark.

Now this is just too cool for school. My friend carved this shark watermelon to serve an assortment of fresh fruit for my son’s fourth birthday party. I love how she decorated with blue jello and Swedish fish.

You can do it, too, and here’s how courtesy of the Watermelon Board.

8. Play “I Spy!”

My son loves to play the game, “I Spy” especially when we’re in the car. But wouldn’t it be fun to play it at home, too? This free printable from Simple Fun for Kids is a terrific way to have fun identifying and counting sharks!

9. Cheers with shark ice cubes.

Toast the start of Shark Week with this refreshing summertime drink and these fun dorsal fin ice cubes! Ice cube tray can be found here and the drink recipe here.

10. Sleep with sharks.

My son sleeps with sharks. Literally.

You can send your tikes off to dreamland with some fun shark-inspired attire, too. The sheet set above is from Pottery Barn ($59) and the shark pajamas below are from the Gap ($25). Sweet shark dreams and Happy Shark Week! — v.