Under the Sea Tic-Tac-Toe Game

We have started our ocean theme with co-op this year and are having a blast. I teach the preschoolers, and since I have 3 boys and one girl, I find I need to switch things up often during class. We usually do some sort of movement rhyme, read a story, do another movement activity, lesson and then a game. It looks like alot, but most of the activities only take about 5 minutes.For this week's class I created a tic-tac-toe game. Two of the children will be playing this game while the other two will be playing Under the Sea Memory Game.

Materials:
1 9x12" piece of blue fun foam
1 green piece of fun foam
1 brown fun foam, sandpaper or cardstock
12 circle lids (mine were lids from Dean's Milk Chugs--I love how big and chunky they are--a perfect size for little hands)
glue
clipart
ocean fun foam stickers (optional)

Procedure:
1. First measure the diameter of your lids. The lids I used were a little over 2inches wide.
2. Use a graphics program or word processing program to create the images for the tops of the lids. Since my lids were almost 2 1/2" wide, I created 2" circles using clip art from Mindy Terasawa's Sweet and Salty stickers and paper from her Sweet and Salty Kit

options: If you don't want to use clipart you can use die-cuts, stickers, or fun foam shapes.

3. Print the images and cut. Adhere onto the lids. I ran mine through my Xyron 900 sticker maker. You could use spray glue or craft glue.

4. Optional but recommended :) Use paper Mod-Podge or Krylon's Crystal Clear Spray Coating over the printed images to create a seal. This will help protect the pieces, since they will be handled frequently. When using Mod-Podge, it is best to paint a thin layer over the image and let dry for 10 minutes, then go back and do another layer. If you apply the Mod-Podge too thick, it can cause the paper to bubble.

5. Draw a tic-tac-toe grid in the center of the blue fun foam with a Sharpie marker.

6. Tear a piece of brown fun foam/sandpaper or cardstock. Adhere to the bottom of the blue fun-foam piece.

7. Cut out sea-weed from the green fun foam. Glue to the sides of the blue base piece.

8. Decorate with additional images or stickers if desired.

Extension:
Instead of playing tic-tac-toe, use the counters to create patterns. Have the children try to guess what the next piece would be in the pattern.