This fun choosing activity starts the journey chronologically for the user. Two items appear. Choose one to take to the beach and see what the children think about them. Items that are sensible to pack are reinforced with a thought bubble that matches the item to its purpose (e.g. the bucket and spade show a thought bubble of a sandcastle). Some items are inappropriate and the children will reject them. Use this scene to talk about what to take on trips. When you have put four items into the car, the journey will begin! You could play the same sorting game with real objects in the classroom.

Each link screen shows what is to come in the next scene. Use it to improve anticipation skills and to introduce vocabulary. “Which colours are the flags?” “What will they wear?” “How many people can you see?”

The paddling/wading scene is an exploring activity that is designed for talking about beach safety. The children can wave to the lifeguard and he can check it’s safe to go in the water. Click on the flags and they’ll blow in the wind. In the sea the children can splash around or find interesting things. This is a scene you can explore over and over again, to talk about all aspects of playing in water safely.

Have fun build a sandcastle! Ask questions to help students describe what they will make. “How many tunnels will you have?” “Will the castle be big or small?” “Which flags do you like?” Start by selecting a bucket, and then choose where it will be placed. When all the castles have been made, select the green arrow for new options for tunnels, shells and flags to adorn the turrets. The program will always produce a good-looking sandcastle. This activity is great for group work, encouraging switch sharing and discussion.

The next link scene shows the girl walking to the shop to buy sunglasses. Talk about what else is on the stand. There are four different pairs of glasses for the girl to try on. These can prompt conversation about choice making, style, fashion and colour, as well as why we wear things to protect ourselves from the sun. Ask your students to name the shapes of the glasses. The chosen glasses remain with the girl in the next scene.

Click on a hat to make the girl try it on and hear a tune to go with it. The hats can also prompt conversation about choice making, style, fashion, colour and protection from the sun.

This page is about safety on the beach. The girl lies in the shade with her new hat and sunglasses. She can take a drink and apply sun cream. Click on her little brother to make him dig a hole in the sand. The girl reacts kindly to sand being flicked at her legs but if it is flicked in her face she will be angry. This gives students a point to discuss. When is it all right to throw sand? Where and why? Why does she put on cream? Why does she take a drink? The children model good behaviours for students to talk about.

A fun sequencing activity all about lunchtime. First, select the bread to put a slice on the plate. Then spread butter if you wish, and select any of the fillings to put them in your sandwich. You can add lots of toppings – right to the top of the screen! Add the top slice of bread and watch your sandwich being whisked away and devoured. This activity can be repeated as many times as pupils would like, and is great fun on interactive whiteboards.

The link screen shows you the eldest boy walking down the pier to use the telescope. This is a lovely scene to explore the idea of near and far, to talk about things you see at the coast, and to discover more detail through the telescope lens. Ask students questions like “What can you see?” “Who is in the boat?” “What are the children doing?” Some objects such as the hot air balloon move on and off screen, introducing early timing skills. Different sound effects accompany each choice to reinforce what is being seen.

The rock/tide pool is shown within the previous telescope activity, providing a link to this scene. This is an exploring and collecting activity. Here students can find what is hiding under the rock and weeds, then choose which creatures to collect in their bucket. Clicking on the bucket will tip the creatures back into the pool – a very important conservation topic to reinforce. Ask questions like “What do you think is hiding under the seaweed?” “How many fish have you found?” “Where else can we look?” “Can you collect three starfish?”

A sorting activity that is useful for learning about good behaviour on the beach. The learner can help sort out the trash from things to take home and things to leave on the beach, such as a crab or a starfish. Discuss why it isn’t good to leave litter on the beach, and what is sensible to take home. As each item appears, choose between returning it to the rock pool, adding it in the hamper to go home, or putting it in the bin liner. This section is also useful for practicing the new vocabulary learned throughout the many places the children have visited.