Sharks for kids

What's here

Twelve sharks, and only one of them is the scary-movie kind. The rest are the good stuff: a shark that hides flat in the sand, one with a glowing mouth, one that swims up rivers, and the biggest fish in the whole sea, which eats only teeny-tiny food. Tap a shark and it chomps, zooms, or gulps, then shows a short fact that's true.

If your toddler has hit the shark phase, this hub is for them. If they haven't yet, give it a week.

Meet these first

• Great White Shark. Rows and rows of teeth, and new ones grow in when old ones fall out.
• Hammerhead Shark. An eye on each end of that wide flat head, so it can see all around.
• Whale Shark. The biggest fish in the whole sea, and it eats only teeny-tiny food.
• Mako Shark. The fastest shark, zooming through the water like a rocket.
• Goblin Shark. Shoots its jaws way out to grab a snack, then tucks them back in. The weirdest one here.
• Angel Shark. Flat as a pancake, hiding in the sand with fins spread out like wings.
• Megamouth Shark. A giant mouth that glows a little to gather its tiny food.
• Nurse Shark. A calm, slow swimmer that mostly rests on the sandy sea floor.

Bull shark, tiger shark, leopard shark, and sawshark patrol the rest of the hub.

How to play (60 seconds)

Make chomping jaws with your arms and let your toddler swim their hand past. Then play superlatives: "Find the fastest one." "Find the biggest one." "Find the one hiding in the sand." Sharks are naturally the-most-something, which makes them perfect for this. End with the goblin shark's jaw trick, acted out with your own face. You'll only need to demonstrate once.

Good to know

Fastest, biggest, flattest, weirdest: shark facts run on comparison words, and comparisons are vocabulary your toddler will reuse everywhere, from "biggest cookie" onward. Say the comparing word while pointing at the shark that earns it, and let them fire it back.

Keep exploring

The printables page has free word cards and a checklist for the screen-free stretch of the day.

The mako's neighbors live in ocean animals, including a whale even bigger than the whale shark. Dinosaurs has a spinosaurus that hunted fish with crocodile jaws, zoo animals has a crocodile that also never runs out of teeth, and bugs keeps the strange-creature streak going. Full theme list on the homepage.