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Lapbook

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

October 17, 2021 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Why bats are not birds fun homeschool unit study and lapbook is an easy way to do a unit study with multiple ages of children.

Too, I’m mentoring Mr. Munch King now and he is doing kindergarten/first grade level work. However, you know there are many bat activities to find for younger kids, but not so much for older kids. My lapbook is geared toward older kids.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

I know you’ll love these activities and unit study resources for a fun bat unit study.

Free Bat Unit Study

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
(A bat) . . . is no bird but a winged mouse; for she creeps with her wings, is without feathers, and flyeth with kinde of skin, as bees and flies do; excepting that the Bats wings hath a farre thicker and stronger skin.
And this creature thus mungrell-like cannot look very lovely.

By John Swan

Bats are located on nearly every continent and make up 25 % of the mammal species found in the world. There are over 1400 species of bats.

Why Bats Are Not Birds

However, bats are not bird. Bats are mammals and belong to the group Chiroptera. Chiroptera means “hand-wing,” referring to how the finger bones support its wings.

What is a Mammal?

Because a bat is a mammal, look at these characteristics of a mammals.

  • They are vertebrate animals that nourish their young with milk.
  • All are warm-blooded.
  • At some stage in their development, they have hair, although sometimes it can disappear before birth.
  • True mammals give birth to live young.

Bats are the only mammal capable of flight. Several other mammals are capable of gliding for long distances.

On the other hand, birds belong to the group Aves. So bats are not featherless birds.

Bats are divided into two types of sizes: Megachiroptera, which means large bat, and Microchiroptera, which means small bat.

Further, look at some of these features of bats:

  • they sleep by day
  • they fly by night
  • in bone structure, a bat’s arm and hand are similar to other mammals
  • as mammals they give birth to live young and nurse them

Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind. They do have small eyes and sensitive vision.

In addition, bats come in a variety of sizes and species.

The Bumblebee Bat of Thailand weighs a third less than a penny and is the smallest mammal in the world. Cutest bat ever!

It’s also called Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat and they are found mostly in Thailand. The Bumblebee species is named after Kitti Thonglongya, a Thai zoologist who discovered them.

Look at some more facts here about the Bumblebee Bat.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat :World’s Smallest Mammal

However, a few other reasons why bats are not birds are because birds lay eggs and forage to care for their young. Also, bats have sharp teeth and birds do not have teeth but have beaks.

Bird and bats both fly and have strong skeletons which aids them to be strong flyers.

Blind As Bats – How Bats See

Too, you often hear people say blind as bats. Is this true? Bats are nocturnal animals. Nocturnal means being active at night rather than during the day. However, bats have excellent eyesight. Some bats hunt by using eyesight alone.

So bats are not blind. They can see better at night than humans, however echolocation is their most important sense when hunting. Bats use echolocation to find their prey.

Look at this fun echolocation activity to do with younger kids.

About Echolocation

When a bat is flying, it makes a series of high-pitched squeaks that humans can’t hear. They make squeaks, chirps, clicks, and buzzes through their mouths or noses. Since these sounds range from 25,000 to 70,000 vibrations a second, humans with an auditory range up to only about 30,000 vibrations can’t hear most of the sounds.

The sounds hit an object and bounce back to the bat, just like an echo. How do bats avoid collisions?

We don’t know exactly, but it’s possible that each animal has its individual sound pattern and is guided only by its own echoes.

Many bats have large ears or specialized ear shapes, which is thought to help with echolocation (location of objects by reflected sound).

How Bats Fly

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Attribution:
Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz)

While bats are exceedingly graceful in flight, when they fold their wings and walk they are extremely awkward creatures.

As bats skim over the surface of the water, they lap up water as they fly.

.

If you observe bats closely when they leave their roost at dusk, you can observe their wings. Bats’ wings beat much stronger and longer than those of birds.

Unlike birds, bats have a hard time taking off from the ground. They fly better by already being in the air.

Bats’ Bodies

The bodies of bats, excluding the wings, are covered with fur. While the fur of most mammals is smooth, bat fur consists of small tubes. It is the finest of all fur and in addition has the greatest numbers of hairs per square inch.

Since most bats fly at night and roost in dark places during the day, they have little need for protective coloration.

The majority of Chiroptera are dull colored, shades of black, brown, gray, and red predominantly.

The bat’s body structure, strong chest muscles, tapering abdomen, short neck and modified forearms is specially formed to support and operate the wings.

So, bats with long and narrow wings fly swiftly; those with large wingspreads are capable of long flights.

However, regardless of the shape of the wings, the design of the bones of the forearm is common to all bats. The four elongated fingers radiate and support the membrane a short thumb extends beyond the forward part of the wing and is like sharp hooked claw.

A claw also protrudes from the second finger of most fruit bats.

Where Do Bats Live – Bat Barracks

Bats live in all kinds of places: Caves, tall trees, barns, attics, and garages. They also roost, they do not build nests. However, the majority of bats roost in dark places. In warm regions, caves have curved corridors which prevents the penetration of light.

Also, while insect eating bats prefer dark retreats like caves, culverts and hollow trees, fruit bats in general do not.

A few bats have unusual homes. Certain African and Indian species share the burrow of the crested porcupine.

In addition, some bats migrate for the winter and some sleep during the winter months.

Also, look at these fun ideas and free lesson plans about caves at Homeschool on the Range.

Bat Babies

Although most bats mate in the autumn, their young are not born until spring. The majority of bats have one baby at a time.

The only bat to have more than two consistently is the American red bat which can have a litter of four.

In spring, the females go off by themselves to have their young. When the baby is about to be born, the mother hangs on the ceiling of a cave or in some other sheltered placed.

She holds on by her thumbs and her back legs, making a basket to keep the newborn bat from falling. Baby bats are tiny pink creatures when they are born, with little or no hair.

They are almost two weeks old before their eyes open. The baby clings tightly to its mother for the first week or so. It uses its hooked milk teeth and little claws to cling to her breasts and fur.

Mothers take their baby along with her when they go hunting. Since bats are good fliers, this is no problem. When the baby bats get too heavy, the mother leaves it hanging by its back feet.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Baby Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)
Attribution: Mickey Samuni-Blank

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Eastern Red Bat with three babies
Attribution: Josh Henderson

Why Do Bats Sleep Upside Down

Bats hang upside down because their knees only bend backwards, making it impossible for them to hang in other position.

However, there is a variation in the sleeping pattern of different species. Bats that sleep in the open fold their wings which are crisscrossed. On the other hand, cave-dwelling bats do not use their wings as sunshades.

Hands-on Bat Crafts and Treats

Next, nothing brings a unit study to life more than fun hands-on ways to learn about bats. Look at these hands-on bat activities and crafts.

  • Make a coffee filter bat.
  • Make a hanging bat craft for kids.
  • Flying Bat STEM Activity for Preschoolers
  • Adorable Bat Nature Craft
  • Easy How to Draw a Bat Tutorial and Bat Coloring Page
  • Handprint Bat Keepsake – Kid Craft Idea w/Free Printable Template
  • Make a bat using wooden doll pins
  • Look at these 10 Easy Bat Crafts like simple bottle top bats, hanging foam bat, edible truffle bats and sensory yarn craft to name a few.
  • How to Draw a Cartoon Vampire Bat
  • How fun – make origami bats
  • Paper Bag Bat Craft
  • Craft – Handprint Bat Flying Over the Moon
  • Craft- Bat clothes pin on YouTube
  • How to build a bat house
  • Bat headband craft
  • Chocolate Bat Cookies
  • How fun – Bat Candy Treats

Look at this fun printable bat template craft which helps with cutting skills.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Also, we made a coffee filter bat with just a few fun things we had on hand. We mostly followed the instructions at Woo Jr. You just need markers, a clothes pin, paint, and some markers along with scissors. So much fun.

Free Bat Printables

In addition, I’ve rounded up some free and fun bat printables for this bat unit study.

Image Attribution: Wise Owl Factory. (Please Pin from original sources)

Download this Free Printable Bat Diagram Work Page.

  • Fun Bat Flipbook. Flipbook are such fun. They recreate an animal moving or in this case flying. Cut out the mini pages and staple and flip through the book. So fun!
  • Fun itsy bitsy bat book for the littles
  • Fun Bat dot to dot printable
  • Bat themed coloring pages
  • Bat life cycle worksheets
  • Bat word search puzzle
  • Printable Bat Counting Cards 
  • Night Friends Bats of the America – 32 page free download Activity Guide
  • Download for free Frankie the Free-Tailed Bat book.
  • Bats A Conservation Guide – 36 page free download
  • Bats Misunderstood Creatures – 4 page free download
  • More free bat printable templates and bats with rounded ears

About Bats on YouTube and Media

  • YouTube Bats by Night | Wild Detectives
  • YouTube Meet the World’s Biggest Bat | National Geographic
  • YouTube quick lesson on bat physiology and anatomy.
  • YouTube Get to Know Vampire Bats
  • Have the story, Stellaluna read to your little at Storyline Online.
  • YouTube Into the Bat Caves of Kenya.
  • YouTube Bats have a brilliant way to find prey in the dark: echolocation.
  • YouTube vampire bats drinking blood
  • YouTube Incredible Bat Footage Shows Long, Snaking Tongues
  • YouTube Pollination and Bats in the Jungle
  • YouTube All About Bats
  • YouTube Endangered Mexican long-nosed bats pollinate agave

Books About Bats

Whether fiction or non-fiction, your kids will love some of these books about bats

MORE Bat Activities and Science Ideas

Here is another fun hands-on craft for kindergarten/first grade – bats hanging upside down in a cave. Instead of a cutting away part of a cup for the cave, we used a box. Such a fun way to pretend play.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

  • Look at this site Bat Week. Bat Week is an annual celebration of the role of bats in nature.
  • Plant a Bat Garden
  • Learn about bats in relation to the lunar cycle and study about moon phases. Look at this fun printable stackable moon phases. Also, make these fun Oreo moon phases.
  • Learn about echolocation and play a game where you blindfold one child. You tap on something in the room or have another child and see if the blindfolded “bat” can locate the sound.
  • Also, look at this mammals’ organ dissection kit for older kids if you want to focus on mammals
  • Also, go to Smithsonian Institute for Bat Facts
  • National Geographic Kids Bat Myths Busted
  • Make blood. Although only three species consume blood, it’s fun to learn how they do it without their prey knowing. Compare human blood to animal blood. Are there any differences? Too, vampire bats only suck blood normally from other animals. This is fun hands-on activity for learning about human blood.

Also, look at these fun kits for some bat science, a fun nocturnal science box and fun fall science box.

Halloween Nocturnal Animals Box
Fall Weather Science Box – $34.95

from: Green Kid Crafts

Further, you’ll love these Montana Field Guides for various species:

• Big Brown Bat
• Eastern Red Bat
• Little Brown Bat
• Long-eared Myotis
• Silver-haired Bat
• Spotted Bat
• Townsend’s Big-eared Bat

Bat Predators and Prey

Bats have few predators compared to other mammals, but diseases are harmful. Owls are one predator because they hunt at night. However, snakes and hawks eat bats too.

The bat hawk (Machaeramphus alcinus) is one such hawk. Watch this YouTube video Predators of Bats. Bats have to look out for other raptors like red-tailed hawks and orange-breasted falcons.

Also, did you know there is a bat falcon? The bat falcon eats other rodents too, but also hunts bats.

However, nothing compares to the white-nose syndrome disease. The disease is named for a white fungus on the muzzle and wings of bats.

Around the world bats eat fruit, nectar, frogs, mice, fish, blood, and insects.

Bats as Pollinators

Bats provide many important things and one is spreading pollen. About 50 bat species feed just on nectar. Others are omnivores, feeding on fruit and insects as well as nectar.

So, when bats visit flowers for food they spread pollen. Bats are primary nighttime pollinators. Bats pollinate over 300 species of fruit like banana, mango, guava and tequila agave.

From the U.S. Forest site:

The flowers that are visited by bats are typically:

  • Open at night;
  • Large in size (1 to 3.5 inches);
  • Pale or white in color;
  • Very fragrant, a fermenting or fruit-like odor; and/or
  • Copious dilute nectar.
Bat covered in pollen.

Bat Quiz

All bats are carnivores.

False-A large group of bats, known as megachiroptera live on fruit and pollen. Most of the bats in the U.S. are insectivores.

Bats fly around your head and get tangled in you hair.

False-Bats may come in for a closer look but are far too smart to get tangled in your hair.

Vampire bats are huge bloodsucking bats that are all over the world.

False-Vampire bats are small bats that live only in South America. They don’t suck blood-they lick it up after making a cut with their teeth.

The world’s largest bats have a wingspan of nearly seven feet.

True-Flying foxes have a wingspan that can reach nearly seven feet.

Few More Bat Books

Furthermore, once you start looking, you’ll find a mix of fiction and non-fiction books about bats for all ages.

I used an older book I have, Wonders of the Bat World by Sigmund A. Lavine. to guide me for content for the lapbook. I love older books. Look at some more books below.

Batty About Art

Then, here is a fun and easy arts and craft project for the younger kids.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Make some fun silhouette art by using sponge painting and a template on cardstock.

This idea was found here at how to make bat silhouette art.

Also, look at this black bat silhouette watercolor lesson.

Bat Poetry

Next, no unit study is complete without a focus on some fun language arts.

Look at this poem, The Bat by Theodore Roethke.

By day the bat is cousin to the mouse.
He likes the attic of an aging house.

His fingers make a hat about his head.
His pulse beat is so slow we think him dead.

He loops in crazy figures half the night
Among the trees that face the corner light.

But when he brushes up against a screen,
We are afraid of what our eyes have seen:

For something is amiss or out of place
When mice with wings can wear a human face.

And then look at these questions to focus on the meaning:

  1. Why does he compare what the bat does during the day with the night? He possibly may be conveying the idea that the bat is misunderstood and is just a simple elegant creature or is the writer conveying that everyone has a side we never see?
  2. What are two metaphors in the poem? a) When mice with wings can wear a human face. We may view the bat as a dark creature, but the writer wants us to know that they can be like humans. b) By day the bat is cousin to the mouse. The writer compares the bat to the mouse to help us see bats through his eyes as something familiar and not dark like many tales about bats.
  3. Did you notice the writer alludes to both a bat’s sight and hearing which are of great interest to us?

Try a little Batty Math

Next, this fun video is a great way to practice observation skills for any age.

From the site: Count the bats — how do your skills compare to a bat biologist’s?

World War II Project X-Ray and Bats

Project X is a plan conceived by the Unit States Army to use bats to destroy enemy installations during World War II. It may seem outlandish, but two million dollars was spent on perfecting the Project X plan.

Bat Bomb Canister

Scientist and members of the armed forces captured thousands of bats in New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns. Then a one-ounce bomb which produced a 22-inch flame and burned for eight minutes was harnessed to each bat.

The bats were put into crates with parachutes and loaded onto airplanes. The airplanes dropped the crates on testing sites and the parachutes opened at 1,000 feet automatically.

The bats then flew to a roost, often a cave or eaves of a building. Then they chewed off their harness and flew away, leaving the bombs behind which exploded. They destroyed many “town testing sites”.

Whether they actually used the bats or not is a military secret.

Bat Viewing Spots

A zoo is a great place to view bats both common and rare species. If you are on a lake or stream at dusk, watch bats as they as they skim over the surface of the water. You’ll notice them lap up water as they fly.

Bracken Cave here in Texas right outside of San Antonio is the summer home of more than 20 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats. It is a must visit. (Please note, the land is privately owned by Bat Conservation and you need to make arrangements to visit.).

Read more about Bracken Cave here on National Geographic.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook. Your kids will love studying about bats in the fall or anytime. Hands-on ideas for multiple ages to learn about the various kinds of bats. Grab the unit study ideas for multiple ages and the bat lapbook for older kids. CLICK HERE to grab it at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Bats are amazing creatures! For many years, people thought bats were diseased, dirty and evil. In general, bats are very helpful creatures.

Farmers even set out bat houses so that bats will roost there and protect their crops from massive insects.

Despite superstition, bats are usually peaceful creatures. They are the only flying mammal with a unique miniaturized sonar system.

Bat Lapbook

Your kids will love this fun lapbook. As I mentioned earlier, I know many activities exist for younger kids, so I gear my lapbooks toward older kids. This lapbook is aimed for upper elementary to middle school. However, because you get the same lapbook in two ways – one which has minibooks with facts filled in and the other one with blank minibooks, you can really use this lapbook for ANY age.

If you’re using it for high school, you can count the hours as part of a science credit and if you want to give a grade to the project itself, you decide.

Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

Awesome Features of the Bat Lapbook:

  • Aimed at upper elementary to middle school, but the lapbook with blank minibooks could be used for high school.
  • This is a .pdf  instant downloadable product and not a physical product.
  • You are paying for the printables, the lapbook.
  • My lapbooks are created for multiple ages.
  • Most of the minibooks have facts which accompany the minibook and a lot of the minibook are offered two ways. One way where your child uses the facts provided and another way where your child can add his own research and not use the inside pages.
  • You can use any reference materials, books, or online resources to complete the lapbook.
  • I don’t provide links in the lapbooks for filling in the information. This keeps my prices low for my products, but I do try to provide free links on my site as I can.
  • Because I have been a working homeschool mom for more of my journey than not, I need flexibility for using lapbooks. Proving a few facts from the main resource I use is one way I have of saving you time and giving you flexibility in how to use the minibooks.
  • Too, some of your kids may be older and you want them to do more research and some of your kids may be reluctant writers so you may want to mix and match pre-filled minibooks with blank minibooks. Flexibility is the key to my lapbooks.

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer. Read carefully what you get on your digital download.

  • Dynamic Why Bats Are Not Birds Lapbook For Multiple Ages

    $2.75
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Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

More bat links you’ll love:

  • Bat Conservation is dedicated to conserve the world’s bats and their ecosystems to ensure a healthy planet.
  • Search the Bats Magazine archive at BatCon.
  • Free Nocturnal Animals Lapbook
  • Bats Live
Why Bats Are Not Birds Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

You’ll love my other free unit studies below:

  • Fascinating and Fun Honey Bees Unit Study and Lapbook for Kids
  • Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook.
  • Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook.
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook.
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook.
  • From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Hands-On Activities, Lapbook, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Nature Based Activities, Science, Science Based Tagged With: bats, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, lapbook, life science, middleschool, nature, nature study, science

Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

February 27, 2021 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The beauty of unit studies is the ability to combine multiple subjects. This famous and historic trees fun study combines nature, history, and geography. Add in some art and music and it’s a memorable unit study.

Famous and Historic Trees

So today, I rounded up some fun resources for creating a famous and historic trees nature and history unit study.

Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

First, look at this book we fell in love with which gave us us the kick start to our ideas.

Celebritrees Historic & Famous Trees of the World states its for grades 2 to 4, but this idea can be used for a super great unit study for multiple ages.

Besides, the history and legend of the famous trees in the book gives plenty of chance for a deep unit study.

Also, there are plenty of books about the nature of trees and science and even poetry, but we loved learning about the famous trees of the world.

Although the book only lists 14 famous and historic trees of the world, you could easily add other features to the search besides the oldest, tallest, or biggest trunk.

Science of Trees

Next, add in a bit of science. How are trees defined? Look below at some of their characteristics.

Trees usually have a single stem, or trunk.Trees are woody plants.
Trees are at least 15 feet tall.Trees have a branched-out top called a crown.

Trees clean the air, give shade, cool our house, conserve energy, and attract songbirds. Trees reduce erosion and conserve energy.

Furthermore, look at the information on the historic trees.

Learning about the Methuselah Tree

The Methuselah Tree has lived more than 4,600 years. It is a Bristlecone Pine and it’s located in California.

  • Methuselah Tree Lesson Plan
  • A Bristlecone Pine Named ‘Methuselah’
  • Here is an outline map of California
  • About the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine
  • Read about the Bristle Cone Pine here
  • Learn about California history here

Moon Trees

Stuart Roosa was a former U.S. Forest Service worker who orbited in the command module of the Apollo 14 in 1971. He conducted scientific experiments in lunar orbit. He put hundreds of tree seeds in a packet and took with him to space.

When he got back to earth, the seeds were germinated and are known as “moon trees” and are found all over the U.S. and the world.

  • Read about the Moon Trees here.
  • Where on Earth Did NASA Plant Moon Trees
  • Moon Trees Stand as Living Testaments to First Voyages to Moon
  • Making of a Moon Tree Map

Famous Scythe Tree

This next tree is in Waterloo, New York and the Balm-of-Gilead stands as living monument to a young soldier that went off to fight in the American Civil War.

  • Scythe Tree
  • Read about the Story of the Scythe tree
  • New York word search
  • Here is a mini unit study too about New York.
  • Why is an Upstate NY historian trying to save a really old tree?
  • Map where some animals live in New York
  • New York Outline Map
  • Read more about the Balm of Gilead

Prison Boab Famous Tree

Another tree is the Prison Boab which is located in Australia.

It is a Baobab tree. It has many names. One is the Upside-Down Tree because it’s branches look like roots and it’s also just named Boab.

  • Derby Boab ‘Prison Tree’
  • Read here Inventing a Colonial Dark History: The Derby Boab ‘Prison’ Tree
  • Boab Trees YouTube
  • The Boab Prison Tree
  • Read The First Australians
  • Five-Day Australian Mini-Unit
  • Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art

The Tule Tree

El Árbol del Tule (The Tule Tree) is located in Santa María del Tule, Mexico. It is a Montezuma Cypress and it’s estimated to be 1,400 years old.

  • Read about the Taxodium mucronatum tree here
  • Mexico geography
  • Mexico Lapbook
  • Read more about the Montezuma Baldcypress
  • Learn some facts about Mexico from National Geographic

Chapel Oak Famous Tree

Another famous tree is the the Chapel Oak which is located in Allouville-Bellefosse, France.

It is a huge oak with two chapels inside and a spiral staircase. It looks like something out of a fairy tale.

It is one of the biggest and oldest trees in France.

  • Read about the Le Chêne Chapelle (The Chapel Oak)
  • The Peculiar Chapel Of Allouville-Bellefosse
  • Look at this France Unit Study
  • Trees poem
  • Getting to Know France worksheet
  • The Ancient Oak Tree Chapel as Old As France Itself
  • Learn About the Geography of France by Creating A Solar Oven
  • Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns

Ficus Religiosa or The Bodhi Tree

This is a kind of fig tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka which is sacred to the Buddhists. They believe Buddha gained “bodhi” or enlightenment while sitting under it and meditating.

  • You can read about the fig tree here.
  • Geography for Kids about Sri Lanka
  • Read here about the characteristics of the tree
  • Map of Sri Lanka

The Famous and Historic General Sherman Tree

In the Sequoia National Park in California is the General Sherman or a giant sequoia.

The giant sequoias are very special because they are among the oldest and largest living things on earth. The General Sherman Tree, found in Sequoia National Park, is the largest living thing on earth. It is 274.9 feet tall, has a circumference (4.5 ft. above the base) of 83.2 feet, a base circumference of 102.6 feet, and a volume of nearly 58,000 cubic feet.

  • Read about the General Sherman here
  • 12 page lesson plan
  • Our Giant Sequoia Forests 12 page beautiful download
  • The largest trees in the world
  • The Giant Sequoia curriculum pdf

MORE Famous and Historic Trees of the World

There are other trees too to read about like

  • Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree
  • Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree (Woolsthorpe, England)
  • Dueling Oaks in New Orleans, Louisiana
  • The Major Oak, Sherwood Forest, England
  • and the Emancipation Oak (Hampton, Virginia).

Study Tree Art

Add some beautiful art to your study about historic trees. Read about Joseph Farrington and his The Oak Tree. Read about Paul Cezanne and his Forest art.

Also read about Georges Seurat and The Morning Walk.

The Oak Tree by Joseph Farrington
Forest by Paul Cezanne

Also, look at Hands-On Literature Nature Study: Simple Tree Craft.

Tree Poetry

Learning and memorizing poetry about trees could also be copywork or to make nature journals.

Loveliest of Trees, The Cherry Now by A. E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.


Binsey Poplars by Gerard Manley Hopkins

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
   Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
   All felled, felled, are all felled;
     Of a fresh and following folded rank
                Not spared, not one
                That dandled a sandalled
         Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.
   O if we but knew what we do
          When we delve or hew—
     Hack and rack the growing green!
           Since country is so tender
     To touch, her being só slender,
     That, like this sleek and seeing ball
     But a prick will make no eye at all,
     Where we, even where we mean
                To mend her we end her,
           When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
   Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
      Strokes of havoc únselve
           The sweet especial scene,
      Rural scene, a rural scene,
      Sweet especial rural scene.


The Way through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling 


They shut the road through the woods
      Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
      And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
      Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
      And the thin anemones.

     Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
      And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
      Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
      Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
      Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse’s feet,
      And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
      Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
      As though they perfectly knew
      The old lost road through the woods.
But there is no road through the woods.

Famous and Historic Trees of the World Lapbook

Too, I’ve created this fun famous and historic trees lapbook to use with this fun unit study.

Awesome features of my lapbooks.

  • Aimed at elementary to high school.
  • This is a .pdf  instant downloadable product and not a physical product.
  • You are paying for the printables, the lapbook.
  • My lapbooks are created for multiple ages. I aimed for elementary to high school for this lapbook. One of my reasons for aiming this lapbook for the upper grades is that I use a cursive font for the minibooks filled in with information.
  • Most of the minibooks have facts which accompany the minibook and a lot of the minibook are offered two ways. One way where your child uses the facts already provided by the minibook filled in and another way where your child can add his own research and not use the inside pages. Blank pages are provided for your student’s research.
  • You can use any reference materials, books, or online resources to complete the lapbook.
  • I don’t provide links in the lapbooks for filling out the information. This keeps my prices low for my products, but I do try to provide free links on my site as I can.
  • Because I have been a working homeschool mom for more of my journey than not, I need flexibility for using lapbooks. Proving a few facts from the main resource I use is one way I have of saving you time and giving you flexibility in how to use the minibooks.
  • Too, some of your kids may be older and you want them to do more research and some of your kids may be reluctant writers so you may want to mix and match pre-filled minibooks with blank minibooks. Flexibility is the key to my lapbooks.

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer. Read carefully what you get on your digital download. If you have questions, email me FIRST at tina homeschools AT gmail DOT com.

  • Dynamic Famous and Historic Trees Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $2.75
    Add to cart
Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

More Tree Facts

Also, you’ll love these resources for studying about each of these varieties of trees.

  • Where do trees get their mass from YouTube
  • Parts of tree
  • Benefits of trees
  • Download tree diversity sheets with some fun fact cards
  • 680 Tree Fact Sheets

You’ll love these other studies:

  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors
  • Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook.
  • Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook.
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook.
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook.
  • From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook.
  • Colorful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Unit Study.
  • Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

Hugs and love ya

4 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Geography Based, History Based, Lapbook, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Nature Based Activities Tagged With: geography, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschool geography, homeschoolgeography, homeschoolscience, lapbook, lapbookresources, life science, nature, nature study, science, sciencecurriculum, trees

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

January 30, 2021 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Studying the history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and Chisholm Trail is a fun and fascinating one. Cowboys, cattle drives and the Chisholm Trail all embody the spirit of a Texan.

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Free Unit Study

Being born and raised in Texas, I grew up going to rodeos, knowing about cattle drives, and watching wide open spaces of grazing cattle as the norm.

As a native Texan too, my husband grew up with ranching and rodeoing in his life and family. He comes from a family of cowboys. I couldn’t wait to do a unit study focused on the history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and the Chisholm Trail.

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

With fond memories, I recall the first time I heard the poem Cattle by Berta Hart Nance (1883-1958).

Other states were carved or born,
Texas grew from hide and horn.

Other states are long and wide,
Texas is a shaggy hide.

Dripping blood and crumpled hair;
Some fat giant flung it there,

Laid the head where valleys drain,
Stretched its rump along the plain.

Other soil is full of stones,
Texans plow up cattle-bones.

Herds are buried on the trail,
Underneath the powdered shale;

Herds that stiffened like the snow,
Where the icy northers go.

Other states have built their halls,
Humming tunes along the walls,

Texans watched the mortar stirred
While they kept the lowing herd.

Stamped on Texan wall and roof
Gleams the sharp and crescent hoof.

High above the hum and stir
Jingle bridle rein and spur.

Other states were carved or born,
Texas grew from hide and horn.

A lot of Texans view their state differently from how other states grew. After the American Civil War, it was cattle which helped to make Texas grow. Also, ranching was a big part of Texas growth.

This study is about the grit, hardiness, and stubbornness early Texans embodied and how they passed it down to our generation.

So in this history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and Chisholm Trail, I’ve rounded up some helpful resources to teach your kids about Texas.

Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

I aimed at resources for elementary ages to about middle school, but as with all my resources you decide which ages to use them for.

The American Civil War {1861-1865} had almost destroyed the United States, but by 1867 the United States found peace again.

Long-horned cattle, which were introduced in part by the Spanish roamed freely upon the plains.

Ranchers noticed that the longhorn turned out to be particularly well adapted to the harsh and arid conditions in the West. 

So thousands of head of cattle were rounded up from pastures in southern and central Texas and herded hundreds of miles north to Kansas.

Cattle drives were a celebrated event of this time period.

Between fascination with the American legend of a cowboy and a transitional time period in American history this brief, but captivating moment in history attracts learners of any age.

Too, with the invention of refrigerated railroad cars in the 1870’s it also made it possible to ship fresh beef anywhere in the country.

I used the Texas Chisholm Trail by the Texas Historical Commission to use as a guide for this lapbook. It’s a free wonderful educator’s guide, but of course you can use any resource you have.

First, there were at least four cattle drives during the 19th century. They were the The Chisholm Trail, The Goodnight-Loving Trail, The Western Trail and The Shawnee Trail.

The Chisholm Trail has at least 7 names: Abilene Trail, the Cattle Trail, the Eastern Trail, the Great Texas Cattle Trail, the Kansas Trail, McCoy’s Trail and the Texas Chisholm Trail.

Lesson Plans History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

  • Beef basics. Fun lesson plan about beef products and terms to understand about cattle
  • Make a Brand for Yourself the Cowboy Way
  • Coloring page – longhorn
  • Make Your Cattle Brand
  • The Old Chisolm Trail – Lots of interesting background information and pictures to explain the Chisolm Trail
  • Texas Frontier Timeline
  • Texas Cowboys and Myths 5 page pdf download
  • Hit the Trail – 10 page pdf about cattle trails
  • Ranching Heritage – 10 page pdf with fun trail cards and background information
  • Measure the width of longhorns. 4 page pdf. You’ll love the math lesson
  • Texas Cattle Trails. Great site for history
  • Build a Calf and pictures for different breeds
  • The Cattle Drive and Westward Expansion
  • Cowboys:Vaquero – 6 page pdf about cowboys, cattle trails and glossary
  • Longhorn Cattle – Wonderful background information about the ancestors of Texas longhorns
  • Cowboy Word Search
  • Learn about the King Ranch, one of the oldest ranches in Texas
  • Longhorns of the Big Bend 63 page pdf wonderful and interesting information about Texas and the cattle industry and history of the longhorn
  • The Lone Star State 3 page pdf fun reading about Texas facts
  • What Does a Cowboy Do? Lesson with fun printables about cowboys
  • The Old Chisolm Trail Cowboy Song YouTube
  • Chisholm Trail cattle drive YouTube. In this episode Rick pushes Texas longhorns up the Chisholm Trail to the Ellsworth railhead.
  • Marty Robbins Sings ‘Whoopee Ti Yi Yo.‘ YouTube
  • The Chisholm Trail YouTube. Created for the elementary classroom. This is a basic overview of what the Chisholm trail was, how it was used and the reasons behind the cattle drive.

Texas Size Vocabulary Words

  • Cattle Kingdom – An industry based on cattle ranching that arose on the open range from Texas to Canada during the 1800s.
  • Texas Rangers – Law enforcement to keep the law in frontier Texas.
  • Tejanos – A person of Mexican heritage, but considers Texas home.
  • King Ranch – Ranch in South Texas that is one of the most important cattle operations in the state.
  • brands – identification marks on livestock made with burning irons
  • barbed wire – a wire used in fencing that is made with points, or barbs, placed at intervals to prevent livestock from crossing the fence
  • vaqueros – from vaca (cow) cowboy
  • wrangler – one who herds or cares for livestock on the range
  • XIT Ranch – Ranch established by the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company which was funded by investors from Chicago and Great Britain.
  • Longhorn – a hybrid breed of cattle that descended from Spanish and English stock; the main breed used in Texas ranching

Field Trip Ideas for History of Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives and Chisholm Trail

  • You’ll love this page Off the Beaten Path: Drive Up the Chisholm Trail’s Less-Traveled Routes to give you ideas of where to go here in Texas.
  • Landmark Inn – 1850s store
  • Fort Griffin – Fort from 1867 to 1881
  • The Alamo – Well known of course and still a fun place to visit
  • However, another longtime favorite of ours is the Buckhorn Saloon Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum in San Antonio. If you want to learn about cowboy country, you have to visit this one.
  • We love visiting the Barrington Plantation which is the last home of Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas. They have a fun program for homeschoolers which includes hand-on activity.
  • The Star of the Republic Museum is on the same property as the Barrington Farm.
  • Varner Hogg Plantation. Yes, it’s true Gov. James Hogg named his daughter Ima Hogg.

Hands-on Ideas For a Texas Unit Study

Next, you’ll love a few ideas for some hands-on fun to study about Texas.

  • Make some easy Texas chili.
  • Eat cactus.
  • Easy fun watercolor sunset
  • Love the smushed coke can cowboy and cowgirls and cowboy glyph
  • Study this piece of art, Outlier by Frederic Remington.By the time of the painting most Native Americans had been forced onto reservations. What is the mood of the painting?
  • Then download my lapbook below.
  • Build the Alamo.
  • Make an Armadillo
  • Fun tissue bluebonnet craft
  • Make a tornado in a bottle
  • If a kid has never seen barbed wire which basically ended the open ranges of Texas, make some fun and fake barbed wire here.
  • Candle making with kids

Field Trip to Washington on the Brazos, Star of the Republic Museum, Barrington Farms and Buckhorn Museum/Texas Ranger Museum
(don’t miss any of these places)

  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail 1
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Buckhorn Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Barrington Farms Anson Jones Home Republic of Texas
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Learn about brands
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Barrington Farm
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Texas Rangers
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Chuck Wagon at Buckhorn Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Chuck Wagon at Buckhorn Museum San Antonio, Tx

PURCHASE THE LAPBOOK BELOW:

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • Dynamic History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $2.75
    Add to cart
History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Free Unit Study

Look at these other fun ideas:

  • Texas Native American History Quick Unit Study (Middle School)
  • How to Build the Alamo: Day 5 Hands-on Learning (Free Texas Unit Study)
  • Free Copywork Cattle A Texas Poem For a Fun Unit Study
  • 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 12
  • Plains Indians. Unit Study & Lapbook
  • Exploring Edible Cactus: Day 4 Hands-on Learning (The Desert)

Hugs and love ya,

4 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Geography Based, Hands-On Activities, History Based, History Resources, Lapbook, Lapbooks, Middle School Homeschool, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas} Tagged With: american history, geography, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, historyspine, homeschoolgeography, homeschoolhistory, lapbook, modern history, Texas, texasunit

7 Super Easy and Free Nature Lapbooks Guaranteed to Beat Boredom

December 11, 2018 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Nature studies revive the most listless learner and teacher. Today, I have 7 super easy free nature studies and lapbooks guaranteed to beat boredom.

Free Nature Studies

Hands-on learning is best because it actively engages the brain. And getting outside is always a way to ground my kids (ha ha corny pun intended.)

I know it’s not always easy to get outside, but whether you live in a snow covered or snow bare area like I do here in Texas, one or two of these nature lapbooks will work.

7 Super Easy and Free Nature Lapbooks Guaranteed to Beat Boredom

With boys it can be hard to separate the feeling of being refreshed and letting off energy while being outdoors and the same positive feeling they get with exercise. They’re synonymous right?

3 Benefits of Studying Nature

I don’t try to separate the two anymore because being outside or studying nature has a way to revive and renew you and your child’s sluggish feelings.

Look at these three benefits of studying nature and why I was focused on adding more to our year

1. Nature-based learning reduces over stimulation.

It’s easy to fall into a rut of being inside and doing book work. It’s simple. Kids can be over stimulated by being contained indoors.

2. Nature-based learning increases motivation, curiosity, and creativity.

As educators we also can fall int our own rut. We may think that unless we can put a letter grade beside a skill, it may not be important.

Nature has a way of shifting focus and increasing creativity.

When a kid can study the patterns in nature, not to mention see the colors and sights it gives them a natural shift in focus. A shift in focus spurs creativity.

Creativity spills over into academic skills that we can put a letter grade to like writing and math.

Also, be sure to check out a lot of the activities at Ellen McHenry’s Basement Workshop. We love a lot of their fun ways to keep learning engaging and fun.

The Basement Workshop Store

3. Nature-based learning can reduce anxiety and stress.

Let’s face it. Homeschooling can be just as stressful for our kids as it can be for us as the educator.

We know it shouldn’t be like and in our anxiousness we can over push.

Studying nature allows our kids to step back and focus on the natural wonders of the world.  There is something calm about watching the waves whip up onto the shore. It can reduce stress and clear your kids’ mind.

There are more benefits to nature-based learning or being outside so I know you’ll love these free nature-based unit studies to add to your curriculum.

Too, don’t forget that if you have a backyard, you have a place for nature study.

Backyard Science ebook

7 Free Nature Studies and Lapbooks.

Additionally, I know you’ll love the nature studies and lapbooks below to help your kids beat the boredom.

Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook

One/ Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook.

Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook.

Two/ Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook.

Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook.

Three/ Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook.

Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook.

Four/ Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook.

From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook.

Five/ From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook.

Colorful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Unit Study.

Six/ Colorful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Unit Study.

Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

Seven/ Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

Lastly, the unit study resources have been linked above, but the free printable nature lapbooks are a subscriber freebie.

How to Download the Lapbooks.
They are Subscriber Only Gifts.

From time to time, I do Subscriber Freebies only. This lapbook is a subscriber freebie. I do this to show my appreciation and because I want you to follow me and give me a chance to make a difference in your homeschool.

Too, when you join my email list, you get access to my Subscriber’s Only Exclusive Library of Freebies.

This is how you get access to this form quickly.
1) Sign up on my list.
2) Go to to your inbox and confirm your email.
3) Look for the automatic reply giving you the password to the private subscriber’s area. You should have it soon.

IF you are already a follower/subscriber, PLEASE do NOT email me asking how to find it. You may not want to wait on me replying since I get bombarded with emails.

IF you’ll find the MOST RECENT email from me, the password and link to the Subscribers Area are ALWAYS at the bottom of every email. Look for the most current email since I change the password frequently.

How do you add nature-based learning to your every day?

7 Super Easy and Free Nature Lapbooks Guaranteed to Beat Boredom. Nature studies revive the most listless learner and teacher. Grab these beautiful printable lapbooks and hands-on unit study nature study ideas at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus!

You’ll love these other articles and fun tips:

  • How to Make an Easy Nature Paint Brush With Kids
  • 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors
  • Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science
  • Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity
  • Free Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages & Easy Hands-on Science Activity
  • Hands-On Nature Study: Bird Color Bar Graphing Activity
  • Middle School Hands-on Science : Extreme Winds + Free Minibook
  • How to Grade Hands-on Homeschool Activities and Projects (Free Rubric for Grading)

Hugs and love you,

Whether your kids are having winter doldrums or you feel like your kids learning has become stagnant, nature studies can revive the love of learning. CLICK HERE to grab these 6 Free Nature Study Unit Studies and Lapbooks!

.Whether your kids are having winter doldrums or you feel like your kids learning has become stagnant, nature studies can revive the love of learning. CLICK HERE to grab these 6 Free Nature Study Unit Studies and Lapbooks!

Leave a CommentFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Hands-On Activities, Lapbook, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Science, Science Based Tagged With: earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, lapbook, lapbookresources, life science, nature study, science, sciencecurriculum

Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook

August 20, 2018 |
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Whether you study a pond in winter or summer, a pond unit study makes for a great hands-on science project. You can add in so many different nature topics.

There are just as many things that grow above a pond as there are that live below in a pond.

Pond Unit Study and Lapbook

Look at these resources that I gathered up for a pond unit study and then I have a nifty lapbook for you too. Like most all of my unit studies, I give you ideas for Prek to High school.

Looking for a fun and free multiple age Pond Unit Study and lapbook? You’ll love these resources whether you study a pond in the winter, summer, spring or fall. Check out this what is above and what is below in a pond homeschool unit study and free awesome lapbook. CLICK HERE!!

Ron’s pond scum. Neat site with pictures taken through a microscope.
Life in a drop of pond water.
Earth’s Kids – ponds and wetlands science.
A virtual pond dip.
Pond science.

Water holes to mini-pond lesson plan.
Who lives in a pond minibook.
At the pond for the littles
.
Pond scum microorganisms.
Small pond creatures.

Pond water web.
Pond life identification.
Let’s visit a pond PreK lesson plan.
Pond animal life printout.
15 Swamp Craft & Activity Ideas.

Missouri pond handbook. Neat resource with lots of information.
Pond ecology.
Pond Theme Activities – Stem – Free Printables
What’s in this water.
Pond life theme for Prek.

Pond Hands-on Ideas

Plastic bag pond.
Explore a pond.
Tadpoles and frogs.
Free land and water form cards.
Wide mouthed frog craft printable.

Pond Sensory Bin.
Cattails craft.
Coffee filter lily pad.
Duck craft handprint.
Pond Dipping Spotter Form.

Pond And Stream Science Activities For Kids.
25 Water Hands-On Activities for Kids.

Above and Below in the Pond

Life in a Pond.
Nature Study: A Week at the Pond.
Identifying pond animals.
Life in a pond study guide.
Studying pond creatures.

Spring to life ponds teachers guide.
Learning Places Pond Unit.
Teachers Guide to Wetland Activities.
Beaver’s teachers guide.
Vernal Ponds: Seasonal Habitats for Wildlife. 

Cattail – this edible plant is also an excellent source of weaving material, tinder, and insect repellent.
The Pond Ecosystem.
The Food Chain in a Pond.
Macroinvertebrate Match-Up Cards.
Wetlands Ecosystem teacher’s guide.

When we did our unit study, I used one book that we had and one book that we wanted.

One book I have because it has easy hands-on activities. It’s the book Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers) and the one I had to have is Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin’s Press) because it’s packed with so much information about pond life.

Together these two books made for a great pond study.I was SO pleased with this tiny little guide packed with a HUGE amount of information.

Literally, this guide could fit in a shirt pocket. It’s the perfect size to take to study a pond, stream, or other wetland area.Besides having colorful illustrations which are not goofy looking but perfect for the science-minded, it is chock-full of facts about plants and animals of the pond.The chapters like Characteristics of Water, Habitats, Food Webs, Observing and Collecting, and then Plants and Animals. The plants and animals sections are divided into groups along with pictures of each group.

I’m really pleased with this little guide Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin’s Press).

Then the second book, Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers) is one I have and we used it to because it has fun outdoor activities.

A few of the activities are build your own backyard pond, use light to catch fish, and race snails.The chapters in this book are Freshwater habitats, Puddles, Ponds and Lakes, Rivers and Streams and Boggy, soggy swamps. We love the one above about collecting skins and mud tracking.

How to Test Pond Water – Older Kid Outdoor Science Lab

We loved reading and studying about pond life.

There are many fun things to do for younger kids, but one thing we did for an older kid for older kid to make it more of a lab is to use a water testing kit.

The water testing kit came with a mini notebook, a cool TDS meter, vials and test strips.It’s a great way for learning about the water and in your area and to do a lab with an older learner. You’ll want to find 4 different water sources. We used the ditch in the back of our house, the creek from the local park on our walk, bottled water, and tap water.The instructions are on the chart and it gives you an order in which to do the tests.

We checked each sample for chlorine/copper/nitrate/nitrite, then alkalinity/pH/hardness, and lastly the iron.

Backyard Science ebook

And yes I know sometimes you don’t have a pond you can get to, but you can get to your backyard for some science. You’ll love this fun hands-on science!

And another resource we love for nature studies are the NaturExplorers. Look at this one about ponds.


I think you’ll love this next free lapbook in my nature series which is about ponds.

 

How to Download the Lapbook.
It’s a Subscriber Only Gift.

From time to time, I do Subscriber Freebies only. This lapbook is a subscriber freebie. I do this to show my appreciation and because I want you to follow me and give me a chance to make a difference in your homeschool.

Too, when you join my email list, you get access to my Subscriber’s Only Exclusive Library of Freebies.

This is how you get access to this form quickly.
1) Sign up on my list.
2) Go to to your inbox and confirm your email.
3) Look for the automatic reply giving you the password to the private subscriber’s area. You should have it soon.

IF you are already a follower/subscriber, PLEASE do NOT email me asking how to find it. You may not want to wait on me replying since I get bombarded with emails.

IF you’ll find the MOST RECENT email from me, the password and link to the Subscribers Area are ALWAYS at the bottom of every email. Look for the most current email since I change the password frequently.

Look at these other links:

Seasonal Pond Study and Printables from Barbara at Handbook of Nature Study
Sensory Bin and Observation Notebooking Page from Jenny at Faith & Good Works
Pond Life Printable Pack from Emily at Table Life Blog
Aquatic Science Studies: 10 Activities for Teens from Eva at Eva Varga
Online Book Study about water cycle from Dachelle at Hide the Chocolate
STEAM Challenge – Does Water Ever Flow Up? from Erika at The Playful Scholar
Who Was?® What Was?® Where Is?® Book Series: Where is the Mississippi River? from Sharla at Minnesota Country Girl
River Exploration and Frog Catching from Thaleia at Something 2 Offer

An InLinkz Link-up


Looking for a fun and free multiple age Pond Unit Study and lapbook? You’ll love these resources whether you study a pond in the winter, summer, spring or fall. Check out this what is above and what is below in a pond homeschool unit study and free awesome lapbook. CLICK HERE!!

You’ll love these other resources:

  • Oceans Unit Study and Lapbook
  • Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook
  • Humboldt Who? Hands On to Understand Ocean Currents & Their Effect On The Galapagos Islands

Hugs and love ya,

Filed Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Hands-On Activities, Lapbook, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Science, Science Based Tagged With: earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, lapbook, life science, nature study, ponds, science, The Nature Book Club Link Up

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