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Science

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

March 13, 2024 |
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 many different nature topics. Also, look at my other Best Homeschool Unit Studies and Lapbook Ideas.

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

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

Too, look at the free minibooks included in this download which are our subtopics.

  • Define limnology
  • How to define a pond
  • Types of pond
  • 3 characteristics of water
  • Types of pond plants
  • Other pond & shore plants
  • Major groups of pond animals
  • Plants and animals on the food chain
  • Woody plants

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.

Also, you’ll love some of these books about ponds.

11 Fun Pond Life Resources for Kids

Add one or two of these resources to you learning day or to a pond unit study.

Image for Over and Under the Pond: (Environment and Ecology Books for Kids)

Over and Under the Pond: (Environment and Ecology Books for Kids)

In Over and Under the Pond, readers will discover the plants and animals that make up the rich, interconnected ecosystem of a mountain pond. Over the pond, the water is a mirror, reflecting the sky. But under the water is a hidden world of creatures—minnows darting, beavers diving, and tadpoles growing.  
These secrets and many others are waiting to be discovered over and under the pond in this sweet children’s book from Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal, the latest in their beloved series that offers kids a peek into hidden ecosystems.

Image for Natural and Earth Science Educational Flash Card

Natural and Earth Science Educational Flash Card

This set of 48 cards features a colorful illustration on one side and informational facts on the other side. CARD SIZE: 4.5 x 6 inches. Each card is double-sided and durable.

Image for Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers)

Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers)

Have you ever wondered:

  • How to find life in a puddle?
  • What lives in your local river?
  • How to make a micro zoo?
  • How pond snails breathe?

Now you can become an expert nature explorer and learn fantastic facts to impress your friends and family!

You'll love that these hands-on books contain straightforward and safe step-by-step projects, allowing you to help your children discover the natural world. They are ideal supplements to school science projects and the perfect activities for weekends and vacations.

Image for Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)

Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)

This guide describes and illustrates, in full color, the plants and animals that live in or near ponds, lakes, streams, and wetlands. It includes surface-dwelling creatures as well as those of open water, the bottom, and the shore and tells how various animals and plants live together in a community.Plus suggestions for:Where and when to lookObserving and collecting specimensMaking exciting discoveries

Image for Peaceful Ponds
Photo Credit: ourjourneywestward.com

Peaceful Ponds

Using Peaceful Ponds, you’ll have so much fun learning about pond plants and animals, as well as earth science topics as they relate to ponds. 

Image for Lakes and Ponds!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

Lakes and Ponds!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

Imagine the smooth, glasslike surface of a pond, the water mirroring a bright moon or a crystal blue sky. The water appears perfectly calm and still. What’s going on underneath the surface?

Lakes and Ponds! With 25 Science Projects for Kids invites kids ages 7 though 10 to investigate the bodies of water that might look calm from the shore but which are teeming with life and activity! Through fun facts and engaging content, readers explore the plants and animals living in lakes and ponds, from fish darting about to dragonfly nymphs gestating in the shallows to algae and aquatic plants converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. Discover fun facts about the duckweed, water lilies, and cattails growing in and around the waters of lakes and ponds. It’s a busy place!

Image for Keystone Species that Live in Ponds, Streams, & Wetlands (Kid's Guide to Keystone Species in Nature)

Keystone Species that Live in Ponds, Streams, & Wetlands (Kid's Guide to Keystone Species in Nature)

The same thing is true in nature. Certain species of animals and plants are so important to their ecosystems, that if they disappear, the whole system may collapse. They are called keystone species.

Image for Frogs and Toads and Tadpoles, Too (Rookie Read-About Science: Animals)

Frogs and Toads and Tadpoles, Too (Rookie Read-About Science: Animals)

What's the difference between a frog and a toad? The natural world comes alive for young readers (Ages 6-7) with Rookie Read-About "RM" Science! With striking, full-color photos and just the right amount of text, this series immediately involves young readers as they discover intriguing facts about the fascinating world around them.This book discusses the likenesses and differences between frogs and toads.

Image for Amphibian

Amphibian

Frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and the rare caecilians come in a stunning array of colors, shapes, sizes, and habitats. They live both in water and on land and move in a variety of ways from swimming to hopping and even flying. With a series of specially commissioned photographs, DK Eyewitness Books: Amphibian takes a close look at the fascinating natural history of these creatures from the bright green, red-eyed tree frogs to dull, burrowing, wormlike caecilians; from startling black and yellow fire salamanders to tiny transparent glass frogs.

Image for Pond Life: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Plants & Animals Living in or Near Ponds, Lakes & Wetlands (Wildlife and Nature Identification)

Pond Life: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Plants & Animals Living in or Near Ponds, Lakes & Wetlands (Wildlife and Nature Identification)

So many people get their start in nature study by exploring ponds. These small bodies of calm, standing water are fascinating living laboratories of plant and animal life at all scales, from microscopic algae to iconic birds like Great Blue Herons or ecosystem engineers like Beavers. To better understand how a pond ecosystems functions, it helps to get familiar with its living parts, namely its flora and fauna. The portable reference Pond Life is an excellent tool to bring on your next pond study, as it includes beautiful illustrations of 140 common and familiar birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, insects, and other invertebrates as well as trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Laminated for durability, this lightweight, waterproof, 12-panel folding pocket guide is the perfect tool for educators, learners, naturalists, botanists, and wildlife enthusiasts to use the next time they go searching for minnows, tadpoles, or dragonfly nymphs at their local pond.

Image for Pond Wildlife (Adventures in Nature)

Pond Wildlife (Adventures in Nature)

Get ready to take a leap into the water in this exciting exploration of pond habitats. This volume examines different kinds of pond habitats, and the creatures that are found both in the water and on its edge, from bass to grass snakes to herons. Readers will learn about life cycles, ecosystems, and conservation, which are important curricula-based science topics. This volume pairs compelling text with vivid color photographs to bring readers on a nature walk they won’t soon forget. Diagrams, activities, and quizzes provide greater opportunities for exploration. This book is perfect for nature-enthused readers to get their feet wet identifying creatures and understanding the wonder of pond wildlife!

Pond Unit Study and Lapbook

  • Ron’s pond scum. Neat site with pictures taken through a microscope.
  • Earth’s Kids – ponds and wetlands science.
  • A virtual pond dip.
  • Water holes to mini-pond lesson plan.
  • At the pond for the littles.
  • Small pond creatures.
  • Pond water web.
  • Pond life identification.
  • 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.
  • Tadpoles and frogs.
  • Free land and water form cards.
  • Wide mouthed frog craft printable.
  • 25 Water Hands-On Activities for Kids.
  • Pond Sensory Bin.
  • Cattails craft.
  • Coffee filter lily pad.
  • Duck craft handprint.
  • Pond Dipping Spotter Form.
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!!

More Pond Resources

  • Make Way For Ducklings Fun Duck Pond Playdough Invitation to Play
  • Pond Life for Kindergarten Activity Build a Fun Beaver Dam
  • Why Is a Toad An Amphibian And Pondlife Facts & Make a Fun Toad House
  • 8 Engaging Pond Books for Preschoolers Who Love Pond Animals
  • Step-by-Step: Building a Colorful Pond Diorama with Free Printables

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

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

Above and Below in the Pond

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

  • Cattail – this edible plant is also an excellent source of weaving material, tinder, and insect repellent.
  • 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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

There are many fun things to do for younger kids/

But one thing we did for an older kid to make it more of a lab is to use a water testing kit.

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

The water testing kit came with a mini notebook, a cool TDS meter, vials and test strips.

It’s a great way of learning about the water 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.

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

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

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

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


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

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

 

How to Get the Free Pond Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Look at these other links:



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

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

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

How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

March 7, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, you’ll love this fun kids root viewer. Also, look at this post Easy Seeds and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary) for more ideas.

While planting and watching a garden grow is tons of fun you kind of miss out on some of the fun and learning.

You don’t really get to see what is going on under the soil and that is where the real action takes place, at least in the beginning.

How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Giving kids a chance to really see what is happening underground really helps the idea of seed to plant take shape even more in their minds.

They do sell plastic root viewers online but really I enjoyed making our own for some hands-on fun and also because it only cost $3 to make it with tons of leftover seeds and soil for other garden activities or planting.

DIY Fun Kids Root Viewer

We will use ours over and over checking out how different plants look, how long it takes them to germinate, and how big they grow.

1. root viewer vertical How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Next, look at some of these garden and seed books for kids as you make this kids root viewer.

Make this a complete unit study with fun hands-on ideas.

11 Gardening With Kids Books & Fun Resources

As a true bibliophile no unit study would be complete without a strong list of books to support a topic. Here is a great list for everyone in the family.

Image for Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

Learn the difference between a farrow and a barrow, and what distinguishes a weanling from a yearling. Country and city mice alike will delight in Julia Rothman’s charming illustrated guide to the curious parts and pieces of rural living. Dissecting everything from the shapes of squash varieties to how a barn is constructed and what makes up a beehive to crop rotation patterns, Rothman gives a richly entertaining tour of the quirky details of country life. 

Image for The Garden Classroom: Hands-On Activities in Math, Science, Literacy, and Art

The Garden Classroom: Hands-On Activities in Math, Science, Literacy, and Art

Packed with garden-based activities that promote science, math, reading, writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts, The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoor play and learning ideas—however big or small your garden.

Image for Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt:

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt:

Explore the secret realm beneath the dirt that brings the world of nature to life: Follow a young girl and her grandmother on a journey through the year planning, planting, and harvesting their garden—and learn about what's happening in the dirt to help make it all happen.Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt exists a busy world—earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow—populated by all the creatures that make a garden their home

Image for Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden

Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden

A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings.

Image for The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens

The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens

Whether inside or outside, decorative or edible, this book is full of gardening projects large and small. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions are accompanied by photographs that guide the aspiring gardening through planting all kinds of gardens.

Image for Kids Gardening Set

Kids Gardening Set

MONTESSORI FOR TODDLERS: Our gardening tool set encourages kids to play outside & learn about plants, nature & sustainability. Perfect for the yard and sand box.

OUTDOOR LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Our Kids Garden Set is great for Occupational Therapy & Developing Fine Motor Skills. Suitable for Boys and girls.

Image for Do-It-Yourself Garden Research Handbook - The Thinking Tree: How to Design, Plant, & Care for Your Own Garden! Homeschooling Science, Nature & Home Economics

Do-It-Yourself Garden Research Handbook - The Thinking Tree: How to Design, Plant, & Care for Your Own Garden! Homeschooling Science, Nature & Home Economics

A Gardening Research Workbook & Planning Guide for Teens, Kids and Families! Perfect for Homeschooling Science, Nature Study, Botany and Home Economics!

Designed for teens, but perfect for Ages 9+ (Younger students will need some extra help).

Image for Raised Garden Bed Wood Planter Boxes Outdoor for Kids with Legs

Raised Garden Bed Wood Planter Boxes Outdoor for Kids with Legs

{Raised Garden Bed for Kids} We designed the children raised garden bed carefully, so that your children can feel the happiness of plant growth and the magic of natural life. Our raised garden bed deep enough to provide your plants and vegetables with ample room to breathe and grow healthy.

Image for From Seed to Plant

From Seed to Plant

Flowers, trees, fruits—plants are all around us, but where do they come from?  With simple language and bright illustrations, non-fiction master Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination.  Important vocabulary is reinforced with accessible explanation and colorful, clear diagrams showing the parts of plants, the wide variety of seeds, and how they grow.  The book includes instructions for a seed-growing project, and a page of interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers.   A nonfiction classic, and a perfect companion for early science lessons and curious young gardeners.

Image for National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant

National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant

Kids see plants, flowers, and trees around them every day. In this lively and educational reader, they'll learn how those plants grow. Kids will take this magical journey from seed pollination to plant growth, learning about what plants need to thrive and grow with the same careful text, brilliant photographs, and the fun approach National Geographic Readers are known for.

Image for Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants

Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants

An easy and fun introduction to plant biology! With the able assistance of Thing 1 and Thing 2 - the Cat in the Hat explores the world of plants. Kids will learn about the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and seed dispersal.

Kids Spring Activity Root Viewer

To make your own diy root viewer you will need:

  • a smooth cylinder vase-glass or plastic
  • Potting soil
  • Garden seeds- radishes, marigold, melon, and squash sprout quickly
  • A handful of large rocks or pebbles
  • cardstock/construction paper
2. root viewer supplies How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Gather up all your supplies and begin by placing a layer of rocks about 3” deep in the bottom of your vase carefully.

You can use plastic but I like the transparency and durability of the glass one better, so we chose a tall cylinder vase at Dollar Tree.

For stones, we just used some that we had in our driveway.

3. DIY root viewer adding rocks How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Next, add the potting soil to fill your vase to about 1”-2” from the top of the rim. We were also able to get a nice sized bag of potting soil at Dollar Tree and there is plenty left in the bag for more projects.

Add 1-2 seeds to the soil 1” deep, press them in with your finger.

We spread ours out in 3 different spots around the vase in case some didn’t take.

How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Be sure to place your seeds right up against the glass so you can watch them sprout clearly, you will also be able to see some of the roots as they reach down.

Easy Kids Root Viewer

We choose radishes to plant in ours because they generally sprout pretty quick, this lets you get to the action much quicker but we will rotate our “crops” to observe other types of plants.

4 diy root viewer water How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Water the seeds/soil well.

Now, in order for a seed to sprout it needs a moist but also dark environment, so we need to cover the vase as if the seed were in the ground.

5. root viewer soil How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Measure the height and diameter of your vase and cut a piece of thick dark cardstock or construction paper to fit, wrap it around and tape snugly in place, tape it to the other end of the paper, not the vase so that you can easily lift it off the vase and view the process.

We made ours 2 layers thick to give the tiny seeds as much protection as possible.

6 root viewer horizontal How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Place the cover on your vase and put your root viewer in a sunny window so that the soil can be warmed by the sun and provide the ideal conditions for your seeds to sprout.

As you put together your diy root viewer and watch the growth it’s a great time to talk about what a seed needs-water, oxygen, and proper temperature for optimal growth.

Kids DIY Root Viewer

Our viewer held a lot of water and we only needed to add just a bit of water directly to the top to keep the seeds moist.

Every day slide up the cover and check out the progress. Make notes and drawings in a journal to track your plant’s growth.

7. root viewer cover How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Ask your child some open-ended questions to encourage their curiosity.

  • What is happening?
  • How has the plant changed?
  • What will happen next?
  • After how many days did the seed begin to open?
  • How long before the leaves sprouted?

Kids Root Viewer

Here are our sprouts on day 1, day 3, day 5, and day 15

The kids really enjoyed being able to see a normally hidden magical process.

8 root viewer sprout growth How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

We could see the seed as it broke open, roots as the grew down, and the stem and seeds as they reached upward for the sun.

The other thing seeds need to sprout is contained inside them- nutrients.

Once they sprout in the right conditions and roots take hold and the leaves sprout they are then able to use the process of Photosynthesis to make food.

How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer

Here are some terms to go over with your child while building and watching the process…

  • Photosynthesis– The process where green plants and organisms use sunlight to create food from water and carbon dioxide.
  • Germination– The development of seed after planting in soil.
  • Sprout– Germination process where the seed puts out roots.
  • Nutrients– Something in food that helps plants, animals, and people grow.
  • Dormant– The state of rest for seeds before they sprout.

Go a little deeper by learning about the basic parts of a plant- roots, stem, leaves.

You’ll also love these other activities:

  • Easy Seed and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary)
  • Fall Unit Study (Includes Apples, Sir Isaac Newton, Art, and Appleseed)
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook 
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook
  • How to Easily Garden Plan With Kids Using LEGO

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities, Science Tagged With: hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, nature study, plants, science, seed

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids

March 6, 2024 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

While creating super easy seed tape with kids’ hands are busy and their minds are open to absorbing new information! Also, look at this post Easy Seeds and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary) for more ideas.

Seed tape makes a great activity during the spring months.

Not only is it teaching a practical life skill, but you are incorporating math and science into their learning as well. It is the perfect rainy-day activity while you wait for planting season.

Seed taping makes for a sweet homemade gift too. Grandma might really enjoy a little help with her garden.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids

Look at this list to make fun seed tape with kids:

  • Assorted seeds
  • Toilet paper
  • All-purpose flour
  • Wooden craft stick
  • Water
  • A small bowl
  • Permanent marker
  • Ruler/measuring tape
  • Clear zippered bags
  • Tweezers
How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Seed tape can be used in small or large gardens, containers, or even cut into small pieces for seed starting pots.

12 Easy Seed Tape Steps With Kid

Pull out a length of toilet paper that is easy to work with, I recommend from 2’ to 4’ depending on your garden space. If your toilet paper is more than 1-ply you will want to separate each layer.

Use a sharpie to write the name of your plant carefully at the end of the roll so you don’t get confused.

In a small bowl stir together just enough flour and water to create a sticky paste, it should be like a thick pudding. A couple of teaspoons of flour will go a long way.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Mark off spots for your seeds by making a dot with your sharpie on your lengths of toilet paper, this will depend on the recommended planting distance of the flowers or vegetables you are planting, you can find this information on the back of your seed packet.

This is a great time to include some math in your child’s activity, have them use a ruler to mark off the spaces.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Drip a bit of your paste on your mark using a craft stick.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Use your tweezers to drop a seed or two onto the paste dot, tape down gently.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Leave your paper out and allow the paste to dry completely, this is an important step, if you move to the next step before it’s dry it will stick together and become a big unusable mess.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Once your paste is completely dry roll up your seed tape into a tidy little roll and place inside a plastic baggie, don’t forget to use your sharpie to write the name of your plant on the baggie.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Gardening Activities for Kids

Store your seed tapes until ready to use!

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When ready to plant you can use the entire length or trim them into smaller pieces, even a few squares for container gardening will work!

Dig a shallow trench in the prepared soil and unroll your seed tape, cover with a thin layer of soil, water well.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids

Remember to identify your rows with plant markers.

Turn this simple activity into a larger unit study by including some other activities that go along with it well and add a little more to it.

How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids  @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

11 Seed Tape Unit Study Ideas

One/ Track your planting from seed tape to harvest with a gardening journal.

Two/ Incorporate art by sketching your plants.

Three/ Work in some math by having your child draw out a square foot garden and filling in the plants you plan to grow.

Four/ Practice measurement by having them track the plant’s growth with a ruler.

Five/ Purchase a rain gauge and track the rain for the season on a simple bar graph.

Six/ Use leftover seeds for a seed sorting activity. Look at my tips here for Easy Seed and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary)

Seven/ Create a garden budget and have your child compare prices and help choose plants and other items needed to fit in the budget.

Eight/ Make plant markers for art and writing practice.

Nine/ Check out books from the library about seeds and planting, I have a list of suggestions below!

Ten/ Draw and label the parts of a seed.

Eleven/ Photograph your plant from seed to harvest and create a book.

Next, look at some of our favorite books.

11 Gardening With Kids Books & Fun Resources

As a true bibliophile no unit study would be complete without a strong list of books to support a topic. Here is a great list for everyone in the family.

Image for Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

Learn the difference between a farrow and a barrow, and what distinguishes a weanling from a yearling. Country and city mice alike will delight in Julia Rothman’s charming illustrated guide to the curious parts and pieces of rural living. Dissecting everything from the shapes of squash varieties to how a barn is constructed and what makes up a beehive to crop rotation patterns, Rothman gives a richly entertaining tour of the quirky details of country life. 

Image for The Garden Classroom: Hands-On Activities in Math, Science, Literacy, and Art

The Garden Classroom: Hands-On Activities in Math, Science, Literacy, and Art

Packed with garden-based activities that promote science, math, reading, writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts, The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoor play and learning ideas—however big or small your garden.

Image for Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt:

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt:

Explore the secret realm beneath the dirt that brings the world of nature to life: Follow a young girl and her grandmother on a journey through the year planning, planting, and harvesting their garden—and learn about what's happening in the dirt to help make it all happen.Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt exists a busy world—earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow—populated by all the creatures that make a garden their home

Image for Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden

Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden

A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings.

Image for The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens

The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens

Whether inside or outside, decorative or edible, this book is full of gardening projects large and small. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions are accompanied by photographs that guide the aspiring gardening through planting all kinds of gardens.

Image for Kids Gardening Set

Kids Gardening Set

MONTESSORI FOR TODDLERS: Our gardening tool set encourages kids to play outside & learn about plants, nature & sustainability. Perfect for the yard and sand box.

OUTDOOR LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Our Kids Garden Set is great for Occupational Therapy & Developing Fine Motor Skills. Suitable for Boys and girls.

Image for Do-It-Yourself Garden Research Handbook - The Thinking Tree: How to Design, Plant, & Care for Your Own Garden! Homeschooling Science, Nature & Home Economics

Do-It-Yourself Garden Research Handbook - The Thinking Tree: How to Design, Plant, & Care for Your Own Garden! Homeschooling Science, Nature & Home Economics

A Gardening Research Workbook & Planning Guide for Teens, Kids and Families! Perfect for Homeschooling Science, Nature Study, Botany and Home Economics!

Designed for teens, but perfect for Ages 9+ (Younger students will need some extra help).

Image for Raised Garden Bed Wood Planter Boxes Outdoor for Kids with Legs

Raised Garden Bed Wood Planter Boxes Outdoor for Kids with Legs

{Raised Garden Bed for Kids} We designed the children raised garden bed carefully, so that your children can feel the happiness of plant growth and the magic of natural life. Our raised garden bed deep enough to provide your plants and vegetables with ample room to breathe and grow healthy.

Image for From Seed to Plant

From Seed to Plant

Flowers, trees, fruits—plants are all around us, but where do they come from?  With simple language and bright illustrations, non-fiction master Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination.  Important vocabulary is reinforced with accessible explanation and colorful, clear diagrams showing the parts of plants, the wide variety of seeds, and how they grow.  The book includes instructions for a seed-growing project, and a page of interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers.   A nonfiction classic, and a perfect companion for early science lessons and curious young gardeners.

Image for National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant

National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant

Kids see plants, flowers, and trees around them every day. In this lively and educational reader, they'll learn how those plants grow. Kids will take this magical journey from seed pollination to plant growth, learning about what plants need to thrive and grow with the same careful text, brilliant photographs, and the fun approach National Geographic Readers are known for.

Image for Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants

Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants

An easy and fun introduction to plant biology! With the able assistance of Thing 1 and Thing 2 - the Cat in the Hat explores the world of plants. Kids will learn about the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and seed dispersal.

Seed Tape Science Words

You can use the following words for vocabulary, spelling, copy work, and journal starters.

  • Angiosperms- Flowering plants.
  • Gymnosperms-Non-flowering plants.
  • Tuber- Thickened underground part of the stem.
  • Rhizome- A horizontal underground stem with lateral shoots and roots.
  • Corm-Short swollen underground plant stem.
  • Bulb- An underground storage organ with a short stem and fleshy scale leaves.
  • Germination- When a seed begins to develop after dormancy.
  • Bud- Flower or plant that is beginning to bloom
  • Seedling- A young plant, mostly raised from seed and not cuttings.
  • Seed Coat- Protective outer coat of a seed.
How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape with Kids and sneak in some learning too. Check out this FUN activity over at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

You’ll also love these other fun activities:

  • Easy Seed and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary)
  • Fall Unit Study (Includes Apples, Sir Isaac Newton, Art, and Appleseed)
  • How to Make a Fun Kids Root Viewer
  • How to Easily Garden Plan With Kids Using LEGO
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook

2 CommentsFiled Under: Hands-On Activities, Science, Science Based Tagged With: garden, gardening, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, life science, nature study, science, seed, spring

Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

December 24, 2023 | 9 Comments
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I have a free Arctic Ground Squirrel lapbook and unit study today. We decided to add to our Arctic and Inuit Unit Study by doing an Arctic ground squirrel lapbook.

Nature study in the winter can be fun and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Because studying any kind of squirrel can be fun during the fall and winter, we focused on the adorable Arctic Ground Squirrel.

Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

The Arctic Ground Squirrel lives in the Arctic.

The people of Alaska call it a parka squirrel.

It is beige with tan colored spots.

In the summer, its coat is thin and cool. In the winter, it grows thicker to keep the squirrel warm.

And the ground squirrel lives in the area called the Tundra.

Furthermore, the diurnal Arctic ground squirrel lives on the tundra and is prey to the Arctic fox, the red fox, the wolverine, Canada lynx, Eurasian lynx, the brown bear, and eagle

Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

The first time they lose their fur, it starts from the bottom first, up to the head. The molting line is clearer.

The second time they molt, it starts at their head. The line is not visible, but it looks more grey.

The arctic ground squirrel is on average 15 inches long and how much it weighs depends on which coat it is wearing.

Additionally, Arctic ground squirrels live in colonies of hundreds of squirrels.

First, grab these resources that I know you’ll love and to help you with a Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook and Unit Study.

Arctic Ground Squirrel, About the Tundra, & Resources

  • Background information. This one will help you to fill out the lapbook.
  • Arctic Ground Squirrel background information.
  • Resilience of the brain of the Arctic Ground Squirrel.
  • Natureworks.
  • Skulls of Alaskan Mammals. 71 page pdf guide with great facts for not just squirrels but other mammals.
  • Furs of Alaska Mammals. 74 page pdf guide
  • Alaska Tundra Wildlife. This is a HUGE 251 page download with pictures, cards, and background information to talk about the tundra.

Trees cannot grow on the Tundra because the ground freezes so much.

Where they live is bare and rocky with only a few plants that grow, such as moss and grass.

The tundra is cold, windy, and empty.

Winter is from September to May and there is no sun in midwinter.

Summer is a busy time. Summer is short, but the days are long. The soil thaws, plants grow, and the animals are active.

Animals that live on the tundra must be able to adapt to very cold temperatures.

They must also be able to raise their young during the very short summer months.

More Squirrel Activities

  • Fascinating Life of Red Squirrels | Paper Plate Squirrel Craft

Squirrel Resources

  • Coloring page for an older child.
  • Craft – make a squirrel from leaves (cute)
  • Squirrel lapbook for younger kids
  • Craft- Squirrel Paperplate
  • Squirrel Poem
  • Origami Squirrel (too cute)
  • Squirrel Dot to Dot
  • Learning Contractions – Match squirrel word cards with the acorn contraction
  • The Busy Little Squirrel Unit Study

Books About Squirrels

Next, add some of these fun books about squirrels to this unit study.

16 Books & Resources For Kids Who Love Reading About Squirrels

If your child loves reading about all kinds of squirrels, they’ll love reading these books and add some of these fun resources to your unit study.

Image for Arctic Ground Squirrel: Pictures and Fun Facts on Animals for Kids

Arctic Ground Squirrel: Pictures and Fun Facts on Animals for Kids

The Arctic ground squirrel looks small, harmless and innocent. But this little creature survives some of the most challenging weather conditions that occur on the entire planet. It lives in the Arctic, which is literally on top of the world. In the winter it gets so cold that humans couldn't survive in the open!

Image for The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Peter Rabbit)

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Peter Rabbit)

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is an original classic by Beatrix Potter. Beatrix Potter's famous tale of a naughty squirrel who loses his tail is as popular today as it was when it was first published over 100 years ago. Join Nutkin, his brother Twinkleberry and all his cousins as they make their way over to Owl Island to gather nuts. See what happens when Old Brown, the terrifying owl guardian of the island decides he has had enough of silly Nutkin's cheekiness! Ouch!! Beatrix Potter is regarded as one of the world's best-loved children's authors of all time. From her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published by Frederick Warne in 1902, she went on to create a series of stories based around animal characters including Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-duck, Mr. Jeremy Fisher and Tom Kitten. Her humorous, lively tales and beautiful illustrations have become a natural part of childhood. With revenue from the sales of her books, Beatrix Potter bought a farm - Hill Top - in the English Lake District, where she later became a farmer and prize-winning sheep breeder. She launched the now vast merchandise programme by patenting the very first Peter Rabbit doll in 1903.

Image for Perri (Bambi's Classic Animal Tales)

Perri (Bambi's Classic Animal Tales)

A young squirrel experiences the wonders of forest life and befriends a human toddler in this collectible edition of a classic animal story from the author of Bambi.Perri is a young squirrel living in Bambi’s forest. She grows up, learning about survival, friendship, and love as she observes and interacts with the complicated world around her. Most exciting of all, she meets a three-year-old human girl who can understand and talk to animals!

Image for Gray Squirrels (Woodland Wildlife)

Gray Squirrels (Woodland Wildlife)

Gray squirrels leap from high heights to move from tree to tree. Discover these delightful rodents' life cycle and lifestyle in the woods.

Image for 8pcs,Miniature Animal Squirrel Figures

8pcs,Miniature Animal Squirrel Figures

Fun Toys include 8pcs miniature squirrel figurines in different style. With bright color and cute designs. You’ll certainly be impressed by the amazing level of details of these squirrel character figurines

Image for Life in the Neck Squirrel Trouble

Life in the Neck Squirrel Trouble

Welcome to a new adventure in the Neck, a beautiful place where animals and humans live together in harmony--most of the time. In this book, a young boy named Eli builds a log fort with his dad, but it's not long before mischievous squirrels Chatter, Whistle, and Squeak move in and take over. As the nuts, acorns, and pinecones pile up inside, Eli realizes he's going to have to get creative to get them out. Will his plan work, or will the squirrels win?

Image for The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel

The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel

Author and editor of numerous children's books, Thornton W. Burgess was also a noted conservationist. In writing for youngsters he combined a gift for storytelling with his love of the outdoors, creating an entertaining menagerie of animals whose adventures he skillfully recounted in a series of charming fables. In them, he taught young readers about nature and encouraged them to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers."In this delightfully told tale, Burgess chronicles the escapades of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who's known throughout the Green Forest as a mischief maker. Narrowly escaping the clutches of Shadow the Weasel and Redtail the Hawk, the bushy-tailed little fellow decides to leave the forest for a new home, only to learn that curiosity, carelessness, and mistrust can lead to a heap of troubles.

Image for Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.

Image for Nuts to You

Nuts to You

How far would you go for a friend? In Nuts to You, the funny and moving illustrated novel by Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins, two squirrels go very far indeed to save a friend who has been snatched up by a hawk. Nuts to You “begs to be read aloud . . . another completely original and exceptional package from Perkins,” said the Horn Book. Nuts to You features black-and-white art by the author on every page, as well as exclusive material original to this edition.

Jed, TsTs, and Chai are the very best of friends. So when Jed is snatched up by a hawk and carried away to another realm, TsTs and Chai resolve to go after him. Mysteriously, the hawk has dropped him. They saw it. Jed could be alive. New communities are discovered, new friends are made, huge danger is encountered (both man-made and of the fox and bobcat variety) and the mysteries of squirrel culture are revealed. Nuts to You is wholly original, funny, lively, and thought-provoking. Publishers Weekly said, “Readers . . . will relish the squirrels’ adventures, as well as Perkins’s laugh-aloud illustrations and equally witty footnotes.”

Image for Squirrels

Squirrels

Portrays the physical characteristics, behavior, life cycle, and natural habitat of the small mammals.

Image for Miss Suzy

Miss Suzy

Miss Suzy is a little gray squirrel who lives happily in her oak-tree home until she is chased away by some mean red squirrels. Poor Miss Suzy is very sad. But soon she finds a beautiful dollhouse and meets a band of brave toy soldiers.

How Miss Suzy and the soldiers help each other makes a gentle, old-fashioned tale that has captured the imaginations of girls and boys alike for more than fifty years. Arnold Lobel’s enchanting pictures are sure to make the kind squirrel and the gallant soldiers the everlasting friends of all who turn these pages.

Image for The Chisel-Tooth Tribe

The Chisel-Tooth Tribe

Here, in a comprehensive and extremely readable volume, the author-artist whose many nature books are favorites with children gives an absorbing account of little animals equipped with chisel-like teeth for gnawing including their habits, appearance, and activities. The world of this army of small mammals is one which most of us could observe for ourselves if we wished to. No one reading these lively chapters about the squirrels, beavers, rabbits, prairie dogs, etc., could ever again take them and their interesting ways for granted.

Image for Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue (Smithsonian's Backyard)

Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue (Smithsonian's Backyard)

Children will enjoy this exciting story as Gray Squirrel darts and dashes away from predators while trying to gather up a tasty meal of bird seed and acorns. Reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution for accuracy, Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue is a fun and informative story with beautifully detailed illustrations. Watch your children have a blast reading and learning about the animals that live in an American backyard!

Image for Grey Squirrel 8" Plush

Grey Squirrel 8" Plush

Silky plush and soft huggable bodies

Image for Squirrel (Animal World)

Squirrel (Animal World)

Text and illustrations describe the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of the red squirrel.

Image for Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

See the world in a whole new way! Acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman combines art and science in this exciting and educational guide to the structure, function, and personality of the natural world.
Explore the anatomy of a jellyfish, the inside of a volcano, monarch butterfly migration, how sunsets work, and much more. Rothman’s whimsical illustrations are paired with interactive activities that encourage curiosity and inspire you to look more closely at the world all around you.

Also, add more resources to go with this lapbook.

More Ideas to Add to An Arctic Ground Squirrel Study

  • How to Make an Easy 3D Tundra Biome Poster Project
  •  Arctic and Inuit Unit Study. Free Lapbook – Hands-on Ideas 
  • How to Make Wooden Peg Easy Arctic Animal Crafts
  • nuit of the Arctic: How Animals Survive Harsh Winters Fun Blubber Activity

How to Download the Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free printable. It’s a subscriber freebie.

When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

 1) Sign up on my email list to follow me and get this freebie and many others.
 2) Grab the printable.
3) Last, look for my emails in your inbox as a follower. Glad to have you.

Our Journey Westward

If you’re looking to do any spring nature studies, you’ll want to get a few of the NaturExplorers. I love those studies for multiple ages.

It’s a monthly book club devoted to connecting children to nature.

Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

The Nature Book Club theme for February: Winter Birds and Nests

The Nature Book Club is brought to you by these 10 nature loving bloggers which are your co-hosts! Are you following them? If you don’t want to miss anything, be sure to follow each one.

Here are the co-hosts, their choices of books, and activities for the month.

Rule This Roost
Build, Beaver, Build! Life at the Longest Beaver Dam – Beaver Habitat Building

Hide The Chocolate
Stellaluna – Bat Online Book Club

Eva Varga
Our Foray into Squirrel Taxidermy –  Taxidermy

Everyday Graces Homeschool
Frederick by Leo Leonni – Watercolor bookmarks and nature notebook page.

If you're studying about the tundra or the Arctic Ground Squirrel, you'll love these fun and easy resources. Get the free Arctic Ground Squirrel lapbook and unit study resources. Click here!!

  • An InLinkz Link-up

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