This edible geography to show sea levels is absolutely fun. Also, you’ll love my free Oceans Unit Study and Lapbook.Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.
While Mr. Awesome was reading aloud to us about water bodies in our new North Star Geography, I wanted an activity that included both our Ocean Unit Study and to tie in with understanding about water bodies.
Edible Geography – Sea Levels
So I helped him create an edible model of the tidal zones and some of the creatures and plants that live in each zone.
Too, back on Day 8 of 10 Days of Diving into Unit Studies, I shared part of my Ocean lesson plans with you which included this idea for an edible tidal zone as our unit study opener.
I have some more hands on things we have done too with our North Star Geography that I am going to show you soon too, but I wanted to share our project for edible tidal zones with you today because its something you can do with your younger kids.
Too, edible models are easy to do too because you have a head start on supplies in your house and it makes gathering the rest of them easy.
And I am sure too we could have waited and bought perfect little molds of star fish instead of forming them by hand with peanut butter dough and freezing them.
But then we would have almost perfect homeschooling and there is no such thing in this house.
Too, like I shared in the 10 Day of Diving into Unit Studies try to kick off your unit study with a hands-on project. It is not necessary that Tiny understands exactly about each zone and creature in the project. It is all about whetting his appetite for learning.
Okay, well maybe the candy helped too. I picked up a tad more candy than we normally keep in the house, which wasn’t a problem for him.
Next, look at some of these books to bring learning to life.
I lean toward living books first then add reference books as we need them.
Books About the Ocean for Kids
16 Ocean Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Choose a few of these ocean themed books to go along with your study of the Oceans. Whether you're looking for a spine for a unit study or literature, you'll love this roundup.
Join Danny Meadow Mouse, Jimmy Skunk, and Reddy Fox as they explore the seashore and take a closer look at the habits and habitats of the creatures they find. Discover the Seahorse, Shrimp, Crab, Anemone, Gull, and so many more.
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children is a wonderful way to introduce young ones to the fascinating world beneath us and is a perfect compliment to earlier books in this series, the Bird, Animal, and Flower books.
This edition is complete and unabridged with all of the beautiful illustrations by W.H. Southwick and George Sutton
Seaside Naturalist is an illustrated guide to marine plants and animals includes the characteristics of protozoa, arthropods, sponges, mollusks, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals.
The book opens by explaining how different types of animals are able to breathe and survive underwater, and the different families to which they belong. Subsequent pages are dedicated to specific creatures, including sea turtles, whales, sharks, stingrays, and seahorses, and show varied life in specific habitats, such as a coral reef or deep sea bed. The Big Book of the Blue also explores the underwater world thematically, looking at animals in danger, learning how to spot creatures at the beach, and discovering how to do our part to save sea life. Beautiful and filled with fascinating facts, young, curious readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away from the page.
Island of the Blue Dolphins begins with a young girl named Karana who is living on the Island of the Blue Dolphins (fancy name, right?) with her younger brother, Ramo, and sister, Ulape. One day, a group of Russian hunters (Aleutians) land on the island to hunt for otter. This is when the trouble really begins.
Once upon a time in France, a baby was born under the summer sun. His parents named him Jacques. As he grew, Jacques fell in love with the sea. He dreamed of breathing beneath the waves and swimming as gracefully as a fish. In fact, he longed to become a manfish. Jacques Cousteau grew up to become a champion of the seas and one of the best-known oceanographers in the world. In this lovely biography, now in paperback, poetic text and gorgeous paintings come together to create a portrait of Cousteau that is as magical as it is inspiring.
A beautiful edition with 110 images from the 1875 English edition. Use Amazon's Look inside feature to compare this edition with others. You'll be impressed by the differences. Don't be fooled by other versions that have no illustrations or contain very small print. Reading our edition will make you feel that you are traveling the seas with Captain Nemo himself.
More than 100 original illustrations by Louis Rhead. You want to read this book with illustrations.
An introduction by W. D. Howells.
Nicely formatted text in an easy-to-read font.
A beautiful cover from the 1891 edition.
Embark on a captivating tour of the waters that cover 70 percent of our planet! See our oceans come to life in mind-blowing detail. This is the ultimate children’s visual encyclopedia about the awe-inspiring blue planet!
How did a nineteenth-century dressmaker revolutionize science? Jeanne Power was creative: she wanted to learn about the creatures that swim beneath the ocean waves, so she built glass tanks and changed the way we study underwater life forever. Jeanne Power was groundbreaking: she solved mysteries of sea animals and published her findings at a time when few of women’s contributions to science were acknowledged. Jeanne Power was persistent: when records of her research were lost, she set to work repeating her studies. And when men tried to take credit for her achievements, she stood firm and insisted on the recognition due to her.
Follow Rothman’s inquisitive mind and perceptive eye along shorelines, across the open ocean, and below the waves for an artistic exploration of the watery universe. Through her drawings, discover how the world’s oceans formed, why the sea is salty, and the forces behind oceanic phenomena such as rogue waves. Colorful anatomical profiles of sea creatures from crustacean to cetacean, surveys of seafaring vessels and lighthouses, and the impact of plastic and warming water temperatures are just part of this compendium of curiosities that will entertain and educate readers of all ages.
Do you know a kid who’s captivated by what goes on beneath the ocean’s surface? This amazing entry into ocean books for kids is packed with hundreds of incredible facts for hours of underwater exploration. Pages of full-color pictures feature life in and around the sea including fish, dolphins, and shipwrecks!
Dive into the mesmerizing world of bioluminescence with "All About Bioluminescence." In this captivating book, readers embark on a journey through the depths of the ocean to discover the extraordinary glow-in-the-dark creatures that inhabit its mysterious realm. From the enchanting sea angel to the infamous anglerfish, each page is filled with stunning illustrations and fascinating facts about these luminous beings.With a focus on deep-sea dwellers, readers will uncover the secrets behind bioluminescence and learn how these creatures use light to communicate, camouflage, and lure prey. But the adventure doesn't stop there! "All About Bioluminescence" also includes hands-on activities like a glow stick experiment, allowing readers to experience the magic of bioluminescence firsthand.
One of the most enduringly popular adventure tales, Treasure Island began in 1881 as a serialized adventure entitled "The Sea-Cook"in the periodical Young Folks. Completed during a stay at Davos, Switzerland, where Stevenson had gone for his health, it was published in 1883 in the form we know today.Set in the eighteenth century, Treasure Island spins a heady tale of piracy, a mysterious treasure map, and a host of sinister characters charged with diabolical intentions. Seen through the eyes of Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy of the Hispaniola, the action-packed adventure tells of a perilous sea journey across the Spanish Main, a mutiny led by the infamous Long John Silver, and a lethal scramble for buried treasure on an exotic isle.
In Oceans and Seas! With 25 Science Projects for Kids readers ages 7 though 10 dive into the underwater world of some of the most amazing landscapes on Earth. On this amazing underwater adventure, kids experience the ocean’s tropical reefs and spot crabs, sea sponges, and thousands of kinds of fish darting in its crags and folds. They’ll meet a giant squid with eyes the size of dinner plates and an mbrella-like bioluminescent jellyfish.
From both a historical and scientific point of view, above and below the surface, this engaging guide brings the world’s oceans to life through fun facts, illustrations, and in-depth information. Interactive activities appear throughout, ranging from making solar stills and simple fishing spears to experimenting with a homemade diving bell and figuring out how much water it really takes to survive. With the oceans being the least explored environment on Earth, this reference illuminates some of the most incredible and surprising plants and animals as well as how to survive and navigate these vast expanses.
An intricate study of tide pool life is presented in text and pictures through the story of Pagoo, a her-mit crab.
Look at what we used:
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- Peanut butter dough formed our sand or shore. He just formed it and made it pyramid shape to show the different zones.
Hands-on Geography – Sea Levels
- He also formed starfish out of the peanut butter dough. We found out that if we stuck the peanut butter dough in the freezer for a bit, they hardened and Tiny could paint them with food coloring.
- Laffy taffy candy stretched pretty well to form the bladder and channeled wrack and the oar weed. Peanut butter worked great for smearing on a bit more “ocean sand” and color.
- We did have yogurt raisins in the house for the “mussels”.
- Then of course white chocolate and dark chocolate chips make great shells and barnacles. We always have those in the house.
- We did pick up some German chocolate frosting when we went to the store because Tiny thought it looked like bits of small plants and animals in the lower shore, which is under the water about 90 percent of the time.
- We could have easily made blue frosting, but since he wanted the German chocolate frosting, we picked up some sea blue frosting.
{Crazy kid. I love teaching him.}
I have several more ideas for hands on for this unit and will be using some of them off my Ocean Unit Study lesson plans.
Too, I seem to create more ideas as I go along which is the fun part of unit studies. You can skip ahead to other lesson ideas, leave out some or add other things that interest your children.
My peanut butter loving kid had no problem with our first day of our Ocean Unit Study. I love it too when things unplanned like using our North Star Geography and our current Ocean Unit Study come together.
You’ll also love these other hands-on activities: