If you’re looking for rainforest science activities for kindergarten, you’ll love this living terrarium craft. Look for my other kindergarten tips and crafts on my page Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum. Also, look at my pages Rain Forest – Amazon and Rainforest Activities for Kids.
Are you learning all about the beautiful and fascinating rainforest habitat?
You can have your child make a diorama the old-fashioned way or try something new and end up with a beautiful living decor piece.
This living rainforest diorama terrarium can be a great hands-on way to teach your child about the animals and plants of the rainforest and a lesson on self-sustaining environments.
This mini ecosystem becomes a self-sustaining environment with living plants once the lid is closed.
And it is a beautiful addition to your homeschool or living room. Add this idea to your rainforest science activities for kindergarten.
Nature Book
Also, I wanted to share this beautiful resource I found with you that is perfect for adding some botany into your studies.
Botanicum is an oversized book which has gorgeous illustrations that look like vintage museum prints.
There is a good section with information on rainforests including tropical trees and plants
Also, beautiful, detailed pictures that are great for tracing or using as inspiration to draw your own.
Also, here are some rainforest facts.
Rainforest Facts
- The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest.
- In addition, there are two types of rainforests- tropical and temperate.
- The average temperature in the rainforest is 82℉.
- 6% of the earth is covered by rainforests.
- More than ⅔ of the world’s plant and animal species live here.
- It can take all the way up to 10 minutes for a raindrop to fall to the ground because of the thick canopy cover of the trees that slows it down.
- 25% of medicines in production come from the rainforest regions.
- The rainforest contains over two million types of insects!
- Most animals and plants live in the canopy area of the rainforest.
And the rainforest is made up of 4 different layers:
- The dark, damp Forest floor.
- The Understory, the part that makes up the shorter tree space between the canopy and the forest floor.
- The Canopy, the lush thicker tree filled area where most animals live.
- The Emergent Layer, the thick treetops that stretch up into the open air.
Other Kindergarten Resources
Too, be sure to not miss these other homeschool kindergarten resources.
- Pond Life for Kindergarten Activity Build a Fun Beaver Dam
- Easy and Fun Pine Cone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten
- 4 Fun and Engaging Bat Activities for Kindergarten
- Native American Crafts for Kindergarten How to Make a Kids Pinch Pot
- 10 Best Homeschool Phonics Curriculum For Kindergarten
- 15 Fun Resources For History for Kindergarten Homeschool
- 19 Fun Hands-on Rainforest Activities for Kindergarten
- Rainforest Crafts for Kindergarten: Make an Easy Paper Plate Monkey
- How to Create the Best Homeschool Schedule for Kindergarten (free printable)
- 60 Favorite Top Homeschooling Materials for Kindergarten
- 10 Affordable and Complete Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum
- How to Effortlessly Blend Kindergarten Homeschool Subjects & Life
- BEST Free Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum With A Gentle Approach (List)
- Delightful Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum Which Promote a Love of Learning
Additionally, you love some more rainforest activities.
You’ll love all the Amazon Rainforest resources.
More Amazon Rainforest Activities
- 19 Fun Hands-on Rainforest Activities for Kindergarten
- Rainforest Crafts for Kindergarten: Make an Easy Paper Plate Monkey
- 3 Free and Amazing Amazon Rainforest Lapbooks for Kids
- These slithering Paper Chain Pythons.
- The Ultimate Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the Amazon Rain Forest
- An adorable Paper plate Sloth.
- Plants and Animals in the Tropical Rainforest cards make a great resource.
- Fun Pineapple Candle
- 100+ Best and Free Tropical Amazon Rainforest Educators Resources
Now, let’s dive into making this amazing living terrarium.
How to Make a Rainforest Living Terrarium
First, you will need the following items.
- Potting soil
- A large sealing glass jar, a gallon size is perfect.
- Small succulents-real or faux
- Other small tropical plants
- Small rocks or pebbles
- Rainforest animals
- Moss. I used dried moss from Dollar Tree and you can include live moss on the forest floor if you have some.
- Sticks or small limbs from the yard
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
- White labels
Then, here are the directions.
Add a 1” -2” layer of small rocks or pebbles carefully to the bottom of the jar, this will help with drainage.
Next, place 2” of potting soil on top of the rocks.
Before planting the succulents spritz them well with water or give them a good dunk under water.
Now you can use real or fake succulents if you don’t want to keep up with watering but the care for succulents is minimal.
And once established, they need little care.
Plant your succulents and spread around the jar. We used a mix of real and fake succulents to fill the space.
Now to create the tall full lush trees we used some sticks we gathered from the yard.
Break them down to size so that they fit a couple inches below the lid once pressed into the dirt.
Make your trees by putting hot glue all around on the top of the stick.
Then, roll it around and press it into the moss.
Rainforest Science Activities For Kindergarten
You may repeat this step to fill in your tree as full as you would like.
Don’t forget to add some to your lower branches if your tree has them.
Once the glue has hardened you can press them down into the soil and rocks.
Finally, add in some rainforest creatures to live in your habitat.
Additionally, these toob animals come in handy for so many projects. Try to spread them out among the 4 different layers.
Spritz everything well and close up the lid.
Now your habitat is also a fantastic demonstration on the water cycle as moisture will form on the inside and on the plants.
That moisture will drip down and water the soil.
The cycle will repeat itself over and over. It is good to open the lid once a month for a few minutes and allow the plants to get fresh air.
Now, to learn a bit about the 4 layers -use a white label to write the 4 layers that make up the rainforest- The Emergent Layer, Canopy, Understory and Forest floor.
Have your child place them in the correct place on the side of the jar to label each one.
Your terrarium just needs indirect sunlight and do not place directly in the sun.
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