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earthscience

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

September 5, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

 If you’re doing fall leaf crafts for preschoolers, you’ll love these felt leaf sachets. Also, you’ll love my page Fall Season Unit Study {Pumpkins, Leaves, Corn, & More}.

This felt leaf sachet is a great beginning handicraft for your preschooler.

And this type of craft is wonderful for developing hand-eye coordination, focus, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and patience.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

It encourages creativity and teaches them a simple life skill.

This craft focuses more on learning a new skill and the process rather than the result, even though the finished product is pretty cute.

10 More Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Grab these other ideas to use leaves to craft with preschoolers.

Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

From leaf rubbings to salt painting, I also have a list of 10 more fall leaf crafts for preschoolers for you to choose from.

Choose one or more of these crafts to add to your fall fun and learning in addition to our felt leaf craft.

Photo Credit: thecraftyclassroom.com

Wondering what you can make with fall leaves? We’ve got the answer! There are a ton of Fun Fall Art Project ideas we have showcased.

Photo Credit: www.preschoolplayandlearn.com

EASY Fall Leaf Craft for Preschoolers

Celebrate the arrival of Autumn and the changing seasons with these super cute fall leaf crafts for preschoolers

Photo Credit: mamapapabubba.com

Leaf Rubbing Collages

Miss G and I did a classic kid project – leaf rubbings!  Although we’ve tried rubbings once before while still in Canada

Photo Credit: www.learningandexploringthroughplay.com

Leaf Confetti Nature Wands

We made some lovely nature confetti wands that I want to share with you today. With cardboard in abundance at the moment I really like to reuse as much of it as possible and it's great to be able to use some of it for crafting with the children. 

Photo Credit: www.kitchentableclassroom.com

Rainbow Leaf Prints- with Washable Marker

Rainbow anything is beautiful but these leaf prints combine the colors of the rainbow with the delicate details of leaves for a finished product you just want to keep looking at! 

Photo Credit: www.madewithhappy.com

Fall Leaves Salt Painting For Kids

There is something so fun about salt painting for kids. This Fall leaves painting gives you all the fun Fall feelings as well as a great leaf art that the kids can display all season long.

Photo Credit: www.craftsonsea.co.uk

Fall Leaf Suncatchers

Need a simple craft that your kids will enjoy making and you’ll want to keep on display afterwards? These easy Fall leaf suncatchers hit the mark perfectly!

Photo Credit: www.lauraradniecki.com

Leaf Monster Craft for Kids | DIY Leaf Puppets

Now that my son is three, he’s getting interested in craft projects, and he’s able to participate more too. He helped me make a DIY leaf garland last week, and this week, we wanted to try another kids craft together. This time, we set out to make DIY Leaf Monsters!

Photo Credit: thelittlemomaid.com

Fall Leaf Hedgehog Craft For Kids

This Fall craft is fun and easy! Toddlers and big kids will enjoy creating their very own unique Fall Leaf Hedgehog Craft.  This autumn activity will get you and the kids outside and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.  Have them collect leaves in the yard or go for a walk.

Photo Credit: mamapapabubba.com

Sweet and Simple Fall Leaf Crowns - Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Sweet and Simple Fall Leaf Crowns

Be sure to grab a great reference book to learn about leaves and other aspects of fall to go along with your crafts to help turn the fun into a learning experience as well.

Nature Anatomy is great for learning about leaves and their shapes as well as trees and bark.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

More Fall Season Activities

Additionally, include all of your kids with these fun fall season activities for multiple ages.

  • Free Weather Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning
  • Fun Corn Life Cycle Preschool Sensory Bin and Printable Lifecycle Foldout
  • Apples Unit How to Make a Fall Kids Garland Apple Craft
  • How to Make a Kids Fun Stained Glass Fall Leaves Craft
  • Geronimo Stilton Field Trip to Niagara Falls Summary And Fun Corn Craft
  • Easy Fall Crafts for Middle School: DIY String Pumpkin Art
  • Kids Fun Glue and Watercolor Fall Pumpkin Unit Study
  • Fall Homeschool Learning Resources For Middle School
  • Fall Y’all:Pumpkin Pie in a Bag (Easy Homeschool Co-op Idea)
Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Finally, look how to make these cute fall felt leaf sachets.

Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers- Felt Leaf Sachet

You will need:

  • Felt- fall leaf colors
  • Embroidery floss
  • Large eye needle
  • scissors
  • Cotton stuffing
  • Essential oil
Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

You may wish to also purchase a thimble to help protect their little fingers.

First, cut your felt into smaller squares, slightly larger than the size of the leaf you would like your child to sew up.

You will need 2 pieces for each leaf. I have linked some precut squares above that are great for this.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Holding both pieces together, draw a leaf shape with a permanent marker or free hand, and cut out both leaf shapes at the same time so they are perfectly matched.

You can of course make these any size and shape.

Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

I recommend starting small, like no larger than 4”, and with a very basic oblong, or oval shape.

The more complicated shapes with lots of turns may frustrate those little beginning hands, save those for once they improve their basic stitches.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Thread a long piece of embroidery floss onto the needle and knot the ends together.

And double knot over the top of the first to make it larger so it won’t pull through the felt.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

You can choose thread that matches or contrasts, I love the contrast of thread against a different color felt.

Hold both leaf pieces together and show your child how to press the needle carefully through one side and out the other, pulling the thread all the way taut but not so tight that it gathers up the felt.

Have them continue around ¾ of the way.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Stuff with a little cotton filling.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Use a pencil to fill corners and any longer skinny sections.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Continue sewing the rest of the way around, knot the end close to the felt, and then cut off any excess threads.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Once finished you can scent it by adding a few drops of essential oils to the felt and refresh it as needed.

These felt fall leaf sachets are wonderful used for dramatic play or displayed around the house.

They can even be attached to some twine to create a lovely handmade swag for the mantle or bookshelf.

Make Cute Felt Leaf Sachets For Fall Leaf Crafts for Preschoolers

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: earth science, earthscience, elementary science, fall, fall crafts, fall leaves, homeschool preschool, preschool, science

Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook

August 25, 2023 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have a seashore beach lapbook and unit study. Grab more ideas on my lapbook ideas page and on my best homeschool unit studies page.

I can smell the beach from here! Okay, maybe not where I live now, but I feel that way since I grew up with the beach a short 30 minute drive. And we never missed a chance to go to it.

We would cook crab or gumbo, spend hours on the shoreline and build a fire.

Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook

Seashore watching was an activity I loved as a kid and I made sure my kids knew about it. I think you’ll love these ideas for a seashore watching unit study.

Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook. Whether you want to study the beach or seashore in the summer or winter, your kids will love this free super seashore watching unit study and free beach lapbook along with hands-on activities! CLICK HERE to grab it!

Note: My Seashore Lapbook was free for a limited time.

I gathered up several activities that I think you’ll love for an easy homeschool seashore watching unit study and then I have an easy lapbook about things you can find along the beach shoreline.

Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook

Like most all of my unit study resources I share multiple ages links so you can pick and choose links for your kids.

This one is no different. I have resources for kids from Prek to High School.

Seashore Kids Activities

Too, we love and used this book, Seashore Watcher, as a guide because we love it.

Also did I mention it has some easy hands-on activities in it also.

Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook

I loved the fact that the book came with a plastic water protector cover so you could pick up and go to the beach. It’s the little things that amuse me.

More Seashore and Beach Activities for Kids

  • How To Make Your Own Edible Beach Sand And Shells: A Creative And Delicious Recipe
  • 5 Tide Pool Facts and Create An Edible Tide Pool Diorama Ideas
  • Discover the Fun: How to Make Beach Sand Slime at Home
  • Free Art Lessons For 4th Grade & How To Make Easy Beach Glass Art
  • Marine Science Experiments For High School Made Easy
  • Awesome Beach Crafts And Free Beach Comber Field Guide
  • How to Make an Ocean-Inspired Sea Shell Necklace | 8 Summer Beach Crafts
  • 11 Awesome Beach Theme STEM Activities | Quick Sunscreen Painting Experiment
  • Fascinating Life Cycle Of A Sand Dollar & Hydro Dipped Craft
  • Create Your Own Easy Sand Dollar Edible Beach Inspired Cookies
  • Biology Kits for High School & How to Do a Shark Dissection

Seashore Lesson Plans, Printables, and Activities

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium, Curriculum preK-12, tide pools, crabs; claws and shells, beach in a pan to name a few you’ll love.
  • 70 page pdf tidepool guide.
  • Tide pool discovery.
  • Common seashore plants.
  • SeaCrets of tide pools.
  • Life at the seashore curriculum.
  • Free Under the Sea Worksheets : Dive into the Ocean’s Wonders
Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook

  • Match the seashells.
  • Rocky shore food Web Drama.
  • Life under the sea.
  • Sensational seaweed.
  • Gifts from the sea.
  • Kelp science activity guide.
  • Stranded along the coast.
  • How wealthy is your tide pool.
Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook
  • What the Sea Saw teacher’s guide.
  • Life on the Beach guide.
  • New Zealand Rocky Shore activities. Many can be used here in the states too.
  • Planning a trip to the seashore checklist.
  • Padre Island National Seashore.
  • 10 Nature Discoveries on the Sandy Shore.
  • Sand, sun and geometry.
  • Jumpstart Your Beach Unit with Free Lesson Plans.
Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook


(You can see why I loved this book, Seashore Watcher for an easy unit study. It has easy hands-on ideas.)

Seashore Watching Media 

Decorator Crabs Make High Fashion at Low Tide | Deep Look
Seaweeds powerpoint.

Seashore Watching Hands-on Activities

  • Make a ceramic starfish.
  • Fun coloring pages. Common seashore creatures.
  • Seaweed art.
  • Motion from the ocean fish mobile.
  • 21 fun and active games for kids to play on the beach.
  • How To Make A Kids Origami Easy And Fun Whale
  • How waves affect beaches hands-on activity
  • 25+ Beach Learning Activities to Build Background Knowledge Before Your Beach Trip.
  • 15 Seashore Inspired Kid Crafts.
  • Simple Oyster Shell Crafts For Kids And Mollusks Activities
  • Cool Facts About Mollusks | How To Create A Decoupaged Oyster Shell

Also, you’ll love this seashore lapbook.

Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook
  • Dynamic Seashore Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    Dynamic Seashore Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $4.00
    Add to cart

Also, this is not our first time studying about the beach and ocean life.

You’ll love our hands-on edible geography where we made the tidal zones and edible ocean layers. (yum)

Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook


You’ll love my free ocean unit study lapbook and free coral reef lapbooks.

.

Note: My Seashore Lapbook was free for a limited time.

Free Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook

Look at these other links:

  • 30+ Summer Activities for Middle School Kids
  • A to Z List: 100 Fun Summer Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
  • Homeschooling Through the Summer with My Highschooler
  • Seashells by the Seashore | Notebooking Pages from Jenny at Faith & Good Works
  • 10 Nature Discoveries on the Sandy Shore from Eva at Eva Varga
  • Turtle in the Sea Online Book Club from Dachelle at Hide the Chocolate
Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook. Whether you want to study the beach or seashore in the summer or winter, your kids will love this free super seashore watching unit study and free beach lapbook along with hands-on activities! CLICK HERE to grab it!


5 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Hands-On Activities, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Science, Science Based Tagged With: earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, life science, nature study, ocean, science, sciencecurriculum, The Nature Book Club Link Up

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

August 17, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Your kids will love these simple wind energy activities and this DIY anemometer. Also, look at Middle School Hands-on Science : Extreme Winds + Free Minibook and Free Weather Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning.

Simple wind energy experiments are super STEM projects for kids of all ages to learn about engineering, problem-solving, alternative forms of power, and so much more.

I have a diy anemometer tutorial for you using simple items you are likely to have around your house already.

Too, I have suggestions for other activities, books, and other resources to help make it a full and wonderfully educational study.

Before you begin you may want to start with a simple explanation of what is wind.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

What is wind? Wind is the movement of air that is caused by the uneven heating of the earth by the sun. You can see it or grasp it but you can’t feel it.

Sometimes the wind is violent ripping trees from the ground, sometimes it is gentle as it blows gentle breezes across your face on a hot summer day.  

Wind is the largest source of renewable energy in the United States.

We use its energy to sail boats, fly kites, and dry our clothes outside.

Also, we can capture its power and use it as a clean and renewable energy source for many things.

5 Simple Wind Energy Experiments

  • The Weather Science: Build a Wind Turbine experiment looks like loads of fun and will really help simplify understanding how wind can be captured and used.
  • Preschoolers will love this Wind Tunnel Stem Project and I like that it utilizes everyday objects so there is nothing special to buy.
  • Wind Energy STEM Activity: Building your own model Windmill
  • DIY Wind Car: Science Lesson & Fine Motor Fun
  • This Mass Producing LED Powering Wind Turbines in a Kid’s Workshop is a little more involved than the others and requires more supplies. It is perfect for the older child who needs more challenges.
5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Also, you’ll want to include some fun resources and books.

Books about Wind Energy

Simple Wind Energy Experiments Books

Your children will learn about the power of wind and possible ways to harness it for work.

Wind (Weather)

This title provides a basic overview of wind and how it forms. Easy-to-read text, labeled photos, and a photo glossary make this title perfect for beginning readers.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Young Reader's Edition

Now a Netflix film starring and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is a gripping memoir of survival and perseverance about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village.When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.

Wind: Discover Pictures and Facts About Wind For Kids! A Children's Weather Book

Wind Energy is an inexhaustible and clean source of energy which comes from the wind itself. It constantly replenishes itself and is perfectly usable as a natural source of power. It does not involve any water during its production and produces minimal pollution at the same time. Even after the installation of wind turbines, operating costs are very minimal. The fact that the wind blows all the time without stopping is another plus point of wind energy. Also, since it is naturally renewable, wind energy is eco-friendly.

Finding Out about Wind Energy (Searchlight Books ™ ― What Are Energy Sources?)

Did you know that the same wind that messes up your hair can be used to create energy? How exactly do you harness the wind? And what is the effect on the environment? Read this book to find out all about wind energy.

More Hands-on Activities to Learn About the Wind

Next, here are a few more wind activities.

  • Middle School Hands-on Science : Extreme Winds + Free Minibook
  • Meteors, Meteorites, Comets and Meteoroids Today And Make a Fun Windsock
  • How to Make a Simple Wind Vane | Fun Wind Activities Middle School
5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Also, you’ll love this middle school language arts unit The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

As your child reads, he will

  • go on rabbit trails of discovery into history, culture, geography, science, and more;
  • find ways to learn by experiencing parts of the book through hands-on activities;
  • end with a party school to celebrate the ingenuity of the one young boy!

Finally, look at this DIY anemometer so you can measure wind speed.

How to Make a Anemometer

You will need:

  • 6 small paper cups
  • 2 paper straws
  • 1 unsharpened pencil
  • Hole punch
  • Stick Pin
  • Hot glue gun/sticks
  • Small rocks, beans, or playdough (weights)
  • Fan
5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

First, punch 4 holes in your cup, 1 on each side.

And line them up as closely as you can with pairs across from each other.

We will run straws through them later.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Depending on the size of your hole punch and straws used you need to make the hole larger by overlapping an extra punch or two.

Slip your straws through each direction and center them in the cup.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Use a sharpened pencil or other pointed object to poke a hole in the bottom of the cup large enough for a pencil to fit in.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Slip your pencil, eraser first, through the hole in the bottom of the cup.

Let it rest beneath the intersected straws.

Push your pin through both straws and into the eraser as far as you can.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Now, you want to attach 4 cups to the 4 straw ends.

Be sure to place them all in the same direction.

Add a little hot glue to one side of the cup near the lip, hold it in place until the glue is set, and move on to the next one.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

Now put it in the base.

Hot glue the unsharpened end of your pencil into the bottom of the cup and hold until set.

Then add a weight like rocks, beans, or playdough to hold your anemometer down.

5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer

You can take your anemometer outside and measure the wind’s speed by counting how many times it goes around in one minute.

If there is no wind, you can set it in front of a little fan indoors and count the rotations.

You can see in this video here that we experimented with different wind speeds by changing the fan speed.

As the cups catch the wind it makes your anemometer rotate.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: earth science, earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, science, wind

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

August 15, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a free life cycle of a mushroom worksheet and a fun edible meringue mushrooms activity. Also, you’ll love this Fun Hands-on Free Mushroom Unit Study and Kids Learning Activities.

Because the growth of mushrooms can be hard for students to understand, illustrating a mushroom life cycle is best.

For example, mushrooms are not plants because they don’t have chlorophyll and can’t use the sun for energy.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Too, mushrooms don’t have seeds.

Instead of seeds, mushrooms have spores which drop from their gills.

Mushrooms are a type of fungus. There are many kinds of fungi like molds and crusts.

And mycelium is similar to the roots of plants.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Grab a few fun activities below, share some of the fascinating facts, and enjoy nibbling on your own delicious meringue mushrooms to “cap” off your study.

Also, look at more mushroom facts.

5 Mushroom Facts

  1. Mushrooms produce Vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light, but they don’t need the light to grow.
  2. Mushrooms grow in all 50 states, even Alaska.
  3. Fungi are the largest life form on earth, the mycelium grows underground for miles.
  4. Mushrooms are actually the fruit of a fungus; they are a product of the fungi growing underground and are a very small part of the plant.
  5. Some mushrooms glow in the dark, they have light-emitting compounds called luciferins that glow and attract insects.

Also, look at some of these mushroom resources and books.

9 Mushroom Unit Study Books

Grab some of these fun books to learn about mushrooms, the part of a mushroom and the life cycle.

Mushrooms: How to Identify and Gather Wild Mushrooms and Other Fungi

This mushroom foraging book is packed with vital information that will help you identify the exact types of mushrooms you are looking for when you’re out foraging. You’ll learn how to identify the caps, stems and gills, which all have different physical characteristics like shape and texture, and color.From the Neobulgaria pura and the Mitrula paludosa, discover newly-found fungi species and complex ones which can only be viewed microscopically. The detailed illustrations and identification charts will help you name the mushrooms you find or hope to search for. 

Back to the Roots Organic Mini Mushroom Grow Kit

GROW YOUR PLANT ALL YEAR-ROUND: This organic mushroom indoor kit allows you to grow your own crop all-year round; Just place the box near a window with indirect light, mist twice a day, and you'll see delicious, beautiful mushrooms growing within a week; Included in this kit is an organic plant-based soil infused with mushroom spawn and a booklet with instructions

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.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

Featuring a durable vinyl binding and over 700 full-color identification photographs organized visually by color and shape, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms is the perfect companion for any mushroom hunting expedition. Each species is accompanied by a detailed physical description, information on edibility, season, habitat, range, look-alikes, alternative names, and facts on edible and poisonous species, uses, and folklore. A supplementary section on cooking and eating wild mushrooms, and illustrations identifying the parts of a mushroom, round out this essential guide.

The Mushroom Fan Club

Elise Gravel is back with a whimsical look at one of her family’s most beloved pastimes: mushroom hunting! Combining her love of exploring nature with her talent for anthropomorphizing everything, she takes us on a magical tour of the forest floor and examines a handful of her favorite alien specimens up close. While the beautiful coral mushroom looks like it belongs under the sea, the peculiar Lactarius indigo may be better suited for outer space. From the fun-to-stomp puffballs to the prince of the stinkers―the stinkhorn mushroom―and the musically inclined chanterelles, Gravel shares her knowledge of this fascinating kingdom by bringing each species to life in full felt-tip-marker glory.

Botanicum: Welcome to the Museum

The 2017 offering from Big Picture Press's Welcome to the Museum series, Botanicum, is a brilliantly curated guide to plant life. With artwork from Katie Scott of Animalium fame, Botanicum gives readers the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the pages of a beautiful book. From perennials to bulbs to tropical exotica, Botanicum is a wonderful feast of botanical knowledge complete with superb cross sections of how plants work.

Ridley's Funky Fungi

FUN FAMILY GAME: See if you have what it takes to be the mushroom master in Funky Fungi from Ridley's Games! In this card-collecting game that will definitely grow on you, forage for the best fungi to be the first player to reach ten points and win the game.

Let's learn about mushrooms

Introduces the characteristics and uses of a variety of mushrooms and discusses some of the beliefs and customs connected with this plant family.

Katya's Book of Mushrooms

Mushrooms are exciting to find, beautiful to look at, fascinating to identify, and delicious to eat. When you know what to look for, a mushroom hunt is as safe and enjoyable as a treasure hunt. Katya Arnold ranges through the world to find hundreds of varieties of mushrooms, as well as fascinating anecdotes and fun facts that make these wonders of nature exciting and immediate. A walk in the woods will never be the same!

Next, look at more hands-ion mushroom activities.

More Mushroom Activities

  • Grow your own mushrooms at home to get a close look at the process from start to finish.
  • Color the mushroom with colored pencils or crayons, older children can fill out the blank one to label the anatomy.
Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms
  • Take a walk and see what mushrooms you can spot; they love dark damp pasture or woodland areas.
  • Nature Anatomy has several lovely, illustrated pages on mushrooms’ names, their lifecycle, and interesting facts about them.
Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms
  • Painting a watercolor of a favorite mushroom or one that you found in the wild is a great learning activity. Carry watercolors and paper on your next nature walk and see what you can discover and recreate through art.
Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms
  • I love to add beautiful art to our walls that also has an educational use to it like this vintage mushroom print.
  • Fun Hands-on Free Mushroom Unit Study and Kids Learning Activities

Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet Meringue Mushroom Activity

You will need:

  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Cinnamon or cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • Oreos-optional
Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

First, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Separate eggs, adding only the whites to a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Add in cream of tartar and mix on high until foamy and soft peaks have formed.

Incorporate sugar a little at a time until it is all mixed in.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Continue to whip on high for 4-5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick, and shiny, and forms stiff peaks.

This just means that when you lift the beater up or scoop it with a spoon it holds its shape well without dripping.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Add just a bit of cocoa powder or cinnamon and mix quickly to add a little color to your mushrooms.

Take a quart-sized sandwich bag and place it in a cup with the top rolled open over the sides.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Scoop the meringue mixture into the bag until about ⅗ of the way full and squeeze the mixture down into one corner.

How to Make a Fun Meringue Mushroom Activity

If you have and are familiar with using a piping bag you can just use your favorite bag and tip.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Snip off a small corner of the bag with scissors.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Hold above the filling and squeeze the mixture out the hole you cut into little round mushroom caps.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Then make some strips for the stalk. Don’t worry about making them perfect, they are natural and unique, and we are going to trim them a bit later.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Be sure you make an equal number of each, so you have a complete mushroom.

Wet your finger and smooth ridges and points on them.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and allow them to sit for another 30 minutes.

Remove and allow them to cool completely.

While waiting for them to cool you can crush some Oreos up in a bag with a rolling pin or toss them in your food processor to create a dirt bed for the mushrooms.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Sprinkle on your plate.

Dust the mushroom caps with cinnamon or cocoa powder for a little texture and color.

Cut one end of the mushroom stalk to leave a flat even surface to attach to the cap.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth.

Dip mushroom cap bottoms into the chocolate and press the stalk into them.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Pop in the fridge to harden for a few minutes.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Add the mushrooms to the dirt and enjoy a tasty and educational snack while you learn about the fascinating life cycle and anatomy of this fungus.

How to Get the Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheets

Lastly, I have four mushroom notebooking pages or worksheet.

The first two pages are the mushroom life cycle. One page is labeled (or with the answers) and the other page is unlabeled.

And the second set of pages is the mushroom anatomy. The same for it too, one page is labeled (or with the answers) and the other page is unlabeled.

Free Life Cycle of a Mushroom Worksheet & Fun Meringue Mushrooms

Now, how to grab the free mushroom notebooking pages. This is a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my subscribers library and this freebie.

 1) Sign up on my list.
2) Grab the freebie.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: earth science, earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, life science, mushroom, notebooking, science

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

August 9, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 10 gross scat facts and how to make edible scat. Too, you’ll like Daniel Boone Explorer Black Bear Unit Study and Fun Edible Bear Poop.

It may be kinda gross, but I can guarantee your kids are going to remember this lesson for years to come.

This fun hands-on activity is perfect for a forest unit or survival study.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Too, if you are studying a specific animal like a moose or a particular region like the Northwoods, add this activity.

The Northwoods are a boreal forest and comprise about half of Canada and many parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

What is scat? Scat is just the “fancy” scientific way of saying wild animal droppings.

10 Unbelievably Gross Scat Facts

  1. Some animals, like birds and some monkeys, actually dig through poop looking for insects to eat- gross!
  2. Turkey vultures poop on their own feet after scavenging on dead animals. While it may sound pretty disgusting it has an important purpose, they are filled with good bacteria that help kill bad bacteria they might have picked up.
  3. There are 2 caterpillars that disguise themselves as poop to avoid being eaten – the viceroy and the white admiral.
  4. Due to the shape of their ridge intestines and their high-fiber diet wombat poop comes out very dense and perfectly square. They can leave behind 80-100 square pellets every single day.
  5. There is a very expensive coffee, called kopi luwak, that is made from beans that are collected from a palm civet’s poop. You won’t find that in my pantry.
  6. Sloths climb down from the trees just once a week to poop. It can be a pretty big poop, equaling up to about ⅕ of their body weight.
  7. Caterpillars can shoot their poop far, up to 40 times the length of their bodies.
  8. A lot of animal poop is used to make great fertilizer for gardens-cows, chickens, llamas, goats, and rabbits.
  9. Owls poop but they also get rid of their waste by regurgitating pellets. These pellets contain hair, bones, and the remains of insects.
  10. Pandas can poop up to 50 pounds of waste per day.

I based this idea off Who Pooped in the Northwoods (Scats and Tracks for Kids), a simple fun book that gives kids a peek into the animals of the Northwoods by teaching them to look for animal signs like tracks and scat of course.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

It encourages kids to make observations like noticing the direction of hoofprints and what is in the poop, is it an omnivore or carnivore? Can you tell from its’s scat?

Books About Scat and Tracks

Next, look at some of these resources to add to your unit study.

Books about Animal Scat, Poop, and Tracks

Add some of these fun resources to your unit study about animals.

Who Pooped in the Northwoods? - Scat and Tracks for Kids

Watch where you step! Sometimes the animals in the Northwoods are hard to find but you can almost always find their poop! Come along with Michael, Emily, and their family as they find poop (scat) and footprints (tracks) and discover which animal made them! An ideal tool for teaching young children about animal behavior, diet, and scat and tracks identification the perfect companion for in the car or in the field on your next trip to the Northwoods. Fun illustrations of the animals and their scat and tracks supplement the charming story, and a quick-reference chart at the back makes field identification a breeze!

Whose Poop Is That? (Whose Is THAT?)

Poop! Ewwww!No, don’t say “Ewwww.” Ask, “Whose poop is that?” This simple, and yes, charming book asks this question about seven examples of animal poop. By investigating visual clues, young readers can learn to identify the animal through its droppings. For instance, find a sample of poop with bits of bone and tufts of hair. Turn the page to learn it came from a fox!

Ecosystem - A Family Card Game about Animals, their Habitats, and Biodiversity

ECOLOGY BOARD GAME - Learn about ecology from a science game! Players build ecosystems of wild animals such as bears, foxes, and rabbits, in environments such as streams, forests, and meadows and are rewarded for sustainability and diversity! Our 2-6 player games will go great on a board game table in a classroom to teach students about the beauty of biological variety.

40 PCS Woodland Animals Figures Model Trees

  • 3 x deer, 1 x bear, 1 x squirrel, 6 x model cyan pine trees, 9 x model birches, 5 x model poplars, 2 x model white poplars, 3 x flower trees, 10 x aloe leaves.
  • 【Material】These model trees and flowers are made of plastic material, well workmanship, flexible and durable for using. Not suitable for children under 6 years old, please use them under the guidance of adults to prevent children accidental ingestion.

Tracks, Scats and Signs (Take Along Guides)

Become a nature detective with this illustrative, engaging and fun Take-Along-Guide. You may not know where to look, or what to look for, but animal signs are everywhere and this guide will help you learn how to read them. You'll learn how to spot and identify common clues that 17 wildlife species leave behind in the woods, in the fields and along ponds.

Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science)

Read and find out about how to track animals by finding footprints and other clues in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.

Does a cat use her claws when she walks? How does a rabbit run? What does a skunk smell like? Find out the answers in Big Tracks, Little Tracks, a perfect first book for children with a budding interest in animals and nature.

This is a clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. It includes a find out more page with lots of hands-on activities.

Animal Scat and Tracks Resources

Also, look at some of these resources to add to your forest or animal unit study.

  • Mammal Scat of North America
  • Learn All About Animal Poop with this fun Lesson Plan
  • Daniel Boone Explorer Black Bear Unit Study and Fun Edible Bear Poop
  • Animal Tracks Book

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Finally, look how to make this fun edible scat recipe.

Edible Scat Recipe

You can use any kind of cereal that you like, whatever you have on hand, even quick-cooked oats.

If you can find a multipack of the mini boxes at the grocery store your kids will have even more fun getting creative.

You will need:

  • 2 ½ cups dry cereal
  • 2 cups marshmallows
  • 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Scavenge the kitchen or the shelves at your grocery store to find “add-ins” to your poop to help differentiate the different animals you wish to make.

Think of different shapes of cereal, raisins, nuts, and candies.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Melt marshmallows and butter in a large microwave-safe dish by heating them in 30-second increments and stirring between each rotation until completely melted.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Immediately stir in the dry cereal and cocoa powder until completely mixed.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

How to Make Edible Poop

Separate into as many kinds of edible scat you want to make.

Add in any “special” ingredients and form the shapes.

Spray or butter your hands to keep it from sticking.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Rabbit poop is small little round pellets. Make it before you add anything else, rolling it into tiny balls.

White Tail Deer poop is kind of like rabbit poop that you may be more familiar with, little pellets but larger and they more closely resemble the shape of jellybeans.

Black Bear poop looks similar to what your dog might leave in the backyard but bigger and it might contain berries, seeds, twigs, or hair depending on its recent diet. You can add in oats, unbroken cereal, pretzels, etc.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Wolf Poop usually contains hair/fur and is long and tapered off. To recreate fur use coconut flakes.

Beaver poop is not frequently seen as it is usually dropped into the water and even in their lodges.

But it is full of wood chips and sawdust if you were to spot it. To look like wood chips you can add larger flakes of cereal and crumbs when forming it.

Set it on waxed paper and allow it to firm up.

Label your scat and if you have them, let your child match up coordinating plastic animals or the correct printed photo with each one they make.

10 Gross Scat Facts and How to Make Edible Scat

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities, Science Tagged With: animals, earthscience, elementary science, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolscience, life science, poop, scat, science

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