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Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

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

Your kids will love labeling the parts of a honey bee lego activity. Also, look at my Fascinating and Fun Honey Bees Unit Study and Lapbook for Kids.

Bees are fascinating little creatures from how they create their honeycombs to maximize space, to how they know to fan the hive to keep it cool.

Bees are used in so many ways than just the delicious honey they produce.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

We use beeswax in cosmetics, candles, as a coating, and bee venom is used as a holistic treatment.

Because they are so very important to our world as pollinators I think it is important to educate our children about them from the beginning.

Labeling the Parts of a Honey Bee

If you’ve been homeschooling awhile you know that hands-on activities really drive home information in a fun way that really makes it stick, often better than any worksheet could.

Since most kids love LEGO, I thought that an activity using them would be a hit with the kids and turn an ordinary and possibly boring homeschool lesson into something unique and fun.

Turns out I was right- The kids loved doing this project and I hope you and yours will too!

Grab a big bucket of LEGOS and a handful of bee books and let’s get started.

A LEGO baseplate.

LEGO Classic Green Baseplate 2304 Supplement for Building, Playing, and Displaying LEGO Creations, 10cm x 10cm, Large Building Base Accessory for Kids and Adults (1 Piece)

Assorted LEGO bricks

LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box 10696 Building Toys for Creative Play; Kids Creative Kit (484 Pieces)
  • Cardstock paper
  • A book or printout of parts of a bee
  • Pen or marker

Books for Bee Unit Studies

8 Honey Bees Unit Study Resources & Books

Add some of these fun resources to your bees unit study or spring unit study.

Bees: A Honeyed History

One part science, one part cultural history, and countless parts fascination, Bees: A Honeyed History celebrates the important role that these intriguing insects have played in our ecosystem throughout the ages, and today.

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses

Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one’s own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products, and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Honeybees, which are critical in the pollination of popular US produce such as almonds, apples, and blueberries, are actually not native to the Americas. The honeybee that you see dancing from flower to flower in farms and gardens originated in Europe. The introduction of the honeybee began with European colonization of the Americas; before that, wild native bees, other insects, and some birds and mammals pollinated the native flowers of the continent. The honeybee’s ability to pollinate crops, produce honey, and be easily domesticated precipitated the growth in beekeeping all over America.

Flight of the Honey Bee: Read and Wonder

Follow the flight of a honey bee as she searches for nectar to sustain her hive and, along the way, pollinates flowers to produce seeds and fruits. Nature lovers and scientists-to-be are invited to explore the fascinating life of a honey bee.

Life Cycle of a Honey Bee

Honey Bees are fascinating creatures which have been kept by humans for centuries. Now you can explore the life cycle of the honey bee without being stung. Watch as it grows from an egg, to a larva, and to a pupa before finally emerging as a mature adult.

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

Always a favorite when doing any kind of nature study, there are a few pages that cover different types of bees, common nectar sources, and bee anatomy. If you don't have this set already I cannot recommend it enough for nature studies.

Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

One of the companion books to Nature Anatomy, the farm version covers all parts of farming, machinery, and crops but it also caught my eye because it even covers Beekeeping for aspiring beekeepers. It goes over bee terminology, parts of a bee, the parts of a hive, types of bees, flower parts, and beekeeper essentials. These books really put a lot of info into compact parts.

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

Why do beekeepers use smoke machines when collecting honey? Can a bee really sting only once? Why do bees "dance"? In concise, detailed text and abundant illustrations that range from the humorous to the scientific, Charles Micucci offers a wide-ranging and spirited introduction to the life cycle, social organization, and history of one of the world's most useful insects.

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive

When the Magic School Bus turns into a beehive, Ms. Frizzle's class learns firsthand about how workers, drones, and the queen bees live together. Readers will be abuzz with knowledge as they discover how honeybees find food; make a comb, honey, and beeswax; and care for their young, all from the bee's perspective.

Hands-on Activity for Honey Bee

You can make this as simple or as involved a LEGO build as you like depending on the age and ability of the child.

Using the larger Duplo blocks to create a simple bee and let your child point out the various parts of a bee as you call them out is another idea.

Provide your child with a book or printout on the parts of a bee to use as a model and a variety of LEGO to build their bee model. 

Give them a large variety of LEGO bricks to build with, I love this starter box for kids just beginning a LEGO collection.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

I keep a box for each kid separate from all the other LEGO in the house just for school projects like this.

LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box 10696 Building Toys for Creative Play; Kids Creative Kit (484 Pieces)

Have them start with creating a head, thorax, and abdomen using yellow and black bricks.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Add wings using white bricks.

For older children you can differentiate forewing and hindwing if you like.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Use long single row black bricks to create 3 sets of legs.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Finally add eyes and antennae.

Hands-on Science: Labeling the Parts of a Bee

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Cut small strips of cardstock and add the names of whichever bee parts you would like your child to identify.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Give them the strips and let them locate each part on their LEGO bee, with so much interaction while building and then labeling they are sure to retain much of the information they get from this build.

Labeling Parts of a Honey Bee LEGO Fun Activity For Kids

Here are some additional bee activities to try 

  • Create a honey bee lapbook.
  • Create the life cycle of a bee using LEGO again.
  • Pick up some local honey and try it right out of the jar as well as in a recipe or two.
  • Make a honeycomb by cutting down toilet paper tubes and bending each ring into a hexagon, glue each together to create any size you like.
  • Paint a watercolor bee or beehive.
  • Thumb through one of the books listed below and learn some more bee information-make flashcards.
  • Plant flowers in your yard to help support the bees, very important pollinators.
  • Make a mason bee house to put up outdoors.
  • Preschoolers can work on fine motor skills by transferring “pollen” (yellow pom poms) from one flower (colorful bowl) to another with tongs.
  • Research all the products we get from bees.
  • Give your child a bee themed writing prompt for handwriting, creative writing, and grammar practice such as “ What if there were no bees?” or “ The day I turned into a bee…”.

You’ll love these other hands-on science activities.

Fascinating and Fun Honey Bees Unit Study and Lapbook for Kids

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

Your kids will love this honey bees unit study and lapbook. Also, grab more unit studies on my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies,

Whether you want to learn about how honey bees are fascinating master pollinators, learn about the interesting social activities in the hive, learn about beeswax, or know what is honey, these honey bee activities and resources will be helpful.

Whether you want to learn about how honey bees are fascinating master pollinators, learn about the interesting social activities in the hive, learn about beeswax, or know what is honey, these honey bee activities and resources will be helpful. You’ll love these fun honey bees lapbook! CLICK HERE to grab it! #lapbook #honeybees #unitstudy #homeschoolscience #handsonlearning

Next, look at these honey bee resources:

Bees, wasps, and ants are part of one of the large group of insects, the order Hymenoptera mean “membrane-winged.”

It comes from the Greek words hymen (membrane) and pteron (wing.)

BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT BEES

Equally important when doing a unit study is to add living books and books to use as the main spine of your study.

8 Honey Bees Unit Study Resources & Books

Add some of these fun resources to your bees unit study or spring unit study.

Bees: A Honeyed History

One part science, one part cultural history, and countless parts fascination, Bees: A Honeyed History celebrates the important role that these intriguing insects have played in our ecosystem throughout the ages, and today.

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses

Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one’s own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products, and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Honeybees, which are critical in the pollination of popular US produce such as almonds, apples, and blueberries, are actually not native to the Americas. The honeybee that you see dancing from flower to flower in farms and gardens originated in Europe. The introduction of the honeybee began with European colonization of the Americas; before that, wild native bees, other insects, and some birds and mammals pollinated the native flowers of the continent. The honeybee’s ability to pollinate crops, produce honey, and be easily domesticated precipitated the growth in beekeeping all over America.

Flight of the Honey Bee: Read and Wonder

Follow the flight of a honey bee as she searches for nectar to sustain her hive and, along the way, pollinates flowers to produce seeds and fruits. Nature lovers and scientists-to-be are invited to explore the fascinating life of a honey bee.

Life Cycle of a Honey Bee

Honey Bees are fascinating creatures which have been kept by humans for centuries. Now you can explore the life cycle of the honey bee without being stung. Watch as it grows from an egg, to a larva, and to a pupa before finally emerging as a mature adult.

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

Always a favorite when doing any kind of nature study, there are a few pages that cover different types of bees, common nectar sources, and bee anatomy. If you don't have this set already I cannot recommend it enough for nature studies.

Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

One of the companion books to Nature Anatomy, the farm version covers all parts of farming, machinery, and crops but it also caught my eye because it even covers Beekeeping for aspiring beekeepers. It goes over bee terminology, parts of a bee, the parts of a hive, types of bees, flower parts, and beekeeper essentials. These books really put a lot of info into compact parts.

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

Why do beekeepers use smoke machines when collecting honey? Can a bee really sting only once? Why do bees "dance"? In concise, detailed text and abundant illustrations that range from the humorous to the scientific, Charles Micucci offers a wide-ranging and spirited introduction to the life cycle, social organization, and history of one of the world's most useful insects.

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive

When the Magic School Bus turns into a beehive, Ms. Frizzle's class learns firsthand about how workers, drones, and the queen bees live together. Readers will be abuzz with knowledge as they discover how honeybees find food; make a comb, honey, and beeswax; and care for their young, all from the bee's perspective.

First, dive into learning about the life cycle of the honey bee.

Honey Bees Unit Study

After mating, the queen’s ovaries expand. She is fed nutrient-rich food from the worker bees. Within three or four days she begins laying eggs.

By day 3 or 4 eggs hatch. Workers begin feeding larvae. By day 8/9 workers seal cell with wax.

And then the larvae transforms into pupa and from days 16 to 24 queen, workers and drone emerges.

Honey Bee Life Cycles

Honey Bees Anatomy

Next, learn about honey bees anatomy.

Although each bee in the hive is formed a bit differently because of their occupation, the worker bee has one of the most fascinating jobs.

Chemistry and Science of Honey

In addition, learning about the chemistry and science of honey is a fascinating topic. Sure, it’s been said honey is bee puke so you’re kids will love knowing that.

Also, honey bees collect the sweet nectar from various flowers with their straw like tongues. Then the nectar mixes with enzymes in their stomach and is taken back to the beehive.

The bees fan the cells full of nectar which draws the moisture out and thickening the nectar to make honey.

And there are many different types of honey. The color and flavor is determined by the nectar.

More Honey Bees Unit Study Ideas

Honey Bees Pollination

However, the true worth of honey bees is their contribution to the environment through pollination.

Plants don’t just rely on bees, but need other pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, and moths.

Moreover, for fertilization to occur, the pollen must get from the anther to the stigma.

Once on the stigma, the pollen grain sends a pollen tube down the style and to the ovary where the pollen’s genetic material combines with the egg’s genetic material.

What Happens Inside a Hive

Bee swarm on a fallen tree

A cloud of bees forming a swarm is spectacular sight. Swarming is the natural means for how new colonies are formed. Beekeepers try to control swarming since it disrupts the hive. When the colony gets to a certain size, the current queen leaves with thousands of workers and creates a new nest elsewhere.

Language Art Ideas for Studying Honey Bees

Too, some of our sayings or idioms comes from bees. How fun. Your student can write some of them down and learn their meaning.

Look at a few expressions or idioms we get from bees.

  • queen bee – Queen bee refers to a dominant female.
  • busy as a bee – Busy as a bee means we’re working hard.
  • bees knees – The bees knees means something or someone who is admired or great and all things are sweet and good.
  • bee in your bonnet – You wouldn’t want a bee trapped in your hat. So bee in your bonnet would mean something or someone that is aggravating you.
  • the birds and the bees – This is a gracious way of saying you’re going to be talking about how babies are made or sex.
  • spelling or quilting bee – We use it today to mean children who come together to compete in spelling, but it’s been thought that it derived from the social interaction in a beehive. Hence, folks gather for social bees of different kinds whether it’s sewing or quilting.

Vocabulary words for a honey bee unit study.

Additionally, look at these vocabulary words.

  • pollen – powder-like material produced by the anthers of flowering plants
  • apiarist – Beekeeper.
  • apiary – A bee yard.
  • hive – The structure in which bees live and are kept.
  • honeycomb – A sheet of hexagonal wax cells made by honey bees to store honey, pollen, and brood.
  • drone – The male honey bee.
  • swarming – The natural process of how new colonies are formed.
  • worker bee – A female bee. The majority of the honey bees are worker bees. They do all the work in the colony except for laying fertile eggs.
  • pollinator – an animal that moves pollen from the anther to the stigma of a plant
  • colony – The colony is the living unit of tens of thousands of workers, drones, and a queen.
  • brood – Eggs, larvae, and pupae.
  • cell –  the hexagonal comb built by honeybees.
  • royal jelly – It is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of larvae, as well as adult queens.
  • virgin queen – A queen bee who has not mated.
  • scout bees – Bees who look for new nesting areas in preparation for a swarm and are normally familiar with the area.

Free Books
Hear a Librivox recording of The Children’s Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck.
The Behavior of the Honey Bee in Pollen Collection by Dana Brackenridge Casteel

Honey Bee Teachers Guides & Activity Guides

Finally, you’ll love a roundup of some fantastic honey bee teaching guides.

Honey Bee Lapbook

You can purchase my honey bee lapbook below, but look at how I created it.

Too, the resource I used is The Beekeeper’s Bible.

I used this because it’s the book I had. It was very thorough in explaining about honey bees. This lapbook is focused on honey bees, and not so much beekeeping.

Awesome features of my honey bees lapbook:

  • You are paying for the printables, the lapbook.
  • My lapbooks are created for multiple ages and geared toward older children unless I specifically state that it’ is’ for a certain age.
  • Most of the minibooks have facts which accompany the minibook and a lot of the minibook are offered two ways. One way where your child uses the facts provided and another way where your child can add his own research and not use the inside pages.
  • You do not need to use The Beekeeper’s Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses. It’s the book I had and the one we liked.
  • You can use any reference materials, books, or online resources to complete the lapbook.
  • I don’t provide links in the lapbooks for filling out the information. This keeps my prices low for my products, but I do try to provide free links on my site as I can.
  • Because I do use a combination of cursive or script and print, I aim my lapbooks toward upper elementary up to high school.
  • Another way which I aim my lapbooks toward older children is that I avoid using baby-ish or goofy looking clip art. I spend many hours culling through images and purchasing ones that are correct and highest quality.
  • Because I have been a working homeschool mom for more of my journey than not, I need flexibility for using lapbooks. Proving a few facts from the main resource I use is one way I have of saving you time and giving you flexibility in how to use the minibooks.
  • Too, some of your kids may be older and you want them to do more research and some of your kids may be reluctant writers so you may want to mix and match pre-filled minibooks with blank minibooks. Flexibility is the key to my lapbooks.

Other nature unit studies you’ll love.

20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors

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

This list of twenty nature-inspired kids novels are the types of books which helps kids connect to the outdoors. These nature novels can be part of any curriculum or stand alone. Also, look at How to Put Together a Middle School Nature Study With Book List.

Whether you’re wanting kids to step away from their devices, looking for a nature-inspired book for a unit study, or you want to inspire your kid’s inner naturalist, look at this roundup of books.

20 Nature-Inspired Kids' Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors

Nature Novels For Kids

1.
Call of the Wild by Jack London for ages 12 and up.

The Illustrated Call of the Wild: Original First Edition

A classic story of survival from the perspective of Buck, a kidnapped Saint Bernard who is forced into being a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Set in the Alaskan wilderness during the 1890s, the descriptions are stunning and take readers right to the freezing temperatures of the Yukon.

2.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell for ages 8 to 12.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

A young girl is left deserted on a pacific island off the coast of California. Karana must forage for food, build weapons for protection, and make clothes for covering.

A story of strength and resilience that will inspire. Beautifully written and perfect taking the readers to an island filled with dolphins, otters, and sea birds.

These activities will go along with this book.

3.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain for ages 12 and up.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Original Illustrations

This classic, set near the Mississippi River in the 1840s follows Tom and his adventures through plenty of outdoor shenanigans.

Look at this activity Lewis & Clark – Mighty Mississippi book & Sediment Activity to go along with this book.

Travel to the river with Tom and Huck with this fully illustrated edition!

Nature Books for Kids

4.
Hatchet by Gary Paulson ages 11 and up.

Hatchet

The sole survivor of a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian Roberson, finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness. He must fend for himself.

Brian slowly learns the survivor skills he needs to stay alive, building shelter, making fire, and foraging for food.

This novel takes the reader through a fifty-four-day journey of perseverance that forever changes a young man and his perspective about life and family. 

Gary Paulson has many other novels that are set in the wilderness, and spends his personal time split between Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

Nature Book List for Kids

This book takes readers on an eco-adventure full of everything from the town’s well know bully to potty-trained alligators. There is a movie that would make a fun follow-up too.

5.
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling for ages 8 to 12.

Paddle-to-the-Sea (Sandpiper Books)

Follow a young boy as he travels from The Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean in this adventurous novel that brings geography to life.

20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors

This author has many other titles perfect for nature study.

The Secret Garden (HarperClassics)

6.
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett for ages 9 to 12.

An orphaned girl is sent to live with her great uncle and discovers a secret garden on his Yorkshire Moors property.

The lush garden is the young girl’s only escape.

This edition is beautifully illustrated by Tasha Tudor. Recreate some of the pictures or draw a scene from the book. 

7.
The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis for ages 8 to 12.

The Secret Lake: A children’s mystery adventure

This book is a time-traveling mystery adventure of two kids who find a pathway to a secret lake and one hundred years old garden.

Nancy Drew meets The Secret Garden in this modern novel sure to become a favorite. 

Nature-Based Fiction for Kids

8.
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare for ages 10 to 12.

The Sign of the Beaver

Thirteen-year-old Matt is left to survive on his own in the Maine wilderness.

This is a story filled with descriptive detail about survival in the wilderness and the relationships between settlers and natives in the 1700s.

Look at my other activities here to go along with this book.

9.
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Davide Wyss for ages 10 and up.

The Swiss Family Robinson (An Illustrated Classic)

A classic story of one family’s survival after being shipwrecked in the East Indies on their way to Australia.

They live on a deserted island for ten years. A book filled with adventure, lots of exotic animals, and plenty of survival skills.

Also, look at my Free Swiss Family Robinson Unit Study And Easy DIY Water Filter.

10.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey for ages High School.

The Snow Child: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize in Letters: Fiction Finalists)

Set in snowy Alaska in 1920, a couple desperate for a baby, build a child out of snow.

The next morning the snow is gone, but a young girl is found running in the woods.

She hunts with a red fox by her side and survives on her own in the Alaskan wilderness.

The couple’s lives are changed forever, as they grow to love the child as their own.

11.
My Side of The Mountain by Jean Craighead George for ages 8 to 12.

My Side of the Mountain (Puffin Modern Classics)

Sam Gribley runs away from New York City to the mountains and must survive on his own.

The descriptions of nature are detailed, and it is the perfect choice for learning real-life survival skills.

The book’s rich vocabulary will make for a great read-aloud.

Our Journey Westward

Kids Novels to Inspire the Love of Outdoors

12.
Summer of The Woods by Stephen K. Smith for ages 8 to 12.

Summer of the Woods (The Virginia Mysteries)

A summer packed with outdoor adventure! Follow these kids as they discover the Virginian woods where they find secret caves, rushing waters, and rare treasure. 

These books would be awesome for a state study of Virginia, as there are several more in the series that takes the reader to historical sites throughout the state.

13.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle for ages 13 and up.

The Last Unicorn

A lone unicorn ventures out on her own to find more of her kind.

Set in an enchanted forest, readers escape to the wood with this classic fantasy fiction.

14.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame for ages 8 and up.

The Wind in the Willows

Four animals live among the Thames Valley in England.

A classic novel about adventure, morality, and friendship is also well known for its depiction of nature.

The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot (1))

15.
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown for ages 10 to 12.

Can a Robot survive in the wild? Find out as Roz learns to survive the wilderness.

Fans of the movie Wall-E will enjoy this adventurous story about the clash of technology and nature.

The book includes lots of descriptions of nature and animals.

Riding the Flume (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

16.
Riding the Fume by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch for ages 11 to 13.

Set among the giant sequoia trees in California, the novel is about a young girl faced with the discovery that her sister who died years earlier may still be alive. A must-read!

Living Books About Nature

Nature Girl

17.
Nature Girl by Jane Kelly for ages 8 to 12.

Eleven-year-old Megan is without internet and TV in the Vermont woods for the summer.

Our Journey Westward

When she gets lost on the Appalachian Trail, she decides to hike all the way to Massachusetts where her best friend lives.

Get ready for a hike with this adventure novel!

18.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls for ages 9 to 14.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Set in the hills of the Ozarks, young Billy, and his two dogs explore the countryside.

This is a timeless tale of love and loss and the special bond between a boy and his best friends, two pups named Old Dan and Little Ann.

19.
Wish by Barabra O’Connor for ages 9 to 12.

Wish

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, a young girl makes the same wish every after year.

This is a sweet story about a girl and a newfound furry friend.

20.
The Lost Book of Adventure for ages 7 and up.

You’ll be transported by riveting adventure tales from around the globe, like being dragged off by a hyena in Botswana, surviving a Saharan dust storm, being woken by an intrepid emperor penguin in Antarctica, and coming face-to-face with a venomous bushmaster (one of the most dangerous snakes on the planet)—all told in lyrical prose and illustrations that wonder at the mysterious beauty of the wild.

I hope one of these 20 nature-inspired books will teach your kids about nature and revive a love of the great outdoors.

Look at some of these other ideas:

Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science

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Today I’ve rounded up some fun things to get the next generation of green thumbs digging in the dirt. I wished I had started gardening earlier with my kids, but your littles will love these kinder gardening resources to celebrate nature and science.

Kids Garden Unit Study Resources

Look at this adorable Radio Flyer big-kid wheelbarrow. Your kids will love to haul their own plants or just dirt. No intimidation here when they have their own kid-sized wheelbarrow for hauling.

Also, grab these fun crocs which are easy to clean and your littlest gardener is ready for his big kid project – well almost!

One thing that held me back from putting my kids in charge of their own garden was the lack of room in one place we lived while homeschooling.

When we got to move out to the more scenic and country areas where we had wide open spaces, gardening was easier.

It wasn’t so easy to do a fun science garden unit study when we lived in the city or in our smaller home which is why I loved these next fun things.

Kid Science in the Garden

These adorable growing your own herb kits are just the perfect kid-sized project. This raised bed is the perfect working height for little kids.

A huge plus is that you can take all of these things with you or move them around as you need to.

Then sneak in some fun ways to learn about gardening with this this flower families go fish game.

Add in some bug bingo for a creative way to learn about bugs from all over the world and you’ve added in a touch of geography.

You can also add in fun boxed craft ideas like this greenhouse from Groovy Lab in a Box.

Then, of course no unit study about gardening is complete without fun books.

With Seedfolks you can add in cultural awareness into your unit study which is a nice twist while learning about nature and science. Grab the Teacher’s Guide to the book and you’ll have a ready-made unit study.

Including a good amount of nonfiction living book ensures that a kid will find science in the garden fun as you avoid boring textbooks.

Not only will your kids love doing what they naturally like doing at this age which is being outside digging in dirt and playing with water, but it teaches kids valuable life skills.

Independence to care for their basic essentials and a sustaining food source are life skills you want your little kinder gardeners to have.

You’ll love these other unit study ideas and activities to add to your own study.

How to Dissolve a Seashell – Beach Hands-on Fun Activity

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

This is a fun how to dissolve a seashell activity. Also, look at my Seashore Beach Watching Unit Study and Seashore Lapbook for more ideas.

With summer quickly approaching I thought a fun beach themed activity would be just the thing to keep kids interested and learning even with the end of the year burnout that we often face.

I put together a fun activity – how to dissolve a seashell.

I remember doing it myself years ago; I like it because it’s low cost, easy to assemble, and the kids can do most of it on their own.

How to Dissolve a Seashell - Beach Hands-on Fun Activity. Whether you're doing an Ocean or Beach theme, your kids will love this EZ activity. Click here!

Seashell Acid Base Experiment

It gives them a visual of what might be going on beneath the ocean’s surface and truly can give them a glimpse of what acid can do in general in a safe manner.

This simple lesson covers chemistry as well as including some conservation awareness.

What is a seashell anyway?

Seashells are mostly made up of a substance called calcium carbonate which is easily dissolved when left in vinegar even for a few days.

A seashell is the exoskeleton of mollusks. This could be an oyster or a sea snail for example.

Vinegar is great for a quick wash and disinfection of the seashells you bring home from the beach, but if you leave them in for too long they begin to eat away at your seashells.

Let’s see what happens.

How to Dissolve a Seashell Activity Ingredients

You will need:

  • white vinegar
  • seashells
  • a glass jar

Ocean Acidification Activity

Directions:

You can either use seashells from your collection that you’ve brought home from your own beach visit or you can purchase a bag.

Save the extra for a fun art project or you can place them in a pretty jar for summer decor.

Place a seashell or two in your container of vinegar.

Be sure to cover them completely and watch as bubbles immediately begin to form, this is carbon dioxide.

1 How to Dissolve a Seashell - Beach Hands-on Fun Activity immediate bubbling

It is a product of the reaction between the acetic acid in the vinegar and the calcium carbonate of the seashell creating a gas. Science is cool, right?

Add in a few fun workbooks like this Ocean Habitats activity book by Evan Moor and it’s easy to sneak in learning too.

Check out what’s happening.

In just 12 hours or less you should be able to see the edges of the shell eroding and maybe some holes in the center of the shell in the weaker areas.

2 How to Dissolve a Seashell - Beach Hands-on Fun Activity 12 hour results

Encourage the kids to check the progress of the shells and vinegar every few hours.

This photo is after 24 hours of soaking in vinegar, after about 12-15 hours the acid left in the vinegar will no longer be effective at dissolving the shell so you can dump it out and add fresh vinegar. 

3 How to Dissolve a Seashell - Beach Hands-on Fun Activity 24 hours

We changed ours out three times during the experiment and it took about three days for the to seashells to dissolve completely.

Ocean Unit Study Activity

After 2 ½ days, all we have left is just a few remnants of the seashell. 

It is amazing how quickly this common acid begins to change the seashells, thin shells will go even quicker.

This is a great lesson to talk about the impact that pollutants have on our oceans.

Chemicals which are dumped intentionally or even accidental runoff of chemicals can affect the delicate organisms that live there and eventually larger animals.

Ask your child what they can do to change things in the future or what impact, positive or negative, that they can have on the oceans and other nature.

We also choose a few books to learn about shells more in-depth.

For anywhere from preschool to Upper Elementary the Let’s read and find out science books or one of our favorites for delivering information in a more fun and engaging way than a textbook might.

For example, look at What Lives in a Shell.

Shell guides are a great item to take to the beach with you, you can quickly and easily identify the shells that you find while you’re there and because they’re laminated there reusable we take them to the beach every time we go.

Ocean Seashell Chemistry Activity

You can take this experiment a step further by choosing 2 or 3 other liquids to soak your seashells in.

Try placing tap water in one jar, vinegar in another, soda, lemon juice or even salt water in others. Label each container with the contents so that you know what is in each.

See how long it takes for the seashells to erode, does the water or saltwater do anything to the shell? How quickly did you start seeing changes to your shells? 

Be sure to have your child record their hypotheses, observation, and of course the results in their science journal.

This project would make a great science fair project.

How to Dissolve a Seashell EZ beach themed or ocean themed hands-on fun activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Your child can share it just with the family, as an end-of-the-year project, or if your Co-op has a science fair it would be a wonderfully simple demonstration to share with a group.

You’ll love these other ocean themed activities: