Disclosure: Affiliate links to products

SHARK WEEK Learning Activities for Kids:

Shark Week Book Basket:

Fill your book baskets with a combination of fiction and non-fiction books about sharks for SHARK WEEK!

• Clark the Shark Lost and Found (or any of the other Clark the Shark books are fabulous for young readers) This one talks about what to do if you are a lost shark – stand in one place and yell a lot.  It’s a fun fiction series.
• Sharks Have SIX Senses.  This non-fiction text is a level 2 reader, making it a good choice for a non-fiction read aloud. Informative, but not overwhelming for young readers.
• Scholastic Discover More Sharks, DK EyeWitness Sharks and DK Super Shark Encyclopedia are all geared for older children, but packed with full color photographs and facts. My non-readers enjoy paging through them and asking me to read small portions.

Hunting for Sharks Teeth with Kids:

Try your hand hunting for your own sharks teeth with kids. Find a sandy creek bed with a shallow beach area for children to access the water.  Google the city you live in for public parks with water access. Familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations for hunting for sharks teeth. At the time this article was written, “Fossil shark teeth may be collected in Florida without a permit.”

What to bring when Hunting for Sharks Teeth with Kids

• Long sleeve pants and shirts to protect them from bug bites.
• Wear water shoes or Crocs to protect their feet from sharp stones or glass that may be in the creek.
• Sifters
• Something to scoop the sand.
• A small bag or container for collecting fossils and sharks teeth
• Bug spray
• Camera
• Towels and a change of clothes for afterwards.

Spend time Identifying the Fossilized Sharks Teeth. The Florida Museum of Natural History can help with this. Click here to see their preferred methods for submitting your images for identification.

Write an Informative Text. Encourage your children to write a page, paragraph, or story about the information they have learned.

You can also print out this shark easy read book for more shark fun and learning!

Click here for more Shark Themed Activities for Kids

Common Asked Questions by Kids about Hunting for Sharks Teeth

Q: How will I know if it is a shark tooth or a rock?

A shark tooth will be pointed like a triangle.

Q: Why are there so many sharks teeth?

A: Sharks have lots of teeth. They loose teeth just like we do, only there is more of them to loose. Just one shark can loose 30,000 teeth in it’s lifetime. That’s a LOT of teeth!

Q: Why are there sharks teeth in the creek when there are no sharks?

A: Florida was once covered by sea water. The sharks that lived there long ago left their teeth. The teeth fossilized.

Q: Why can’t we find other parts of the shark?

Sharks are made up of cartilage, not bone.  Like your nose.  Cartilage breaks down faster than bone and doesn’t fossilize as easy.

Q: Why aren’t the teeth we find white like the pictures?

The color of the teeth depends on the minerals in the area where it was lost. The fossilized teeth colors usually range from grey to black.

Far away from Florida?

Put some sand in a large tupperware container and add a bag of mixed shark fossils and create your own backyard sharks tooth hunt!

You may also enjoy these activities with your child… Save

My daughter is getting VERY excited about her upcoming week at science camp! In preparation for this amazing week-long summer camp, we are trying to get into the habit of “thinking like a scientist!”  

This week, we focused on solar science experiments and creative problem-solving.

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Solar Science Experiments for Kids

A collection of solar science experiments to try with your child in the backyard to encourage them to “think like a scientist!”

Converting Sunlight into Heat.

We bought this great little kid pool for our backyard and filled it up with cold water right from the faucet. Our baby put his finger in and announced, “COLD pool” and refused to get in. Without filling the pool with water from our home heater, I posed the question:

How can we heat up water the fastest?

This is the solar experiment we decided would best help us answer this question.

Materials Needed:

• 3 identical cups,
• 2 sheets of white paper
• 1 sheet of black.
• 1 plastic lining or plastic bag to cover one cup
• thermometer

Directions.

1. Fill each cup with the same amount of liquid of the same cool temperature.
2. Measure the water temperature and set one cup on each paper. Cover one of the glasses on white paper with plastic.
3. Have a discussion and make predictions about what you think will happen to the water in each glass.
4. Measure
5. Let the water sit in a sunny place for one hour.
6. Remeasure and discuss the results.

What do you think my kids should do to heat up the water in their pool faster?

* Parent tips:

A black background absorbs more heat than a light background.

Covering the cup slows or stops evaporation. The plastic covering may also absorb some of the suns’ rays.

Absorbing and Reflecting Heat: Solar Oven

The kids were fascinated with warming the liquid with the sun and asked, “If the sun can heat up water, what else can it heat up?”  They got to work building their own SOLAR oven using recycled materials.

Materials Needed: (use recycled materials when possible!)

• cardboard box
• black paper
• tinfoil
• saran wrap
• tortilla chips
• shredded cheese

Directions

1. Let your child build their own oven.
   
   My second grader found some black paper (the back was colored on) and started gluing it inside the box.
   
   She then added in some tinfoil, predicting that the foil would reflect the suns rays and heat up her cheese better.
   
   She covered the top with saran wrap in hopes it would heat the nachos faster.
   
2. Set the solar oven in a sunny spot.
3. Add the chips and top with shredded cheese.
4. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Record your results.
5. Once the cheese has melted, eat!
6. Then, if you choose, try to build another model of a solar oven. Make some changes and compare your results.
   
   * THINK like a scientist!!!!*
   
   A scientist will perform experiments over and over again to collect data and to figure out better and more efficient ways of doing things.

* Parent tips:

Some people have tried cooking hot-dogs, nachos are WAY easier!

Keeping a science journal is a great way to connect literacy to science!

Solar Heater: Sun Tea

Now my kids were on a solar experiment role. “Hey, MOM, do you think we could make your tea with energy from the sun instead of wasting electricity to heat your water inside?” Sure kiddos, what will we need to do?

I love that they were thinking creatively, asking questions, and applying what they have learned.

Materials Needed:

• Large glass jar
• Water
• 2 Bags of Tea

Directions.

1. Fill the jar with water.
2. Add 2 tea bags
3. Place in a sunny place
4. Gently shake every once in a while (per the kids instructions)
5. Wait HOURS (they learned the sun is powerful, but does take time to harness the energy)
6. Serve warm OR pour over ice cubes for iced tea!

Solar Prints

You could talk to your kids about the sun and have them make sun-prints. We used the solar sun print kit, but should have just bought the re-fill package ($5.99 vs $10.49) as we just used the paper.

Here’s the directions for How to Make Solar Prints with Kids.

More Ideas for Solar FUN :

• Solar Power STEM Camp Activities
• Studying the effects of the sun and the importance of sun screen at the beach
• Solar Eclipse Videos and Activities for Kids
• Sunshine and Solar Energy Activities for Kids

Solar Energy Books for Kids

• Running on Sunshine: How Does Solar Energy Work? by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
• Solar Power: Capturing the Sun’s Energy by Laurie Brearley
• Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond
• Time to Shine! by Catherine Daly

You can explore more sun and solar energy books here in our Summer Books for Kids Book List.

Solar Cars

Now we are going to work on keeping our “science caps” for the rest of the month (we are stopping at a thrift store tomorrow to pick up our take-apart to be used during the camp week.

We are going to be on the lookout for electronics powered by the sun – maybe a calculator with a solar panel?

Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be fun to disassemble and tinker with. I’m thinking we won’t be able to wait until camp and may have to find a couple of items for home too! I’m not sure who is more excited about a whole week of science and inventing – her or me!

Looking for more science activities for your child? Try these…

Let’s see how to make this DIY bee math activity for preschoolers.

My 3 year old is in LOVE with his “squeezy pouches.” You know the baby food in a bag. We use them as occasional, on-the-go snacks now that he is older. The lids to these serving pouches make great eco friendly math games.

For this one, we made DIY bee math counters.

ECO Friendly Math Games | DIY Bee Math Counters

Materials Needed for both games:

•  Yellow Baby Pouch Lids We used Plum Organics Baby Second Blends, Pumpkin and Banana
•  Permanent Marker
• Pipe Cleaners 
• Scissor

  

Most of what I do is kid made – these counters however are best for an adult to make ahead of time.

1. Draw lines on the lids with the Permanent Marker.
2. Use the scissors and carefully cut the pipe cleaners in half. Push one end through the lid. Twist.  Then curl the ends in to make the antennae (and so they will not poke.)

Bee Counter Math Game 1: Number Match

Learning Objective: Represent the number of objects in a written numeral.  Example, the number 4 is represented by 4 bee counters (see image above)

Step 1. Write one number on a piece of paper. Use 10 pieces of paper for the numbers 1-10.

Step 2: Have your child select a number.  Read the number out loud. Then count the number of bees to match the written number. Place them on the written number. Say the number out loud one more time. Ask your child. “How many bees are here?” Encourage them to re-count the bees if needed.

Step 3: Select another number card and repeat.

Click to get a week of Bee Themed Activities

Bee Counter Math Game: The Number Bee Line

Learning Objective: Count objects in a line.

How to Play

Step 1. Make a number line. Cut your paper in half the long way. Tape the two pieces together to make one long paper rectangle. Write the numbers 0-10 in order along a line. Make a dot on the line above each number.

Step 2. Let the child grab a handful of bee math counters from the pile.

Step 3. Place one counter over each dot on the number line. Count and say the number.

Step 4. Take the counters off and place them back in a pile. The next person takes their turn (or the same child plays again).

You may also like A honey Bee Craft and Magnet Science Activity

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…

• The best Bee Books for Kids
• Learning about Bees in the Garden 
• Learning About Pollination with Zucchini
• Learning About Bees

Here at The Educators’ Spin On It, we strongly urge parents and teachers to PLANT A SEED with your child and watch them grow.

Kids in the Garden – Learning and Growing

Kids in the Garden – Learning and Growing, is a collection of articles all geared to help parents and teachers interact with their children in the garden. 

We hope to provide you with tips on which plants to choose, how to incorporate academics into your gardening, and give you some ideas on how to make your garden more “global.”

Gardening Activities with Kids

We invited our favorite bloggers to share their fun ideas for kids in the garden. Here’s is a collection of all the garden activities they shared with us.

• Growing Romaine Lettuce from Kitchen Scraps by Betsy
• Best Vegetables to Grow with Kids by Becky
• Best Flowers to Grow with Kids by Jen
• 50+ Seed Activities for Kids by Kim

• Best Herbs to Grow with Kids by Victoria
• Herb Painting by Melissa
• Creating Edible Sensory Garden with Herbs by Amanda
• Garden Photography with Kids by Kim
• Container Gardening with Kids by Carly

• Preschool Gardens by Dayna
• DIY Painted Cinder Blocks Planters by Angela
• Preschool Gardening – Watering by Katie
• Cultivating Enthusiasm for Gardening All Season Long by Matthew

• Getting Started in 3 Easy Steps by Birute
• Giving Kids Ownership in the Planning Phases of Gardening by MaryAnne
• Backyard Tips for Gardening with Kids by Kim
• Bonsai Gardening by Lisa Lewis
• Best Tips for First Time Gardeners by Amanda

• Garden Science SOIL: Common Core Connection by Amanda
• Measurement in the Garden by Amanda
• Counting in the Garden  by The Fairy and The Frog
• Gardening in Extreme Weather Conditions by Kara
• Living vs Non-Living Garden Walk by Amanda

• Worms and Composing by Sandi Purdel Lewis
• Experimenting with Propagation by Gailina
• Learning about Bees by Helen
• Grow a Musical Instrument by Daria
• South African Cycads By Teach Me Mommy

• Starting Seeds Indoors by Amanda
• Seeds vs. Transplants with Kids by Amanda
• Indoor Planting with Kids by Amanda
• Gardening with Kids in Small Spaces by Amanda
• Ethiopia Inspired Tef Garden by Julie

• Community Gardens by Amandine
• Which Flowers to Plant to Attract Butterflies by Kim
• Homesteading by Vanessa
• Raising Chickens by La Famille Brown
• Gardening with the Whole Family by Anna

• Fun Ways to Teach Your Child About Seeds by Kim
• Building a Garden Book Collection by Amanda
• Simple Garden Label for Kids by Kim
• Printable Seed Activities Inspired by The Tiny Seed by Kim
• Alphabet Garden Hunt by Jodie

• Best Flowers to Grow with Kids by Amanda
• Painting with Flowers by Nicolette
• Flower Books for Kids by Kim
• An Invitation to Read by Kimberly
• Reading Activities in the Garden by Jacquie
• Kid-Made Garden Signs by Lauren

Take a moment to learn more about our Garden Ambassadors who created each of these garden activities for your child.

Plant Units with Kids

• Growing Carrots
• Growing Peas
• Growing Zucchini
• Growing Potatoes
• Growing Strawberries
• Growing Kale

Kids Gardening Activities

Printable Lesson Plans from the Garden

• Fruit Group Lesson Plan
• Living and Non Living –Printable
• Vegetable Group Lesson Plan

Academics in the Garden

• Nature Math Connections
• Gardening Books for Kids

Cooking from the Garden

• 30 Ways to Eat Blueberries
• Zucchini Muffins
• Making Vegetable Soup
• 10 Things to Make with Oranges
• Strawberry Jam Muffins
• Making Jam with Kids
• Jam Thumbprint Cookies
• Kale Pizza
• Kale Basi Tomato Orzo Salad
• Potato Salad
• Salad Olivier
• Strawberry Popsicles
• Blueberry Smoothie
• Coriander and Mint Chutney
• Meatballs with Garden Vegetables
• Garden Fruit Parfait

Want a quick Garden Lesson Plan? Download our Plant and Seed Unit for just $3.99.

Let’s inspire more parents and teachers to garden with their children! #plantaseed

What will you GROW in your GARDEN???Save

Here’s how to make a yummy Earth Shaped Snack!

To get ready for this Earth Day Snack  begin by reading about Earth Day from some of our favorite characters.  Through the eyes of a child when one of their favorite characters talks about something it can make an even bigger impact.

We found Sid the Science Kid, Biscuit, Fancy Nancy, the Lorax along with many others all had stories about Earth Day.

Book List for Earth Day 

(Affiliate links included to Amazon with each image for easy shopping.)

Here are some more of our favorite Earth day Books for Kids 

Now it’s time for a special Earth Day Snack. You could even make this for a very special treat to share with your friends! They get to make their very own Earth!

Here’s a simple recipe that you and your child can create together at home, in a classroom or on a picnic!

Earth Day Snack Recipe with Fruit 

This yummy treat is so much fun to make as you learn about the water and land that make up our planet Earth.  With just a few ingredients you’ll have a delicious earth day snack the kids can make.

Ingredients for Earth Day Snack 

• 1 cup blueberries cut in half
• 1 cup green grapes cut in half
• 1 package cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tb sugar
• Package of flavored rice cakes (or one large cookie base)

Directions for Earth Day Snack 

1. Cut the grapes and blueberries, if desired in half.

This is a great opportunity to talk about knife skills with your child.  Please use caution during this activity. We used our butter knife to do this task.  Both grapes and blueberries are easy to cut through without having to use too much force.

You’ll find most kids are surprised at what the inside of a blueberry looks like. Take a moment to discuss.

2. Then have your child mix the sugar, vanilla and cream cheese in a small bowl.

This is the perfect chance to measure out 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and discuss different types of measurement spoons.

A quick mix with a normal teaspoon from your kitchen drawer works perfect for mixing this cream cheese spread for your earth day snack.

3. Now it’s time to spread the sweetened cream cheese mixture onto the rice cake which is now going to become your Earth.

This take a little practice with fine motor skills for your child to do this task in the Earth Day Snack recipe.  They are going to LOVE IT!

4. The last step is to tell them to create the earth by placing the blueberries for the water and the grapes for the land. You might want to pull out a globe like one of these to really talk about the Earth and what it looks like with the land areas and the water areas.

You could even talk a little bit about the 7 continents as you encourage your child to decided where to put the grapes for the lands and the blueberries for the water.

* We used caramel rice cakes to make the Earth treat a little sweeter but you could always do a simple rice cake.

Here’s a peek at how my daughter’s Earth Day Snack turned out. She tried to include the 7 continents but you’ll notice she also wanted to add the North Pole. 

Have fun exploring the Earth with your child for Earth Day with this earth day day.

You can follow this delicious snack with these Earth Day coloring pages.

These are my Top 10 Reason I Love Watching My Kids Learn about the Earth.  What are yours?

Earth Day Snack

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup blueberries cut in half
• 1 cup green grapes cut in half
• 1 package cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tb sugar
• Package of flavored rice cakes (or one large cookie base)

Instructions

1. Cut the grapes and blueberries, if desired in half.

2. Then have your child mix the sugar, vanilla and cream cheese in a small bowl.

This is the perfect chance to measure out 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and discuss different types of measurement spoons.

3. Now it’s time to spread the sweetened cream cheese mixture onto the rice cake which is now going to become your Earth.

4. The last step is to tell them to create the earth by placing the blueberries for the water and the grapes for the land.

Have fun at your Earth Day Celebration!

Earth Day: Little Hands that Cook with Books Bonus Lesson

How do you teach your child about the Earth in the Kitchen? Let’s help our children to learn how simple choices today in the kitchen can help to change their future and help our Earth.

Grab this free printable about how to Make your Kitchen Eco Friendly with your children.

Additional Earth Day Activities for Kids

• 100 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 
• Party for the Planet Activity Ideas 
• Eco Friendly Personalized Blocks 
• Earth Day Chalk Fun 
• Earth Day Books 
• Exploring the Earth with Kids Gift Guide 
• Top 10 Reason I Love Watching My Kids Learn about the Earth
• 30+ Virtual Field Trips for Kids to Explore the Earth

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…

How do you teach your child about the Earth?  

We encourage you to start at an early age by teaching your child about the earth and how to love and protect it. Simple things like including your child in recycling daily items, planting a garden together, and observing things together on neighborhood walks can make a difference in how they learn to value our World.

Top 10 Reasons I Love Watching my Children Learn About the Earth {My favorite post about Parenting}

Teaching our children about living green can start with simple steps at a very young age. Creating fun art projects together with reused objects and even creating a few fun games with recycled lids and/or containers can encourage your child to see all the uses for an item, not just one and reducing waste. Don’t forget to talk about why you’re using the things you use to be more eco friendly.

It’s so much fun to celebrate Earth Day with a playdate with friends or outdoor lunch at school. You could plant some plants together or clear a neglected public area together. Grab a few fun books and include a special Earth Day snack. Better yet you could host your own Picnic for the Planet!

Host your Own Picnic for the Planet

100+ Earth Day Activities for Kids to Celebrate Earth Day

We’ve created a roundup of some of our favorite Earth Day Activities, Crafts, Games, Books and Snacks for you to plan your own Earth Day Celebration that will last all year long!

Earth Day Snacks

• Earth Day Inspired Snack

Earth Day Books

• Earth Day Book List
• Weezer Changes the World 
• 30 Activities for The Lorax 

Earth Day Crafts and Games

• Blocks from Recycled Materials
• Create Labels for the Garden
• Living vs Non Living Printable 
• Spring Journal and Observation Sheet
• 8 Activities and Games with Reused Lids 
• 20 Crafts Using Recycled Items for Earth Day 
• Earth Day Game with Chalk

Earth Day Activities

• Create a Backyard Zoo
• Backyard Tips to Garden with Kids
• Be a Dump Detective 
• Building Imagination Outside with Kids
• Building Natural Playscapes
• Florist Playdate
• Fun Backyard Activities for Kids

• Outdoor Activities for Kids
• Tips on Flowers to Grow to Kids to Pick
• Best Flowers to Make Butterfly Garden with Kids
• Go Shark Teeth Hunting
• Importance of Outdoor Play
• Learning about Solar Energy with Kids
• Nature Walk with Kids
• Painted Cinder Block Flower Planter

• Solar Energy Science Experiments
• Gardening Activities for Kids
• Learning to Live Green with Kids 
• Party for the Planet Activities 
• Pick Blueberries 
• Planet Pals Website 
• Printable Earth Day Unit 
• Raising an Eco Friendly Tot
• Recycling Think and Sort Game
• Sharing Nature with Babies and Toddlers
• Visit a Farm 
• Yoga with Animal Theme
• Printable Earth Day Coloring Sheets and Placemat
• 15 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Kids 
• 20 Earth Day Activities for Kids 
• 20 Earth Day Crafts and Activities for Kids
• 20 Fun Ideas for Earth Day 
• 50 Earth Day Activities 

Earth Friendly Pinterest Boards to Follow

• Eco Friendly Fun: Living and Learning Board
• Earth (Day) Activities for Kids
• Gardening with Kids Board
• The Garden Classroom
• Learn and Play the Natural Way
• Natural Playscapes Board

Celebrating Earth Day with your child is something you do need to pause and be sure to really discuss. Reach out into your community and see how your family can make a difference for our environment.

You’ll be so happy you did.  Let us know your idea on how you connect.

How will you encourage your family to create Earth Day every day at your house?

Celebrating Earth Day is a special treasure with my kids. The way they discover things in nature for the first time can be such a blessing. Here are 10 reasons I love watching my children learn about the Earth.

Happy Earth Day!

Top 10 Reasons I Love Watching My Children Learn about the Earth

1. I love to see their excitement as a seed sprouts or a flower blooms.
2. I love to see them play with animals and pretend to be animals.
3. I love to watch them discover an animal in the yard, our home or at the zoo.
4. I love how excited they get when we pick food from the Earth.
5. I love the Outdoor Adventures our family shares together.
6. I love watching them discover sand, dirt and water.
7. I love how they create new things from old things and love to recycle.
8. I love the treasures that find their way into our pockets from their discoveries outdoors.
9. I love that we see more sunsets, sunrises, stars, moons seasons, beaches and Mountains.
10. I love how they stop to see the beauty in flowers and bugs everywhere.

Top Ten Reasons I Love Watching My Children Learn about the Earth

1. I love to see their excitement as a seed sprouts or a flower blooms.

2.   I love to see them play with animals and pretend to be animals.

3.   I love to watch them discover an animal in the yard, our home or at the zoo.

4. I love how excited they get when we pick food from the Earth.

5. I love the Outdoor Adventures our family shares together.

6.I love watching them discover sand, dirt and water.

7. I love how they create new things from old things and love to recycle.

8. I love the treasures that find their way into our pockets from their discoveries outdoors.

9. I love that we see more sunsets, sunrises, stars, moons seasons, beaches and Mountains.

10. I love how they stop to see the beauty in flowers and bugs everywhere.

Here’s Your Own Downloadable Version of Learning About the Earth

I wonder what we’ll discover on our next outdoor adventure?

You may also enjoy these activities for Earth Day with your child…

• 100+ Earth Day Actitivities
• Earth Day Snack Idea 
• Earth Day Book List

Here are a few monarch butterfly activities for your child…

Monarch Butterfly Activities for Kids

Known for its bright orange colors and its incredible annual migration, the migratory monarch butterfly is now classified as “Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In the last 20 years the the monarch butterfly population has dropped by 90%, due to habitat loss from pesticides, modern farming practices, urban development, and other human activity. An estimated one million acres of habitat are lost each year.

But today, an army of citizen scientists, students, and gardeners is engaged in restoring this beloved pollinator’s habitat – the wildflowers and milkweed and feeding corridors – so that one of nature’s most beautiful creatures will still be there for generations to come.

It starts in our own backyards.

Learn with Monarchs: Read

It just so happened that we started #8 “Zippy’s Tall Tale“, a book in the Butterfly Meadow series by Olivia Moss this week. I am reading several chapters to my little one each night before bed. Although parts of it were a little above a kindergarten level (I adapt the text as I read) it wasn’t bad for the most part. It doesn’t have a villain, but rather a problem that Dazzle, the main butterfly must solve and is a highly predictable text.

I have my daughter summarize what has happened so far in the story before beginning to read each night and talk about what she thinks will happen next after we read.

Disclosure: Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Here are a few more books about Monarchs to read…

Learn with Monarchs: OBSERVE

Luckily, it was one of those weeks where learning just fell into place. These little guys showed up on our milkweed plants on Wednesday.

More hatched on Friday and we have been observing them A LOT. I am not sure if my daughter or I could spend more time watching them eat. It is just fascinating!

You can watch them here – it is times like this when I wish I had a really nice video camera!

Learn with Monarchs: WRITE

We wrote some fiction and nonfiction journal pages about them. It is neat that she can verbally identify the differences in her writing.

Here are more examples of what Kindergarten writing looks like at this age.

Learn with Monarchs: Visit a Butterfly Museum

Then, our Saturday plan was to attend a local butterfly farm’s first annual “Monarch Festival.” (It is not every week things fall into place this nicely!) You could also visit a local butterfly museum or botanical garden and look for butterflies.

Learn with Monarchs: Make Masks

Making Butterfly Masks. What luck! I printed the butterfly masks and let the kids decorate them so they could wear them to the festival. And the masks were a hit! The kids got many compliments.

At the festival, we got to interact with butterflies, dance to live music, ride, ponies, and learn more about migration.

Learn with Monarch: Life Cycle

Expand your learning about monarchs by exploring the butterfly life cycle with toys. We loved the set that came with our butterfly enclosure. You can order it specifically for the monarch butterfly life cycle on Amazon.

We are looking into participating with some research projects connected to http://monarchwatch.com/. Overall, it was an amazing learning week!

Click now below for more butterfly learning activities for kids

• Which Flowers to Plant to Attract Butterflies
• Butterfly Books for Kids
• Caterpillar to Butterfly Ballon STEM Challenge
• Caterpillar LEGO Retelling Activity
• Caterpillar Lacing Letters
• Butterfly Science Project
• Butterfly Art Project for Kids with Recycled Items

PSST….

Don’t forget to grab this fun butterfly alphabet matching game for your butterfly adventures!

Raising Eco-friendly kids is one of my main goals, so by bringing a child outdoors and into the garden, it can be such a fun way to explore ways to take care of their environment with eco-friendly activities for kids. One way I want to connect this gardening season is by planting a butterfly garden with my children.

Here’s how to create a butterfly garden for success in your garden too.

My daughter’s ages 5 and 9 had a lot of fun reading these books together as they learn about environmentally friendly things that they can do, especially as we honor Earth Day.  We took a look around our backyard and decided to do something extra fun this spring to invite animals to our yard eco-system with an urban garden.

We decided together that we were going to create an ecosystem that attracted butterflies and bees to our yard.

Choosing Flowers for a Butterfly Garden

We did a little research online to discover which plants attract butterflies the most.  We’re pretty lucky and have a butterfly rainforest in our community so we also can go there for inspiration on what to plant.  One big tip I want to share is to choose plants that are native to your area. It can make a huge difference on the environment when you choose plants that are meant to be in your zone.  

We live in Florida so we choose plants that are native to here to plant.  We’ve had a lot of success over the years with planting zinnias and milkweed in our garden to attract the local butterflies to eat. Plus they attract pollinators too which help our environment too.

We choose the following flowers for our garden to attract the butterflies…

• Verbena
• Pentas
• Salvia
• Milkweed
• Zinnia
• Coreopsis (the yellow flowering plant we added for color and for flowers to pick)

Whenever possible try to choose Native Plants. They are best for the environment to conserve water and attract the appropriate wildlife. The girls went to the local plant nursery with me to pick out these flowers. Once we got home they got straight to work, they couldn’t wait!

How to Attract Monarch Butterflies to Lay Eggs in Your Butterfly Garden with Host Plants

We’ve been very lucky to have planted a milkweed plant, actually, it was cuttings from a neighbor from her plant that roots in water and then has expanded through seed pods to a few plants.  

Here’s a peek at our Milkweed this year. We just discovered 7 caterpillars beginning to take their course on our plant. We actually brought a few in to watch about a month ago so this has been an ongoing science project at our house. The main this to remember is that you need to plant the very specific plants that the butterflies will lay their eggs on.

TIP: Milkweed, parsley and fennel seem to be the easiest for me to grow in our garden.

Use Host Plants for Attracting Butterflies

• Zebra Swallowtail – paw paw tree
• Monarch – milkweed
• Painted Lady – hollyhocks and thistle
• Black Swallowtail – fennel, carrots, parsley
• Giant Swallowtail – citrus tree, prickly ash tree
• Pipevine Swallowtail – Dutchman’s pipevine
• Tiger Swallowtail – tulip poplar, wild cherry tree
• Spicebush Swallowtail – spicebush, sassafras tree
• Red Admiral – false nettles
• Silvery Checkerspot – purple coneflowers
• Sulphur butterfly – white clover and legumes
• Cabbage white – nasturtium, spider flowers(Cleome)
• Pearl Crescent – asters
• Variegated & Gulf Fritillary – passion vines
• Great Spangled Fritillary – violets

Source Butterfly Nature.com 

Nector Rich Flowers for Butterflies

• Butterfly Bush
• Mexican Sunflower
• Cone Flower
• Blackeyed Susan
• Zinnia
• Lantana

Here are our little visitors this week in our backyard. My kids are so excited to go and watch them each day. Have you ever had caterpillars at your home?

Giving Ownership in the Garden to Support Raising Eco-Friendly Kids

The main goal is to engage youth and families around the world to be aware of, involved with, and connected to each other and the earth and to empower them to learn about the environment and explore creative new ways to live in harmony.  

Creating this butterfly environment in our yard I feel helped to choose my kids this continual cycle that happens when you put effort to help support it. Our next step is to really focus on our garden to begin to grow vegetables.

Being inspired my kids wanted to take action and took charge on planting the flowers in our garden. We choose the area around our front door so that we would have a higher chance of seeing when the butterflies can to visit our home.  

Watch this video of a monarch that stopped by to enjoy our Zinnia flowers this past spring. They planted a few plants where are Zinnia’s return each year on their own.  Can’t wait to share with you in a few months.

Make this Life Cycle of a Butterfly Paper Plate Craft! Kids can learn all about the life cycle of a butterfly while creating a fun and educational paper plate craft that depicts the different stages.

Container Planting for Attracting Butterflies

They also planted the big pots at our front door so that they could be responsible for some flowers on their own.  Each day they’ll get a chance to take turns watering the flowers with their special watering can.  It’s when we give the little things to our children to be responsible for, you will discover how these tasks grow into them having the ability to see when additional tasks will need to be done.  

Here’s a peek at their finished pots.  Love the color combo. As the plants fill in a bit, I will transfer them to different areas in the yard so that the smaller container doesn’t become rootbound, just wanted to give you that heads up.

Plus these are plants that are perennials that will come back year after year which is best for our environment too.

PSST….

Don’t forget to grab this fun butterfly alphabet matching game for your butterfly adventures!

Here are a few more activities for kids outdoors that you may enjoy…

Tell us about your backyard garden and how you’re planning to get your family involved? 

Click for more Gardening with Kids

Here’s how to make your own Hanging Painted Flower Craft 

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon where we get a small commission when you make a purchase.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

This week’s featured book activity is focused on the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.  This story focuses on the life cycle of a flower told through the adventures of a tiny seed. Readers follow along the seed’s progress as it floats across the sky, nestles in the ground, and finally grows into the giant flower it was always meant to be. It’s a classic Eric Carle story with beautiful illustrations and a story line the kids will enjoy telling again and again.  BUY IT NOW

 The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Painted Flower Craft for Kids Inspired by The Tiny Seed

We thought it might be fun to create a flower craft to go along with the gigantic flower from the story The Tiny Seed. You can print out our The Tiny Seed Math Activities for a learning activity to go along with the story too.  At the bottom, there are additional The Tiny Seed Themed activities to create a fun week of garden-themed activities to go along with this popular book. 

Here’s how to make your very own flower using recycled plastic to hang in your window or to give to someone special.

Materials for Painted Flower Craft

• Scissors
• Paint
• Paint Brush
• Hot Glue Gun
• Beads
• Recycled Plastic Container

Instructions for Painted Flower Craft

1. To start this flower craft you will need to find a clear plastic container to reuse by cutting out 5 flower petals from it. This is an adult activity for safety reasons.

2. Then place the 5 plastic flower petals on a surface that you can paint on and get messy.  We used a recycled cardboard box so that it could dry on there too.

3. Time to pain your plastic flower petals with paint. We used an acrylic paint set.  Like this one.

Encourage your child to get creative with the details onto their flower. Eric Carle’s artwork with tissue paper and how he paints and blends colors in the images can be a fun inspiration. We even used a little splatter technique to add a few more pops of color.

4. Now it’s time to put the painted flower craft together. Have your child set up the flower the way that they designed it and then use a hot glue gun to attach all of the petals together.  I used a plastic tray below while gluing so that it would come off easily after it cooled down.  This is an adult task for safety reasons.

**An alternative could be to use fast-drying air clay or salt dough that your child could stick the dried flower petals into.

5. After we attached the flower petals I had my daughter select some beads to stick in the middle for her flower center.  I just added more hot glue and then had her tell me where to place them due to the hot glue.  If you’re using air clay or salt dough they could do this portion themselves as well.

This is a fun lesson in talking about flower seeds similar to what is featured in The Tiny Seed book.

6. At the end you can attach a ribbon so that you can hang your colorful painted flower craft in a window and allow the light to shine through it.

SHARE how your painted flowers turn out in our Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook group!

Garden Themed Activities for Preschoolers

• Counting to Ten Algorithm Coding Worksheet for Preschoolers by JDaniel4’s Mom
• Plants and Sunlight Science Experiment for Kids by Mama Smiles
• Flower Math Activity – Spring Math Activity for Preschoolers by School Time Snippets
• Spray Alphabet Garden for Toddlers by Toddler Approved
• How to Make a Plant Journal by Inspiration Laboratories
• Unlocking the Mystery of Seed Germination 
• 10 Flowers to Grow with Kids 
• Getting Started with 3 Easy Steps 
• Making Spiral Paper Flowers with Kids 
• The Tiny Seed Activities & Printables 
• Saving Sunflower Seeds with Kids 
• DIY Painted Flower Bouquet 
• Painting with Flowers for Garden Art 
• Making Flowers with Recycled Items 
• Flowers to Grow for Kids to Enjoy
• Planning a Field trip to a Florist 

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…