Forest Books & Activities for Kids
We like to choose different themed books and activities as we’re learning in our homeschool. This can be a good way to combine studies with multiple ages and pursue delight-directed learning topics. We recently focused on a Forest and Woods theme. We enjoyed reading about the animals and plant life in the forests of North America.
Our Forest Reading List
Who’s in the Forest? by Phyllis Gershator (Author) and Jill McDonald (Illustrator)
This is a fun “Peepo” book that incorporates interactive hide-and-seek while reading the story. My girls liked counting the things they found in the story and looking through the holes to see into the next scene. It is done in rhyming style, which is a favorite of Lil Sis’.
Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek by Marianne Berkes (Author) and Jill Dubin (Illustrator)
The illustrations in this book are made from cut paper, which really inspired my girls to give that a try at art time. Not only is the story adorable and educational, it inspired more activities outside of the book. That’s the best kind of reading!
All of the Thornton Burgess books make great family read-alouds! This is the first in his series, which covers life in the forest and all types of woodland creatures:
Welcome to the timeless world of the Green Forest, the laughing Brook, and the Smiling Pool. Here young readers will meet a menagerie of funny and fascinating animal friends — Peter Cottontail, Jimmy Skunk, Reddy Fox, Grandfather Frog and many more — and learn about their exciting adventures.
In this beloved classic, the first in a series of highly popular animal tales by Thornton W. Burgess, children discover the answers to such questions as why Grandfather Frog has no tail and why Jimmy Skunk wears stripes. There’s also great fun to be had in reading or hearing about the grand goings-on at Mink’s swimming party, Little Joe Otter’s slippery slide, and Reddy Fox’s fishing expedition. These and many other adventures are told in a warm, whimsical way that combines gentle lessons about nature and wildlife with the fun of a good story.
Our Forest Activities
This is a high quality coloring book with very detailed drawings. Even older children could use colored pencils and add it to part of their nature studies.
We love lapbooking, so we always look for related lapbooks to go along with our studies.
Perfect for young artists-in-training, Learn to Draw Forest Animals offers a comprehensive drawing experience than includes step-by-step lessons, as well as full-color photographs, fun facts, trivia, quizzes and much more. Children will enjoy the 64 pages of drawing instruction for a variety of wild animals, including a grizzly bear, a wolf, a red fox, and an antelope. The book opens with brief information for getting started and the most popular breeds, the tools and materials needed, and some sample drawing exercises to warm up. Each drawing lesson begins with a basic shape, such as a square, a circle, or a triangle, and progresses to a finished colored piece of artwork, making it easy for children to follow along. Along the way, engaging text describes interesting facts about each animal. With a mix of art instruction and engaging information, Learn to Draw Forest Animals is the perfect way for children to discover more about their favorite animals, in addition to expressing their artistic side.
You can read more about our nature studies in this post: Nature Study for Beginners.
Have you studied forests and woods in your homeschool? What books do you recommend? Let me know in the comments!
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