Studying Ocean Life with Delight-Directed Science
Studying ocean life for elementary science is a great way to include delight-directed learning in your homeschool. Most children express an interest in the ocean and marine life at some point. You can put together your own interest-led unit study to encourage that spark of curiosity.
Elementary Science: How to Study Ocean Life
More Fish Faces: More Photos & Fun Facts about Tropical Reef Fish by Tam Warner Minton is a beautifully photographed, colorful picture book that can help you create an interest-led unit study of ocean life. She has designed this living book to help children understand fish, their ocean habitat, and environmental issues that impact them.
Since we can’t actually travel and do our own scuba diving, reading More Fish Faces is the next best thing. Through the pages of this book, we learn about:
- Pufferfish
- Angelfish
- Eels
- Triggerfish
- Parrotfish
- Seahorses
- Pipefish
- Scorpionfish
- Boxfish
- Trumpets and Coronets
- Anemonefish
- Other cool fish species
- Schooling and shoaling behavior
Author Tam Warner Minton is a travel writer, blogger, photographer, and scuba diving enthusiast. She has traveled across all seven continents and her passion for the oceans and marine life is evident in this book. She cares about conservation and saving the oceans and ocean life through educating future generations. She donates 10% of the profits from the book to the Marine Megafauna Foundation.
Ms. Minton shares her enthusiasm and knowledge about ocean life in a thoughtful way that is also engaging for children. She addresses issues like pollution and climate change and the damage they can cause to the oceans and food supply for the fish. I realize not everyone agrees with the topic of climate change, but I believe it’s important to acknowledge that things are changing and there are things we can do to protect our environment right now. It’s our responsibility to be good stewards of the natural world that God created.
Since I’m raising three daughters, I also appreciate the opportunity to share this book with them because it shows that women can have adventures, write books, and study science. I think that’s so important for them to know. They can follow their interests and gifts, too!
My youngest daughter had some definite favorites in this second book in the Ocean Friends series:
- Unicornfish (yes, it’s a real thing!)
- Seahorses
- Parrotfish
There are fun facts throughout the pages. Some of her favorite facts were about seahorses, including the fact that their eyes move independently of each other so they can watch for predators and that they mate for life.
Her least favorite part was about eels because they’re “slimy” and “creepy” in her opinion. She said they’re too much like snakes, even though we learned in the book that they are in fact fish, not reptiles.
Learn More about More Fish Faces
I recommend getting both books in the Ocean Friends series and adding them to your book basket for a delight-directed ocean life study in your homeschool!
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