Sit-Spot Activity by Chewonki
Sit-Spot Activity by Chewonki is a lesson that brings kids outside to sit and make observations about nature. This guided lesson can be repeated in the same spot and expanded into this Phenology Sit Spot Project in which students visit the same spot near their house daily to draw the changes they see. The thumbnail drawings make for a really fascinating comparison of how the spot changes as spring approaches.
Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree has many activities for families that are based outdoors, mostly geared towards K-2nd grade. This lesson on bursting buds can be expanded upon with a dissection of the bud using this image as a guide.
Head to a nearby beach and do a beach scavenger hunt!
Head to a nearby beach and do a beach scavenger hunt! You can design a board for your local species. Here is an example from the Blue Ocean Society for New Hampshire beaches.
Explore.org live cams
Explore.org live cams feature many different ecosystems, locations, species, etc. The website also has many documentaries. These resources can be used in conjunction with other lesson plans or worksheets or as a window into the natural world.
The Calm app
The Calm app is providing free resources during this COVID19 pandemic to help address the anxiety that many of us are trying to manage. These resources are student-friendly and are a good way to develop health habits around mindfulness.
Bow Seat's Our Ocean in a Changing Climate Learning Guide
Bow Seat’s Our Ocean in a Changing Climate Learning Guide is a great resource for introducing climate change’s impacts on our oceans as well as guide students through creative thinking and the artistic process for developing their own artwork and even entering the 2020 Ocean Awareness Contest!
Leaf Activities created by Kerry Wixted
Check out these Leaf Activities created by Kerry Wixted from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for all ages, preK – 12th grade. The document features many activities using leaves that are very informative and engaging!
Learn about birding from Audubon.org
Learn about birding from Audubon – this guide leads parents through taking their kids birding, and it even includes a link to making your own cardboard binoculars!
While you are at it, make your own suet and see what kinds of birds come to your yard!
EcoMaine’s guide for doing an at-home waste audit
Use EcoMaine’s resources as a guide to doing an at-home waste audit! Now is a great time to track exactly how much waste your family produces as it will all be in one location, your home. This could be a great time to start composting as well!
The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration
The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration has some amazing ocean-related education resources. Take a deep dive into shipwrecks or get swallowed by the world of corals! Each topic has a variety of resources, from videos and diagrams to essays and career information. These resources are geared towards middle and high school students.
National Geographic’s Resource Library for Learning at Home
National Geographic’s Resource Library for Learning at Home (link here is for middle and high school students) is full of interesting and engaging lessons for students on a wide variety of topics. For example, the Interrupted Migrations lesson centers on human impacts on animal migration and has students mapping human and animal movements and finally creating a board game to simulate animal migrations in hopes of encouraging conservation efforts.
Sounds Around by Project Learning Tree
Check out this Project Learning Tree lesson about birds called Sounds Around geared towards Pre-K through middle school aged students. This is a great time in Maine to listen for birds as spring nears! The lesson also contains some screen-based resources related to bird sounds.
Arbor Day Foundation’s What Tree Is That? guide
Take a walk around your yard and use the Arbor Day Foundation’s What Tree Is That? guide to identify the trees in your area. Take some time to learn about what organisms these trees support and learn about your backyard ecosystem!
12 Nature Walk Activities for Earth Day by Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree has compiled a list of 12 Nature Walk Activities for Earth Day. Take a seed collecting walk or learn how to measure trees!
Signs of the Seasons Project
Become a citizen scientist with the Signs of the Seasons project if you can access beaches along the coast that have rockweed!
Everblue’s At Home Education
Everblue’s At Home Education page is filled with engaging, at-home lessons based on scientific publications on marine science. These lessons are made for K-8 students and can be adapted for both remote learning and classrooms! The reef community Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story was particularly fun!
Bird Song Hero: The Song Learning Game for Everyone
Bird Song Hero: The Song Learning Game for Everyone is an interactive way to learn more about the birds that you might be hearing in your backyard! This increasingly challenging game teaches you how to recognize bird songs – take your newly learned skills for a spin outside!
New England Aquarium’s Counting Fish in the Sea lesson
New England Aquarium’s Counting Fish in the Sea lesson teaches kids how scientists do surveys of fish in the ocean. This lesson involves math as well!
Ocean Greens
Seaweed in the past has been a misunderstood part of our marine world. Until recently it has always been seen through the lens of a slimy gross weed that no one likes to touch while swimming. Now, seaweed is being seen as a way to help diversify careers, feed livestock, and help solve climate change. This Learn-Discover-Grow event will focus on highlighting the importance of seaweed and how midcoast businesses are utilizing these ocean greens.
Our speakers are, Allison Lakin from Lakin’s Gorges Cheese in Waldoboro, ME, Gabriela Acero from Wolfpeach in Camden, ME, and Lauren & Greg Soutiea from the Causeway Restaurant at the Craignair Inn in Spruce Head, ME