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Learning about forests is a wonderful way to spark curiosity and wonder in your homeschool. Use this forest lesson plan and flash cards to introduce your children to the incredible variety of animals, trees, and plants that make up these unique ecosystems.
About my lesson plans:
I create my unit study lesson plans based on my kids’ interests and incorporate most of these elements into each one: videos (usually from YouTube), books, websites, printable sheets (facts, activities, worksheets, etc.), a themed snack, a themed craft or hands-on, and a field trip with our homeschool group or as a family. Depending on how in-depth we get, I space out the activities between 3-4 days, over about a week or two. It’s not something we rush or have a time limit on completing.
Forest Lesson Plan
Learning Goals:
* identify different types of forests
* recognize common forest animals, trees, and plants.
* understand the importance of forests to the environment and people.
Forest videos
We started by watching a video from Miacademy on YouTube. I like to start each lesson with a video (or two) to learn about the topic we’re studying.
Books about the forest
We continued learning about forests by reading these fun books. We borrowed the first one from the library, and we bought the second one for our home library. Click each photo to read more and purchase each book.
Forest flash cards
I created these forest facts flash cards for this lesson and made them available for purchase. Blog readers (that’s you!) can get 50% off using code 50FOREST.
It comes with a set of 12 cards. I suggest printing them on sturdy paper, or using regular paper and laminating (here’s the one I use).
The cards include: types of forests, forest trees, woodland animals, growth cycle, rainforest facts, layers of the forest, and more.
Click here to purchase.
Websites about forests
I also found several good websites to explore and learn about forest animals and their habitat, layers of the forest, and more.
Animals of the forest
National Forest Foundation
Forest-themed snack
For a snack, we made these adorable trees from pretzels and melted chocolate! Click for instructions. Snack is my kids’ favorite part of each lesson!
Forest-themed craft
This craft was simple, and my kids liked gathering their nature supplies. They got some from our backyard, which is not exactly the forest, but it’s as close as we could get.
Forest field trip
I always try to include a field trip, although sometimes it’s not possible to include one when we’re learning about it. We had visited the Ocala National Forest a few months before this lesson, so it tied in nicely.
Take a trip to a nearby park, forest, or arboretum. Have your kids bring journals to sketch animals, trees, or plants they see. Collect fallen leaves or pinecones (not live plants) for observation.
Even if you can’t make it to a national forest, check out one of the webcams from the National Park Service.
Learning about the forest
In between the videos, books, snacks, and other forms of learning taking place, there’s always lots of discussion happening.
1. Types of Forests
* Tropical rainforests: warm, wet, colorful plants and animals.
* Temperate forests: four seasons, trees that lose leaves.
* Boreal forests: cold, evergreen trees.
2. Forest Animals
* Birds (owls, woodpeckers), mammals (deer, bears, squirrels), insects (ants, butterflies).
3. Forest Plants and Trees
* Deciduous trees (maple, oak).
* Evergreens (pine, spruce).
* Forest plants (ferns, moss, wildflowers).
This forest lesson plan blends science, creativity, and hands-on learning with fun activities, making it both educational and memorable.
Happy homeschooling!
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