Animal Study: Bearded Dragon
A walk through of a lesson involving animal facts, art, writing, and presentation
As a homeschool mom of 4, ages 4-10, knocking out all the different categories of school with one project that can be tailored for each of my children is what I am all about. I don’t love the idea of having a different curriculum or workbook for each subject because so much can cross over and be done in an interesting, fun project that you and your child can be proud of.
One of the hardest things about homeschooling is the lack of evidence that learning is actually happening! Having a final product that displays the learning is a great way to encourage you as a homeschool parent and show your children how fun home education can be.
If you have a weekly project that has:
subject study: animal, plant, historical event or figure, country
Practice researching by watching a video, finding a book at the library, or online or magazine article
displayed in a beautiful piece of artwork
with written facts on the back or side for practicing handwriting
public speaking practice by presenting the study/art to family, grandparents, or in a co-op setting
Guess what? You just ticked off a number of homeschool boxes and your kid(s) had fun doing it! We have done so many projects like this in our home. Flipping through the paintings in our school binder or displaying the pictures in our dining room gives time for reflection of what we have accomplished this school year and conversation reminders of what we have learned. It just feels good seeing the topics we have covered and see their handwriting and artistic skills improve.
My 6 year old daughter got a bearded dragon for Christmas thus creating a impetus for collecting as much knowledge as possible about all things bearded dragon. I found myself researching food, heat requirements, personality traits and preferences. Then it hit me, we can do this research together for a homeschool project!
I will take a project like this and stretch it over two to three days of homeschool. Sometimes, the grumpies take over and we need to shelf the project for the day. While other times, the kids are eager to do all the steps. We try to get reading, writing, and math done for each child each day. Sometimes, I have us pause our project in order to get these three subjects done. Whatever day we do the writing for this project, I count that as the writing for the day for each child.
If you would like to learn about bearded dragons with your kiddos, my basic lesson plan is below.
Supplies:
iPad or Laptop to watch YouTube videos
Paper to draw on (if planning to paint, appropriate type of paper)
Ruler
Pencil
Sharpie
Color pencils, crayons, or watercolor paints or other kind of paints
Research: YouTube video on 10 Facts of Bearded Dragons Watching a video is a great way to peak the interests of your student. As we watch, I take notes or have my oldest take notes. After the video, I quiz my children on a few of the facts. If we have a library trip planned, we will also try to find books on bearded dragons.
Art: Bearded Dragon Art for Kids Hub Now we draw a bearded dragon! My children vary in artistic desire and ability. If you have a perfectionist but not skilled enough to make the picture look perfect, go slowly. I tell my kids, if we only get it drawn today, that’s great! If I have to help make the shape of the leg or make the eye just right, I definitely step in and help for peace’s sake. We use pencil first then trace over with a sharpie.
Tips: Have plenty of paper out. If you child is getting frustrated and “hates” their drawing, pause the video, hand them a fresh sheet, let them catch up, the continue the video. Be ready to pause often if doing this with all the kids. If that makes for mayhem, each child can draw on their own while other students are working on other subjects.
Writing: I make lines on the back of the drawing (or sometimes the front if there is space and my kid says its okay) with a ruler. For my student who can write on his own, I just read some of the facts to him and let him pick 5 or so of his favorites and he writes them on the back of his drawing paper. For my 2nd grader, I write out several of his favorite facts and he copies it onto his drawing. For my 1st grader, she either copies the facts onto her page or sometimes I write them lightly on her paper and she traces them. I do the same for my 4 year old.
Public Speaking: We are currently with a Classical Conversations and each of my kids have a weekly presentation on our community day. Many times, I let them pick whatever they want to present because it is more about just getting up there and practicing public speaking than it is about content. But if we have just finished a project like this bearded dragon project, I have them present it to their classes. Having them re-say the facts they have learned to their parents, grandparents, or in a co-op setting is a great way to help them remember the facts and also displaying their hard work.
And that is our bearded dragon project! Learning can be that simple. Like I said before, I use this basic template for all sorts of different subjects and it is a wonderful way to learn while hitting all the special interests of each of my children.
Let me know what you think about this project and if you would like to do more like it!
If you are new to homeschooling or just need some encouragement and direction, I would love to help.
I offer homeschool guide services to help you along your homeschool journey.