This homeschool study all about sharks is perfect for summer learning or curious learners all year long. It includes a shark tracking activity, online lessons, book lists, and so much more!
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What creatures are equipped with a stirring ampullae of Lorenzini? What species contains a flexible, cartilaginous skeleton and swims with speed? What mighty beasts of the sea wear hard teeth-like scales all over their bodies?
Did you say SHARKS? Well, you hit the nail on the hammerhead!
Shark Homeschool Study: A STEAM Approach
With over 500 species and fascinating features, the apex predators are as profound and mysterious as their dwelling place. So, why are sharks so…….”shark”-tacular? From a homeschooling mom’s point of view, they are an interdisciplinary commodity that inspires art, science, inquiry, reading, writing, and geography.
To a herd of marine biologists, sharks are more than just wonders roaming the vast seas. With eyes-wide and full of shark wonder, a child’s natural curiosity stands amazed at the rows of sharp as daggers teeth (as my daughter calls it). The distinct features of a hammerhead or a saw shark encourages independent learning and self-education as endless questions arise from a moment’s glance.
Unlocking one species after another, the varied sizes and feeding differences offer a limitless amount of research. And every summer, a school of sharks circle the shores of our home learning, sparking a frenzy of fun!
A Shark Tracking Activity For Kids
Hurry! Iron Bound just pinged! Grab your scuba gear, notebooks, and chalk pastels! We are about to sail the seas with Nana and plot this Great White’s journey!
This winsome art lesson combines engaging science with hands-on geography. Nana guides your scientists through new terms such as the Eastern Seaboard, shark pinging, and tracking device. Your shark biologists will also learn and discover how Iron Bound got his sturdy name!
Hold on to your fins, because this multi-disciplinary art lesson is simply “fin”-tastic!
Online Lessons All About Sharks
We find sharks extremely impressive! From the giant whale shark that can reach up to 65.6 feet in length, to the hammering hammerhead that investigates the ocean floor for tasty sting rays.
This is a list of only a few of our favorite shark art lessons with Nana, perfect for any shark biologist!
Black Tip Reef, Hammerhead, Nurse Shark and School of Sharks
Great White Homeschool Art Lesson
Nana makes this well-known shark a fun one to paint and learn about!
Shark Homeschool Unit Study Bundle
This is a wonderful bundle of resources in our Sharks homeschool unit study bundle with: Sharks Unit Study by Amanda Bennett, integrated science and hands-on shark art lessons! This new two-week unit study will add some fun to your sharks science learning with lapbook elements, daily quests and more.
Are you interested in a delightful shark homeschool study? Or maybe you are planning shark activities for Shark Week. Take a dive into Erin’s A Shark Week Homeschool Unit Study for Kids. Uncover how “art is a fabulous addition to your shark science lessons” and the wonderful list of winning lessons Nana offers through the Clubhouse Membership. Erin also shares a lovely way of spending time with her scholars while painting with sharks, chalk pastel tea time!
A Shark Week Homeschool Unit Study for Kids!
Erin shares: Do your kids love sharks? Are you getting ready for shark week? Then let Nana take you under the sea with chalk pastels shark art for kids! These easy-to-follow video homeschool lessons will teach you and your child how to draw some of the most exciting sharks using chalk pastels.
Folks, my children have been obsessed with sharks for years. We’ve read favorite shark books, watched documentaries, and played games with a shark theme. Did you know we even tracked a Great White shark named Lydia for nearly two years with Ocearch Shark Tracker? She was over 16 feet long and traversed all around the Atlantic ocean!
Discovery Channels Shark Week is an exciting time for us. It’s the perfect time to do a week-long unit study on the science of sharks!
Shark Week Teatime Fun for Homeschool
Art is a fabulous addition to your shark science lessons! All you need is a pack of construction paper, chalk pastels, and Nana’s shark art videos to add a bit of artistic fun to your shark week studies. Nana is fantastic at taking you step-by-step in drawing these fierce and sometimes adorable apex predators!
To make your shark week even more memorable, make it a chalk pastel teatime! We added our favorite pot of tea, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and iced cakes for our shark week teatime!
That strawberry shortcake was so delicious. I don’t think it lasted 10 minutes! Luckily there was plenty of tea and iced cakes to keep us going.
Online Shark Lessons for Kids
These shark art videos are perfect whether your kiddo is doing a shark unit study or is obsessed with sharks. Add them to your next oceanography unit, or make a collage of your child’s favorites onto the fridge!
We love tumbling down rabbit holes of learning, and each of these sharks provided just that! So we looked up facts on habitats, food preferences, and danger levels to humans from our shark encyclopedias. Our favorite sharks included the nurse shark, hammerhead, black-tip reef shark, and zebra shark. My daughter adored the cuteness of the catshark so named for its cat-shaped eyes and gentle demeanor.
Shark Homeschool Lessons with You ARE An Artist Clubhouse Membership
With the You ARE An Artist Clubhouse Membership, you’ll have access to 14 super easy to follow Sharks Video Art Lessons, including:
- Great White Shark
- Bull Shark
- Spinner Shark
- Hammerhead Shark
- Zebra Shark
- Night Shark
- Black Tip Reef Shark
- Flying Shark
- Shark Fin
- School of Sharks
- Nurse Shark
- Megaladon
- Catshark
- Thresher Shark
If video art lessons don’t work for you, then be sure to check out the Shark Art E-book Tutorials! You can view these lessons on your iPad, Kindle, and desktop. With the Shark E-books, you’ll have access to the following E-book lessons:
- School of Sharks
- Great White Shark
- Bull Shark
- Nurse Shark
- Catshark
- Angel Shark
- Shark Close Up
- Megaladon
- Basking Shark
- Sharks at Night
- Hammerhead
- Zebra Shark
- Black Tip Reef Shark
- Night Shark
- Flying Shark
- Shark Fin
- Cookiecutter shark
- Goblin shark
- Whale shark
Shark Homeschool Unit Study With Chalk Pastels
There is so much to love about sharks! These fantastic fish are genuinely remarkable and are so crucial to the health of our oceans. With Nana’s lessons, there is a shark for everyone, be it the docile whale shark, the famous great white, or everything in between! Just remember to keep loads of blue, green, and gray chalk pastels on hand! With all of the blue ocean water we’ve created this week, along with the awesome sharks, our blue and gray pastels are nothing more than nubs! But we don’t mind! Now we have fantastic shark art in their place! And what’s not to love about that?
You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse members not only have access to all of these amazing sharks but also enjoy a special replay of a live event! Nana shared a new shark lesson in honor of Shark Week. Complete Clubhouse members also enjoy a companion I Drew It Then I Knew It Sharks Workbook!
Additional Resources For Ocean Study
Do you have a student who just can’t wait to explore marine life? If so, you might want to spend time putting your feet in the sand and listening to the rhythmic waves with Nana! In this Majestic Ocean Study, she will take your marine biologist along sandy beaches to build sand castles and uncover the fascinating life beyond the sea! You will discover the power of nature study in your homeschool, fantastic ocean resources, and books to combine with your ocean study! Bring your sand buckets and all colorful pastels!
Ocean Anatomy For Kids Fun, Hands-On Learning by Laura Petrusic
My marine scientists and I have recently embarked on a journey through the deep seas! In search of simple resources to incorporate into our summer studies, we found this valuable resource full of hands-on learning by Laura Petrusic. I love this multi-sensory book so much! Filled with hands-on activities for all ages and journal entry ideas, Ocean Anatomy Activities for Kids is easy to navigate and pairs so well with Nana’s ocean art lessons! In it are six chapters total with twenty lessons. The lessons are simple and the information is conveyed in a hassle-free way.
For our shark study, we learned about the Anatomy of a Shark, then finished our study by creating denticles! My children loved the hands on learning experience by boiling eggs, peeling eggs, and crushing the shells. We glued the egg shells on a shark template. This provided a wonderful representation of shark skin!
Sea Life Dot Markers Activity Book for Kids Ages 4-8
My little learners always love to be a part of our studies. Sea Life Dot Markers Activity Book for Kids is another hands-on, multi-sensory resource. Filled with an ocean themed templates, budding oceanographers have fun exploring with dot markers while experiencing creatures that live in the deep seas.
Our Favorite Ocean Themed Books for All Ages
Art and literature-my absolute favorite! Combine the two, and they provide a spectacular learning experience. Here is a list of our ocean themed books we are currently using. All books complement all of Nana’s seashore lessons for a wonderful shark homeschool study!
- ABC’s of Oceanography by Chris Ferrie and Katherina Petrou
- The Burgess Seashore Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
- God Made the Ocean by Sarah Jean Collins
- Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
- Oceans of Love by Janet Lawler
Shark Homeschool Study with Nana in the You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse
You and your shark biologists can enjoy all of Nana’s shark video art lessons! Here is the list of shark lessons included:
- Great White Shark
- Bull Shark
- Spinner Shark
- Hammerhead Shark
- Zebra Shark
- Night Shark
- Black Tip Reef Shark
- Flying Shark
- Shark Fin
- School of Sharks
- Nurse Shark
- Megaladon
- Catshark
- Thresher Shark
- AND the NEW shark tracking lesson!
Jamie is the author of A Brown Bear’s Language Arts Study, a literature-inspired homeschool mom of eight, and a former educator. She enjoys a bookshelf bursting with colorful picture books and children’s stories of all genres. Indulging in a read aloud with all of her children around her is one of Jamie’s favorite moments of her days. Be sure to find Jamie on Instagram and visit her blog, Treasuring the Tiny Moments Homeschool, to be encouraged by all her learning adventures with her wonderful family.