Download a Free Marine Biology/Ocean Unit Study Guide

For three years now we have gone to the beach for our summer vacation, but, because we live in a landlocked state, there’s not a whole lot of education about ocean animals and their habitats in our schools.

If you’re planning an ocean unit study, marine biology lesson, summer homeschool theme, or a beach-inspired classroom activity, this free marine biology and ocean unit study guide is a lovely way to help kids dive beneath the surface — without needing to live anywhere near the coast.

Ocean learning is one of those topics that naturally grabs children’s attention. From sharks and sea turtles to coral reefs, ocean zones, tide pools, shells, and mysterious deep-sea creatures, there is so much to explore. This free ocean unit study includes hands-on marine biology activities, printable ocean worksheets, loose parts play ideas, tracing pages, mazes, coloring activities, and simple ways to introduce kids to ocean animals and their habitats.

It’s a great resource for homeschool families, preschool and elementary teachers, nature study days, summer learning, or even a rainy-day science theme when everyone needs something educational but still fun. I especially love ocean-themed learning because it blends science, creativity, and play so nicely — and honestly, anything that sneaks in a bit of handwriting practice while children think they’re just coloring sea creatures is a win in my book.

You can use this free marine biology unit study as a full ocean lesson plan, a gentle introduction to ocean science, or as extra printable activities for kids who are fascinated by sea life. Add a few ocean books, a shell tray, blue play dough, or a simple sensory bin and you’ve got a wonderfully hands-on ocean learning experience that feels more like exploring than schoolwork.

Natural Beach Living has a great way to teach kids about the ocean at home, whether you homeschool or just want to help your ocean-loving kid learn more about it. This marine biology/ocean unit study is full of great ideas such as:

setting up a loose parts station with an ocean theme
printables about marine biology and ocean life
activities such as mazes, line tracing and coloring (the oceanic zones coloring page is beautiful)

It’s a great collection of resources I know my daughter will love.

Do you teach your kids about what’s in the ocean? I’d love it if you’d share any resources you’ve used.

Looking for more books on Marine Biology for kids? Check these out.

When my daughter was younger I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with activities she could do in the car on long road trips and things to entertain her when we were waiting at restaurants and things that didn’t involve screens.

But it turns out there are a lot of great activities you can do with just a piece of paper and a pen.

What Do We Do All Day has a great collection of pen and paper games, including some that can be done with just one person, though they’re all more fun if you have at least two.

There are some classics on here like hangman and dots and boxes, but there are also quite a few I hadn’t heard of before.

I don’t want to spoil the whole list for you because you should definitely click over there and look around, but I will share about the one that you see pictured above.

This game is called Bridges, and you start by making the big random shape and the dividing it into a bunch of sections (the post says 30-50 sections is ideal but I think this one is smaller than that).

Each player gets their own color marker and you take turns drawing bridges from one space to another, crossing a third. Once there’s a bridge, no other bridges can start, end or cross in those spaces. Keep going until no more bridges can be built, and the person who makes the last bridge wins.

Check out the post over at What We Do All Day for more great ideas for no or almost-no prep games you can play with your kids or that kids can play together. I’d love to know if you have a favorite paper and pen game, whether it’s on this list or a different one.

[Photo: What We Do All Day]

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