Pinecone Learning Activities for Kids

In the winter there aren’t as many natural materials to work with and learn about in a lot of the world. But if you live where there are deciduous trees, you’ll always be able to find pinecones, so let’s do some learning with pine cones!

Learn and label the parts of a pinecone and record other observations about pine cones with these printables from Superstar Worksheets. And grab these cute pinecone coloring pages from Nature Inspired Learning.

We love a good science project, and this investigation from Lemon Lime Adventures into why pinecones open is a good one. Basically all you need is pinecones, jars and water and some observant and curious kids. MomBrite has a similar experiment but goes more into the science of why pinecones open and close, rather than just observing that it is happening.

Because the opening and closing has to do with humidity, you can use pinecones to predict the weather. Rainy Day Mum made a pine cone weather station she shared about at Science Sparks, complete with printable worksheets you can use to record your observations.

I’ve said before that just about any classic STEM experiment can be altered to fit whatever season it is, and this post from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails proves it by making a fizzy pinecone experiment.

Use pinecones and other natural materials in a find and count activity like this one from Little Pine Learners. Go on a nature walk to collect materials or use natural stuff you already have (just me?) like rocks, acorns, even seashells. You can count each thing, make a chart of how many you have of each, make repeating patterns, build creatures and so much more with a nice stash of natural materials in the classroom or home.

And of course there are so many crafts you can make with pinecones! One of my favorites since I always have yarn handy is a yarn-wrapped pinecone, which you can see over at Laura Radniecki. Or make cute animals with your pinecones like these owls from Curated by Michelle.

Amazing recycled shovel giant pinecones [Recycled Crafts]

Beautiful Zinnia Flowers Made from PINECONES! [Home and Garden]

Free Thanksgiving Printables for Kids

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Tree Unit Study Ideas

I don’t know why tropical animals feel like something you should learn about in the summer, because these tropical bird crafts and activities are great to do any time of year. Let’s take a look.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable tropical birds copywork book kids can use to practice cursive or print writing. They also have links to more fun printable activities, mostly about parrots, toucans and cockatoos.

Homeschool Share has a printable lapbook all about parrots. This one is a lot of fun because it includes things like the pros and cons of owning a pet parrot and some parrot jokes alongside information about where parrots live, why they have hooked beaks and their lifespan, among other things.

Use colorful bird puzzles to reinforce number order with this free printable puzzle collection from Craft Play Learn. It includes five different bird puzzles that are each eight pieces.

And if you want to look at toucans in particular, check out this toucan study guide aimed at elementary students from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus. This isn’t a free resource but it’s 31 pages all about toucans, their life cycle, anatomy, what they eat, role in the rainforest ecosystem, activities and more well worth the cost.

How about some tropical bird crafts? This 3D macaw parrot from The Craft Train is a great one, also not free but super cute and easy to make with the printables.

I Heart Crafty Things has a super cute parrot made with cardboard and card stock. If you hang it from the ceiling it will even spin.

Or try the cute cardboard tube parrots from Kids Craft Room, which kids will love to decorate (you could even use feathers if you have some). You can also make a parrot (or whatever other tropical bird you like) from a paper plate with these instructions from Crafts on Sea.

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