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Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

February 27, 2021 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The beauty of unit studies is the ability to combine multiple subjects. This famous and historic trees fun study combines nature, history, and geography. Add in some art and music and it’s a memorable unit study.

Famous and Historic Trees

So today, I rounded up some fun resources for creating a famous and historic trees nature and history unit study.

Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

First, look at this book we fell in love with which gave us us the kick start to our ideas.

Celebritrees Historic & Famous Trees of the World states its for grades 2 to 4, but this idea can be used for a super great unit study for multiple ages.

Besides, the history and legend of the famous trees in the book gives plenty of chance for a deep unit study.

Also, there are plenty of books about the nature of trees and science and even poetry, but we loved learning about the famous trees of the world.

Although the book only lists 14 famous and historic trees of the world, you could easily add other features to the search besides the oldest, tallest, or biggest trunk.

Science of Trees

Next, add in a bit of science. How are trees defined? Look below at some of their characteristics.

Trees usually have a single stem, or trunk.Trees are woody plants.
Trees are at least 15 feet tall.Trees have a branched-out top called a crown.

Trees clean the air, give shade, cool our house, conserve energy, and attract songbirds. Trees reduce erosion and conserve energy.

Furthermore, look at the information on the historic trees.

Learning about the Methuselah Tree

The Methuselah Tree has lived more than 4,600 years. It is a Bristlecone Pine and it’s located in California.

  • Methuselah Tree Lesson Plan
  • A Bristlecone Pine Named ‘Methuselah’
  • Here is an outline map of California
  • About the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine
  • Read about the Bristle Cone Pine here
  • Learn about California history here

Moon Trees

Stuart Roosa was a former U.S. Forest Service worker who orbited in the command module of the Apollo 14 in 1971. He conducted scientific experiments in lunar orbit. He put hundreds of tree seeds in a packet and took with him to space.

When he got back to earth, the seeds were germinated and are known as “moon trees” and are found all over the U.S. and the world.

  • Read about the Moon Trees here.
  • Where on Earth Did NASA Plant Moon Trees
  • Moon Trees Stand as Living Testaments to First Voyages to Moon
  • Making of a Moon Tree Map

Famous Scythe Tree

This next tree is in Waterloo, New York and the Balm-of-Gilead stands as living monument to a young soldier that went off to fight in the American Civil War.

  • Scythe Tree
  • Read about the Story of the Scythe tree
  • New York word search
  • Here is a mini unit study too about New York.
  • Why is an Upstate NY historian trying to save a really old tree?
  • Map where some animals live in New York
  • New York Outline Map
  • Read more about the Balm of Gilead

Prison Boab Famous Tree

Another tree is the Prison Boab which is located in Australia.

It is a Baobab tree. It has many names. One is the Upside-Down Tree because it’s branches look like roots and it’s also just named Boab.

  • Derby Boab ‘Prison Tree’
  • Read here Inventing a Colonial Dark History: The Derby Boab ‘Prison’ Tree
  • Boab Trees YouTube
  • The Boab Prison Tree
  • Read The First Australians
  • Five-Day Australian Mini-Unit
  • Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art

The Tule Tree

El Árbol del Tule (The Tule Tree) is located in Santa María del Tule, Mexico. It is a Montezuma Cypress and it’s estimated to be 1,400 years old.

  • Read about the Taxodium mucronatum tree here
  • Mexico geography
  • Mexico Lapbook
  • Read more about the Montezuma Baldcypress
  • Learn some facts about Mexico from National Geographic

Chapel Oak Famous Tree

Another famous tree is the the Chapel Oak which is located in Allouville-Bellefosse, France.

It is a huge oak with two chapels inside and a spiral staircase. It looks like something out of a fairy tale.

It is one of the biggest and oldest trees in France.

  • Read about the Le Chêne Chapelle (The Chapel Oak)
  • The Peculiar Chapel Of Allouville-Bellefosse
  • Look at this France Unit Study
  • Trees poem
  • Getting to Know France worksheet
  • The Ancient Oak Tree Chapel as Old As France Itself
  • Learn About the Geography of France by Creating A Solar Oven
  • Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns

Ficus Religiosa or The Bodhi Tree

This is a kind of fig tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka which is sacred to the Buddhists. They believe Buddha gained “bodhi” or enlightenment while sitting under it and meditating.

  • You can read about the fig tree here.
  • Geography for Kids about Sri Lanka
  • Read here about the characteristics of the tree
  • Map of Sri Lanka

The Famous and Historic General Sherman Tree

In the Sequoia National Park in California is the General Sherman or a giant sequoia.

The giant sequoias are very special because they are among the oldest and largest living things on earth. The General Sherman Tree, found in Sequoia National Park, is the largest living thing on earth. It is 274.9 feet tall, has a circumference (4.5 ft. above the base) of 83.2 feet, a base circumference of 102.6 feet, and a volume of nearly 58,000 cubic feet.

  • Read about the General Sherman here
  • 12 page lesson plan
  • Our Giant Sequoia Forests 12 page beautiful download
  • The largest trees in the world
  • The Giant Sequoia curriculum pdf

MORE Famous and Historic Trees of the World

There are other trees too to read about like

  • Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree
  • Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree (Woolsthorpe, England)
  • Dueling Oaks in New Orleans, Louisiana
  • The Major Oak, Sherwood Forest, England
  • and the Emancipation Oak (Hampton, Virginia).

Study Tree Art

Add some beautiful art to your study about historic trees. Read about Joseph Farrington and his The Oak Tree. Read about Paul Cezanne and his Forest art.

Also read about Georges Seurat and The Morning Walk.

The Oak Tree by Joseph Farrington
Forest by Paul Cezanne

Also, look at Hands-On Literature Nature Study: Simple Tree Craft.

Tree Poetry

Learning and memorizing poetry about trees could also be copywork or to make nature journals.

Loveliest of Trees, The Cherry Now by A. E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.


Binsey Poplars by Gerard Manley Hopkins

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
   Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
   All felled, felled, are all felled;
     Of a fresh and following folded rank
                Not spared, not one
                That dandled a sandalled
         Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.
   O if we but knew what we do
          When we delve or hew—
     Hack and rack the growing green!
           Since country is so tender
     To touch, her being só slender,
     That, like this sleek and seeing ball
     But a prick will make no eye at all,
     Where we, even where we mean
                To mend her we end her,
           When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
   Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
      Strokes of havoc únselve
           The sweet especial scene,
      Rural scene, a rural scene,
      Sweet especial rural scene.


The Way through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling 


They shut the road through the woods
      Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
      And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
      Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
      And the thin anemones.

     Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
      And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
      Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
      Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
      Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse’s feet,
      And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
      Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
      As though they perfectly knew
      The old lost road through the woods.
But there is no road through the woods.

Famous and Historic Trees of the World Lapbook

Too, I’ve created this fun famous and historic trees lapbook to use with this fun unit study.

Awesome features of my lapbooks.

  • Aimed at elementary to high school.
  • This is a .pdf  instant downloadable product and not a physical product.
  • You are paying for the printables, the lapbook.
  • My lapbooks are created for multiple ages. I aimed for elementary to high school for this lapbook. One of my reasons for aiming this lapbook for the upper grades is that I use a cursive font for the minibooks filled in with information.
  • Most of the minibooks have facts which accompany the minibook and a lot of the minibook are offered two ways. One way where your child uses the facts already provided by the minibook filled in and another way where your child can add his own research and not use the inside pages. Blank pages are provided for your student’s research.
  • You can use any reference materials, books, or online resources to complete the lapbook.
  • I don’t provide links in the lapbooks for filling out the information. This keeps my prices low for my products, but I do try to provide free links on my site as I can.
  • Because I have been a working homeschool mom for more of my journey than not, I need flexibility for using lapbooks. Proving a few facts from the main resource I use is one way I have of saving you time and giving you flexibility in how to use the minibooks.
  • Too, some of your kids may be older and you want them to do more research and some of your kids may be reluctant writers so you may want to mix and match pre-filled minibooks with blank minibooks. Flexibility is the key to my lapbooks.

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer. Read carefully what you get on your digital download. If you have questions, email me FIRST at tina homeschools AT gmail DOT com.

  • Dynamic Famous and Historic Trees Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $2.75
    Add to cart
Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

More Tree Facts

Also, you’ll love these resources for studying about each of these varieties of trees.

  • Where do trees get their mass from YouTube
  • Parts of tree
  • Benefits of trees
  • Download tree diversity sheets with some fun fact cards
  • 680 Tree Fact Sheets

You’ll love these other studies:

  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors
  • Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook.
  • Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook.
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook.
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook.
  • From Egg to Sea Turtle Nature Unit Study & Lapbook.
  • Colorful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Unit Study.
  • Free Arctic Ground Squirrel Lapbook & Unit Study Resources

Hugs and love ya

2 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Geography Based, History Based, Lapbook, Lapbooks, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas}, Nature Based Activities Tagged With: geography, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschool geography, homeschoolgeography, homeschoolscience, lapbook, lapbookresources, life science, nature, nature study, science, sciencecurriculum, trees

Beautiful and Colorful 2021 to 2022 Two Page Monthly Calendar Curious

February 15, 2021 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have the printable 2021 to 2022 two page monthly calendar second color choice ready. This is the Two Page Appointment Keeper.

Two Page Monthly Calendar

They are kept here at Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers.

Beautiful and Colorful 2021 to 2022 Two Page Monthly Calendar Curious

Curriculum Pages for Planner

Second, I want to remind you that I have FREE calendars that are made for a quick glance that I share on the same step, Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers and planning calendars are also different because they are for planning and tracking school weeks.

The homeschool planning calendars are kept at Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You!.

Academic Printable Calendar

In addition, the two page spread I share today is for keeping appointments for any of your family’s needs whether it’s personal or homeschool.

Also, this two page spread can be used in a home management binder, blogging planner, financial planner, or fitness planner.

My copyright allows you to print it as many times as you need it for your needs.

Hope you love this color choice and you can get it now! Yay!

(Note: If you click on the image for the cart, you can see a bigger picture or look at my bigger graphics below)

TOS

Important: READ THIS FIRST.
Before you email me asking where your download link is or tell me that it is not working, read this to ensure that you get your pretties timely and that you don’t pay for something and not get it.

• All my products are digital. You will not receive a physical product for anything in my store. A digital physical year calendar does not mean a physical product or calendar.
• Downloads are INSTANT. When you pay, you will receive an email with a download link INSTANTLY. Depending on your internet connection, the email could be just 30 seconds or so, or a bit longer. The point is it will be soon, not a week later,etc.
• The email with the download link will go to the email you used for paypal. If you used your husband’s paypal, your downloads will go to that email. Please check that email and your spam before emailing me telling me you can’t find it.
• Please put my email tina @ tinasdynamichomeschoolplus dot com (of course substitute the right symbol for dot) in your address/contact list so that your product does not go to spam

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant.

Printable Calendar for Homeschool Planner

Lastly, I value your business and value you as a follower.

I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer.

Beautiful and Colorful 2021 to 2022 Two Page Monthly Calendar Curious
  • 2021-2022 (2 Pages Per Month Academic Calendar) Curious Option

    $3.50
    Add to cart

Look at these other homeschool planner products that I know you’ll love!

  • 1.3 Glam It Up Package

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  • 1. Ultimate DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

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  • Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages – Mink Over You

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  • Doodle Curriculum Planner Cover Store 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x

    Doodle Coloring Curriculum Planner Cover

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  • Sale!

    2020-2021 (2 Pages Per Month Academic Calendar) Summer Option

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  • Sunkissed Curriculum Planner Cover

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  • Editable Front Cover – Coral Inklings

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  • 20 Ancient Civilization History Coloring Pages

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  • 2021 (2 Pages Per Month Physical Year Calendar) Beach Color

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  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form

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  • Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages – Confetti Color

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Academic Calendar

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” Begin building your free planner

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Beautiful and Colorful 2021 to 2022 Two Page Monthly Calendar Curious

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Curriculum Planner, Homeschool Planner Tagged With: academiccalendars, calendar, curriculum pages, curriculum planner, curriculum planner. homeschool., homeschool curriculum planner, homeschool planner, homeschool planning, homeschoolplanner, lesson planner, lessonplanning, planner, planning

22 Famous Texans Notebooking Pages (editable) For a Fun History Study

February 10, 2021 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

These 22 famous Texans notebooking pages can be added to a unit study about Texas. You could use the Texans notebooking pages for a famous people study too.

I’ve created 11 Texans notebooking pages which have 2 Texans on each page so your child can notebook about 22 famous Texans.

In addition, I’ve created two sets of notebooking pages. The first set is editable and the second set has lines for handwriting. You decide best how to use them with your kids.

Some kids need more practice handwriting, other kids need to type. Again, it’s the same set with two different options. You get both options in the one download.

22 Famous Texans Notebooking Pages

22 Famous Texans Notebooking Pages For a Fun History Study (Editable)

Look at these 22 famous Texans on each page and in addition where possible, I have a link or two to help you kick off your unit study with a heap of Texan-ness.

One. Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History

157 page .pdf about Davy Crockett

Two. James Bowie

Bowie, James (1796–1836)

Bowie, JAMES, military officer, Alamo Defender, Hero 

Three. Branch Tanner Archer

Archer, Branch Tanner (1790–1856)

Branch Tanner Archer

Four. David G. Burnet

Sons of DeWitt Colony, Texas

Five. Edward Burleson

Burleson, Edward  (1793  – 1851 Dec 26 )

Six. Elisabet Ney

Elisabet Ney Museum

Ney, Elisabet (1833–1907)

Seven. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Vázquez de Coronado, Francisco (1510–1554)

Eight. Gail Borden, Jr.

Borden, Gail, Jr. (1801–1874)

About Gail Borden

Famous Texans

Here in Texas, our homeschool state law states the curriculum must include the five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics and good citizenship.

Good citizenship is similar to civics so you can include these notebooking pages toward your goal of covering Texas history.

Nine. Jane Long

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was called the “Mother of Texas.” 

Jane Long (1798-1880)

Ten. John C. Hayes

Hays, John Coffee (1817–1883)

John Coffee Hays

Eleven. John Henry Brown

Brown, John Henry (1820–1895)

John Henry Brown family papers, 1691-1951

Twelve. Lorenzo de Zavala

Zavala, Lorenzo de (1788–1836)

Lorenzo de Zavala (1789-1836)

Thirteen. Mirabeau Lamar

Lamar, Mirabeau Buonaparte (1798–1859)

Giants of Texas History

Fourteen: Robert Cavalier, Sieur de Lasalle

The Explorers

La Salle, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de (1643–1687)

Texas History Unit Study

Fifteen: Sam Houston

6 page pdf Teacher Guide

Study in Leadership

Sixteen: Stephen F. Austin

Colonization of Texas:

Stephen F. Austin 1793 – 1836

Seventeen: Thomas Green

Green, Thomas (1814–1864)

Green, Thomas  (1814 Jun 8 – 1864 Apr 12 )

Eighteen: William P. Hardeman

Hardeman, William Polk (1816–1898)

William P. Hardeman “Old Gotch” (1816-1898)

Nineteen: Sterling C. Robertson

Robertson, Sterling Clack (1785–1842)

Twenty: Susanna Dickinson

Dickinson, Susanna Wilkerson (ca. 1814–1883)

Alamo widow and survivor

Twenty-one: Anson Jones

Jones, Anson (1798–1858)

Jones, Anson  (1798 Jan 20  –  1858)

Twenty-two: James S. Hogg

Governors of Texas

James S. Hogg (1851-1906)

Grab the Notebooking Pages below.

  • 11 Notebooking Pages (editable) 22 Famous Texans

    $1.75
    Add to cart

22 Famous Texans Notebooking Pages For a Fun History Study (Editable)

You’ll love these other resources for studying about Texas:

  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • Texas Native American History Quick Unit Study (Middle School)
  • How to Build the Alamo: Day 5 Hands-on Learning (Free Texas Unit Study)
  • Free Copywork Cattle A Texas Poem For a Fun Unit Study
  • 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 12

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: History Resources, Middle School Homeschool, Notebooking Pages Tagged With: american history, hands on history, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, modern history, notebooking, texasunit

18+ Fun and Interactive Ways to Learn Geography With Kids

February 4, 2021 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Eighteen fun and interactive ways to learn geography with kids is more than learning to label a map. After all, nothing about labeling a map ever worked in enticing a kid to want to know more about the world around him.

Making geography come alive is key to making it stick. Too, some kids are craft loving, others not so much.

18+ Fun and Interactive Ways to Learn Geography With Kids

The point is having a large trunk so to speak to pull ideas out of works.

Fun and Interactive Ways to Learn Geography With Kids

Look at these 18 fun and interactive ways to learn geography with kids which work for a variety of ages.

  • 1) Unit studies are a favorite of mine. Focusing on an artist from a certain area, the food, inventions, and music can be a very comprehensive geography study. We did this with our Turkey country unit study.
  • 2) This next way is so much fun. It’s Google Lit Trips. Download Google Earth Pro for free. Look at this Google Document to see how to use it. From the site: What is a Google Lit Trip? Lit Trips are downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth.
  • 3) Do a postcard exchange from friends around the world. You can do this in any of the facebook groups you’re in if it’s allowed. Kids love receiving postcards from all over the world. I allow it in my closed homeschool facebook group if you post.
  • 4) Sugar dough, peanut butter, or salt dough maps are great fun for any age. Of course you can make this an edible map. Here is our edible peanut butter dough map studying about Lewis and Clark and salt dough map while studying about Marco Polo.

Geography with Kids

Also, adding in an adventure whether you drive or take a virtual trip or two makes a difference.

  • 5) You don’t have to go far to enjoy geography. Just going out doors or to a state park where you can learn about the flora or fauna of an area is something kids love. Nature, science, and geography are subjects that fit together naturally.
  • 6) Google Earth. Just pick a place and roam the streets. Kids love this.

Another fun way to learn about other places is to use fun picture books. You’ll love this roundup.

In addition, games ( 7 to 10) are one of the BEST ways to learn geography.

Learn Geography With Kids

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego (11) is a great series too. The series comes in paper back, on pc, a board game if you can find one and currently is on Netflix.

The Basement Workshop Store

Another idea to make geography fun for kids is to make a travel brochure (12). You’ll love the fun one here on Crayola.

Also, host a co-op with another family or two (13).

You know kids love looking for an opportunity to get together; a mini-geography co-op is a great way to feed their need to interact while learning a useful topic.

Sharing teaching is another reason why a mini-co-op is fun. You can assign countries to each family and have them do a presentation together. This allows each child to share what he loves about geography.

As you can see kids get an added benefit of public speaking in a smaller setting. Writing is naturally incorporated and becomes fun since it’s meaningful.

Other natural ways are focusing on art(14), dressing up like the costumes of each country(15), cooking recipes is a big hit always(16), creating a cookbook for each country or state(17) and Minecraft(18).

Creating worlds in Minecraft is another fun way to create a place or even to learn about coordinates. Coordinates in Minecraft are precursor lessons to to longitude and latitude. See my post Hands-on Geography: Longitude/Latitude Mapmaking Activity

And one more fun one (19), grab a map from the dollar store and add landmarks on it, track your vacations and add to it, add rivers or other fun tidbits on it. It’s a fun keepsake too.

These are just a few ways to bring geography with kids to life. You’ll love these other posts below with great tips.

18+ Fun and Interactive Ways to Learn Geography With Kids

What do you like to do to make geography fun?

  • STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship
  • Hands-on Geography Mesopotamia: Fun Salt Dough Map
  • 100 BEST Books for Kids from all 50 States (Easy Geography)
  • 5 Ways to Raise a Natural Geography-Lover
  • Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle
  • Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art
  • 35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less
  • 5 Steps to Choosing Geography Living Books Your Children Will Love
  • First Grade Homeschool Curriculum for History and Geography
  • 3 Reasons Hands-on Geography is Important in Middle and High School Homeschool
  • Homemade Compass. Simple Geography Projects Equals Huge Wow Factors

Hugs and love ya,

2 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Geography Based, Hands-On Activities Tagged With: geography, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool geography, homeschoolgeography

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

January 30, 2021 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Studying the history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and Chisholm Trail is a fun and fascinating one. Cowboys, cattle drives and the Chisholm Trail all embody the spirit of a Texan.

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Free Unit Study

Being born and raised in Texas, I grew up going to rodeos, knowing about cattle drives, and watching wide open spaces of grazing cattle as the norm.

As a native Texan too, my husband grew up with ranching and rodeoing in his life and family. He comes from a family of cowboys. I couldn’t wait to do a unit study focused on the history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and the Chisholm Trail.

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

With fond memories, I recall the first time I heard the poem Cattle by Berta Hart Nance (1883-1958).

Other states were carved or born,
Texas grew from hide and horn.

Other states are long and wide,
Texas is a shaggy hide.

Dripping blood and crumpled hair;
Some fat giant flung it there,

Laid the head where valleys drain,
Stretched its rump along the plain.

Other soil is full of stones,
Texans plow up cattle-bones.

Herds are buried on the trail,
Underneath the powdered shale;

Herds that stiffened like the snow,
Where the icy northers go.

Other states have built their halls,
Humming tunes along the walls,

Texans watched the mortar stirred
While they kept the lowing herd.

Stamped on Texan wall and roof
Gleams the sharp and crescent hoof.

High above the hum and stir
Jingle bridle rein and spur.

Other states were carved or born,
Texas grew from hide and horn.

A lot of Texans view their state differently from how other states grew. After the American Civil War, it was cattle which helped to make Texas grow. Also, ranching was a big part of Texas growth.

This study is about the grit, hardiness, and stubbornness early Texans embodied and how they passed it down to our generation.

So in this history of the Texas cowboy, cattle drives, and Chisholm Trail, I’ve rounded up some helpful resources to teach your kids about Texas.

Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

I aimed at resources for elementary ages to about middle school, but as with all my resources you decide which ages to use them for.

The American Civil War {1861-1865} had almost destroyed the United States, but by 1867 the United States found peace again.

Long-horned cattle, which were introduced in part by the Spanish roamed freely upon the plains.

Ranchers noticed that the longhorn turned out to be particularly well adapted to the harsh and arid conditions in the West. 

So thousands of head of cattle were rounded up from pastures in southern and central Texas and herded hundreds of miles north to Kansas.

Cattle drives were a celebrated event of this time period.

Between fascination with the American legend of a cowboy and a transitional time period in American history this brief, but captivating moment in history attracts learners of any age.

Too, with the invention of refrigerated railroad cars in the 1870’s it also made it possible to ship fresh beef anywhere in the country.

I used the Texas Chisholm Trail by the Texas Historical Commission to use as a guide for this lapbook. It’s a free wonderful educator’s guide, but of course you can use any resource you have.

First, there were at least four cattle drives during the 19th century. They were the The Chisholm Trail, The Goodnight-Loving Trail, The Western Trail and The Shawnee Trail.

The Chisholm Trail has at least 7 names: Abilene Trail, the Cattle Trail, the Eastern Trail, the Great Texas Cattle Trail, the Kansas Trail, McCoy’s Trail and the Texas Chisholm Trail.

Lesson Plans History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail

  • Beef basics. Fun lesson plan about beef products and terms to understand about cattle
  • Make a Brand for Yourself the Cowboy Way
  • Coloring page – longhorn
  • Make Your Cattle Brand
  • The Old Chisolm Trail – Lots of interesting background information and pictures to explain the Chisolm Trail
  • Texas Frontier Timeline
  • Texas Cowboys and Myths 5 page pdf download
  • Hit the Trail – 10 page pdf about cattle trails
  • Ranching Heritage – 10 page pdf with fun trail cards and background information
  • Measure the width of longhorns. 4 page pdf. You’ll love the math lesson
  • Texas Cattle Trails. Great site for history
  • Build a Calf and pictures for different breeds
  • The Cattle Drive and Westward Expansion
  • Cowboys:Vaquero – 6 page pdf about cowboys, cattle trails and glossary
  • Longhorn Cattle – Wonderful background information about the ancestors of Texas longhorns
  • Cowboy Word Search
  • Learn about the King Ranch, one of the oldest ranches in Texas
  • Longhorns of the Big Bend 63 page pdf wonderful and interesting information about Texas and the cattle industry and history of the longhorn
  • The Lone Star State 3 page pdf fun reading about Texas facts
  • What Does a Cowboy Do? Lesson with fun printables about cowboys
  • The Old Chisolm Trail Cowboy Song YouTube
  • Chisholm Trail cattle drive YouTube. In this episode Rick pushes Texas longhorns up the Chisholm Trail to the Ellsworth railhead.
  • Marty Robbins Sings ‘Whoopee Ti Yi Yo.‘ YouTube
  • The Chisholm Trail YouTube. Created for the elementary classroom. This is a basic overview of what the Chisholm trail was, how it was used and the reasons behind the cattle drive.

Texas Size Vocabulary Words

  • Cattle Kingdom – An industry based on cattle ranching that arose on the open range from Texas to Canada during the 1800s.
  • Texas Rangers – Law enforcement to keep the law in frontier Texas.
  • Tejanos – A person of Mexican heritage, but considers Texas home.
  • King Ranch – Ranch in South Texas that is one of the most important cattle operations in the state.
  • brands – identification marks on livestock made with burning irons
  • barbed wire – a wire used in fencing that is made with points, or barbs, placed at intervals to prevent livestock from crossing the fence
  • vaqueros – from vaca (cow) cowboy
  • wrangler – one who herds or cares for livestock on the range
  • XIT Ranch – Ranch established by the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company which was funded by investors from Chicago and Great Britain.
  • Longhorn – a hybrid breed of cattle that descended from Spanish and English stock; the main breed used in Texas ranching

Field Trip Ideas for History of Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives and Chisholm Trail

  • You’ll love this page Off the Beaten Path: Drive Up the Chisholm Trail’s Less-Traveled Routes to give you ideas of where to go here in Texas.
  • Landmark Inn – 1850s store
  • Fort Griffin – Fort from 1867 to 1881
  • The Alamo – Well known of course and still a fun place to visit
  • However, another longtime favorite of ours is the Buckhorn Saloon Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum in San Antonio. If you want to learn about cowboy country, you have to visit this one.
  • We love visiting the Barrington Plantation which is the last home of Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas. They have a fun program for homeschoolers which includes hand-on activity.
  • The Star of the Republic Museum is on the same property as the Barrington Farm.
  • Varner Hogg Plantation. Yes, it’s true Gov. James Hogg named his daughter Ima Hogg.

Hands-on Ideas For a Texas Unit Study

Next, you’ll love a few ideas for some hands-on fun to study about Texas.

  • Make some easy Texas chili.
  • Eat cactus.
  • Easy fun watercolor sunset
  • Love the smushed coke can cowboy and cowgirls and cowboy glyph
  • Study this piece of art, Outlier by Frederic Remington.By the time of the painting most Native Americans had been forced onto reservations. What is the mood of the painting?
  • Then download my lapbook below.
  • Build the Alamo.
  • Make an Armadillo
  • Fun tissue bluebonnet craft
  • Make a tornado in a bottle
  • If a kid has never seen barbed wire which basically ended the open ranges of Texas, make some fun and fake barbed wire here.
  • Candle making with kids

Field Trip to Washington on the Brazos, Star of the Republic Museum, Barrington Farms and Buckhorn Museum/Texas Ranger Museum
(don’t miss any of these places)

  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail 1
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Star of the Republic Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Buckhorn Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Barrington Farms Anson Jones Home Republic of Texas
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Learn about brands
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Barrington Farm
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Texas Rangers
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Chuck Wagon at Buckhorn Museum
  • History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
    Chuck Wagon at Buckhorn Museum San Antonio, Tx

PURCHASE THE LAPBOOK BELOW:

History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail
  • Dynamic History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $2.50
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History of the Texas Cowboy, Cattle Drives, and Chisholm Trail Free Unit Study

Look at these other fun ideas:

  • Texas Native American History Quick Unit Study (Middle School)
  • How to Build the Alamo: Day 5 Hands-on Learning (Free Texas Unit Study)
  • Free Copywork Cattle A Texas Poem For a Fun Unit Study
  • 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 12
  • Plains Indians. Unit Study & Lapbook
  • Exploring Edible Cactus: Day 4 Hands-on Learning (The Desert)

Hugs and love ya,

2 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Geography Based, Hands-On Activities, History Based, History Resources, Lapbook, Lapbooks, Middle School Homeschool, My Unit Studies {Free Printables & Hands-on Ideas} Tagged With: american history, geography, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, historyspine, homeschoolgeography, homeschoolhistory, lapbook, modern history, Texas, texasunit

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