Free Printables and Resources About the Beach

If you are teaching your kids all about the beach in your homeschool, then these free printables and resources about the beach will be the perfect addition to your homeschool day or just a fun summer unit study. 

Me + beach = Not friends

I feel like the Lord has an extremely healthy sense of humor. Most of my family LOVES the beach. They are all from the city and head out to the beach every summer for some fun in the sun.

NOT me! I don’t like sweating in the sun. I always get RED, and sand everywhere is not my idea of a fun time.

It got worse when I had kids. Two little kids full of sand that bring it into the car, trailing it in the house. It wasn’t a fun time for me. SO, what does God do?

He drops me right in the middle of an island in the South Pacific, away from conveniences, family, and friends. *Deep breath*

I have gotten over myself. The beach has grown on me. The beaches here are crystal clear, and we have found a few unique places that make any beach hater into a fan.

If your family is “normal” and unlike me, you most likely love the beach and would like to take advantage of more trips there. Why not make a unit out of it?!

I learned a long time ago that we could use unit studies to keep the monotony out of homeschool. Still, unit studies on topics your kids are interested in help to create an environment where kids are engaged and excited about learning.

Start explaining what the beach is.

Beaches usually consist of the strip of land bordering an ocean, meeting the water at a slight slant. Did you know that beaches border rivers and lakes as well?

Unlike ocean beaches, the beaches by rivers or lakes often consist of soft, muddy sediment. Even Antarctica has a beach, except the Antarctic beach is icy and frozen! Ocean beaches sound 100 times better to me now.

See, beaches aren’t only for sunny fun. A beach unit will provide your kids with a wealth of learning opportunities.

Check out a few unique things you can do to make your whole beach unit and experience a memorable one for the family:

1. Take a closer look at the sand for a new perspective.

Zooming into the sand with a magnifying glass will be exciting for your kiddos. The tiny grains of the beach is a mixture of many minuscule parts, mostly quartz. Quartz is what makes beaches sparkle and glisten in the sun.

Beach sand is also made of coral and seashells. Time and erosion have made them into the white sands we see on the shores.

2. Assign some beach photography.

Suppose you aren’t an artsy-fartsy mom, no worries. Have your kids grab a camera and explore the art of photography. Show your kids how to use a camera, how to focus, and blur out backgrounds.

Task your kids to take photos they think will show what the beach means to them or what is beautiful about the beach.

Use the photos around your home, in an album, posters, and leaflets even. You will enjoy their photos for years to come. Maybe make it a tradition every summer.

3. Record the experience.

Assign an audio beach report. Have your kids record unique sounds they hear while at the beach. They can also record conversations and laughter. Then they can record themselves give reports of their day at the beach.

4. Shape hunt.

Have your young learners head out to search for different shapes on the beach. Hand them a camera and see what they come up with.

5. Beach Scavenger/Treasure Hunt.

Of course, make sure items are actually on or around the beach, but challenge your kids to find various items.

Here are some resources for a super fun scavenger hunt on your beach outing.

FREE Printable Beach Scavenger Hunt or Beach Eye Spy | Mum in the Mad House

FREE Printable Beach Scavenger Hunt for Kids | Simple Everyday Mom

6. Of course, explore some interesting beach facts to help your kids understand exactly what they are enjoying from God’s creation.

-You heard of my super beautiful explanation of what sand is above. Well, it doesn’t necessarily stop there. The excretion of parrot fish produces most of the white sand we see on beaches after having a nice coral meal. Yes, parrot fish poop.

-The Salty ocean air doesn’t allow plants to grow on beaches.

-The sediments determine beach color in that area. Some beaches can be white, gray, gold-yellow, brown, red, and even black.

-Kids will enjoy learning that the sea level rises and falls twice per day along every coastline forming high and low tides. These occur because of the – pull of the Moon’s gravity! High tide brings seashells and sea creatures to the shoreline while low tide reveals them to us.

-Hermit crabs always have shells; they do not have shells of their own and are not born with them. Hermit crabs just borrow the shells from the beach until they grow out of them and find bigger ones.

-I can’t talk about the beach without mentioning sea turtles.

-Sea turtles come to to the beach shore only to lay their eggs. The female turtle returns to the place of her birth to lay her eggs. Once the turtles are laid and buried in the sand, the mother turtle goes back to the ocean.

To learn more about sea turtles head over to the article below:

Fun Facts About Sea Turtles | Awe-Filled Homemaker

Free Printables and Unit Studies About Turtles

What happens to the babies? Well, when the babies are born, they waddle right into the ocean.

Grab these free printables and resources about the beach below:

At the Beach FREE Unit Study | The Multi-Taskin Mom

Preschool Beach FREE Unit: Getting Kids Excited to Visit the Beach | My Mundane & Miraculous

Read & Color: At the Beach FREE Booklet | The Curriculum Corner

Ocean Books For Kids (FREE Beach Unit Study) | Mommy Evolution

FREE Beach Bucket Writing Activity | Playdough to Plato

At The Beach FREE Unit Study Resources | As We Walk Along the Road

Beach Learning: Hermit Crabs, Horseshoe Crabs, Ghost Crabs, Sand Crabs, etc. | Teach Mama

Homeschool Unit Studies: FREE Beach Unit Study | Look! We’re Learning

Teaching Heart’s Beach Thematic Unit | Fun in the sun

Beach FREE Emergent Reader | Kindergarten Connection

Teaching Kids to Keep the Beach Clean | Clean Island

Animals of the Tide Pool Printables

Check out these free beach-themed learning resources:

Shells On The Beach: FREE Counting Cards | Totschooling

Beach Writing FREE Worksheets for Kindergarten | No Stress Homeschooling

FREE Beach Fun Copywork Printables | In All You Do

Beach FREE Worksheets for Preschool / K / 1^st | 123Homeschool4Me

Let’s Go To The Beach FREE 19-Page Preschool Beach themed Unit | Miniature Masterminds

Beach Coloring Pages (FREE) | Messy Little Monster

Fun At The Beach Themed FREE Easy Reader Book | 3Dinosaurs

Beach Word Search FREE Printable | Learning Ideas for Parents

Beach Theme for Preschool | Preschool – Plan – It

These activities will help make your beach unit super fun and engaging:

Beach Theme FREE Counting Mats | Fantastic Gun and Learning

5 Beach Theme Printables Plus FREE Prewriting Cards Printable | Stay-At-Home Educator

Beach Montessori Printables – FREE 3 Part Cards | 1+1+1=1

FREE Beach Pack Update Tot, Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten & First Grade | 3Dinosaurs

Beach FREE Packs for Tot, PreK, and K-2^nd | RoyalBaloo.com

40+ Fun Beach Learning Activities For Kids | Life Over Cs

12+ Beach Sensory Play Ideas | Happy Toddler Playtime

Montessori Inspired Explorations At The Beach | Montessori Nature

5 Easy STEM Activities to do at the Beach | Only Passionate Curiosity

Beach Learning Activities for Kids | Little Bins, Little Hands

Visiting the Beach Activities | Teaching Ideas

Beaches are a dynamic natural phenomenon in creation. The waves, currents, tides, and sea level rises are continually working and shaping the beaches around the world.

It never fails, no matter how reluctant I am to go to the beach, once I am there it makes up for the reservations I had.

Once I get to sit and just take it all in, I am reminded about the magnificence of our God and His artwork in creation.