Printables to Help Your Kids Learn About Lizards

Lizards, lizards everywhere! Living in three different countries and visiting over ten other countries in my life, I know this much — lizards are e v  e  r  y  w  h  e  r e. That just makes sense, because there are over 5,000 species of lizards around the world. If you are exploring species this year, then grab these printables to help your kids learn all about lizards. They are pretty cool.

[series_meta]

Lizards are cool to learn about because they can be found all around us. There are many interesting facts about them that kids will enjoy, like living across all continents except Antarctica. Even lizards think it’s too cold to live in Antarctica!

My kids like to pick them up. If you can admit it, you may have a child that likes to do the same. OR – maybe my kids are fully indoctrinated to the island life. Not me! I just can’t even come close to one, but hey – kids have no fear.

Where we live, the lizards get pretty big. We tried to capture one or two to keep as pets but these lizards were NOT having it. They cannot be tamed on this island, they are free and in search of prey, not cuddles, apparently.

We have learned to live with their noises, the ones here make this clicking/chirping noise. We just live with it and it’s a part of our background noise, like the roosters in the morning (except roosters crow ALL day here).

Before I share some fun printables for your kids to enjoy all about lizards, these facts about lizards were too interesting to pass over.

Make sure your kiddos learn these fascinating facts in their lessons about lizards:

• Lizards sense their prey using visual cues and catch it with their tongue in a process called lingual prehension (in some cases, their tongues can extend to twice their body length).

• Lizards smell stuff with their tongues.

• Lizards have acute binocular vision, that is why they are active during daylight hours.

• Some lizards are classified as sit-and-wait predators, while others actively search for their prey. Some use their tongues to capture prey while others use their jaw (vomero olfaction).

• There are legless lizards (sheltopusiks). They look just like snakes except for one little thing; snakes don’t have eyelids and most lizards do.

• Some species of whiptail lizards have ALL-female or mostly all-female populations. This means that it needed to adapt and reproduce through a process called parthenogenesis – an asexual reproduction. This occurs in about 50 species of lizards and it is believed to happen because of the absence of males in the population. Craziness!

• Lizards, called chameleons, have long tongues which they rapidly extend from their mouth, too fast for human eyes to see properly.

• Lizards, called geckos, have unique toes that allow them to be good climbers.

• Lizards, called iguanas, have a row of spines that run down their back and tail.

• The largest lizard in the world, the Komodo dragon, can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length and more than 135 kilograms (300 pounds). They have only killed 4 people since the 1970s. Why the research I found says ONLY 4, I don’t know. To me, that is 4 too many people killed by lizards.

• The smallest lizards on earth are the jaragua sphaero or dwarf gecko, they are about 1.6 centimeters (0.6 inches) long.

• Lizards have visible ear openings to catch sound with their eardrums located just below the surface of their skin.

• Lizards shed their skin regularly to allow for proper growth, as their skin doesn’t grow with them.

• Only two lizard species around the world actually produce venom. There goes that “only” word again.

• Most lizards are oviparous (lay eggs), but some species give birth to their young only because the eggs develop inside the mom. Weird, right? Where do the eggshells go?

• Horned lizards squirt blood from tiny blood vessels in their eyes. This confuses predators, not to mention the blood tastes gross to canine and feline predators. Did you ever think blood from eyes and stinky blood would be a good thing?!

• The lizard’s tail is easily broken to protect itself against danger – and it grows back.

• All lizards are capable of swimming, all of them. Scary if you are ever swimming by a Komodo dragon.

• Lizards are sexually dimorphic. This means that both males and females have different patterns.
• This is my favorite fact, hands-down. There is a lizard with an awesome nickname; it can walk and run on water! This lizard is the common basilisk lizard that lives near the rivers and streams of Central and South American rainforests. So have you guessed what its nickname is? The Jesus Christ Lizard. How cool is that?

There is so much more, but it’s time to check out printables that will help your kids learn all about lizards:

20+ FREE lizard templates | Template.net

Top 10 FREE Lizard Coloring Pages For Your Little Ones | Mom Junction

Lizard Facts and Worksheets | Kidskonnect

Patterned Lizard – A Doodling Activity for Centers and Early Finishers | Centers and Early Finishers

FREE Printable Letter L Lizard Worksheet| Hub Pages

FREE Chameleon Connect the Dots Worksheet | Education.com

Chameleon Lizard Coordinate Graphing Picture | Hayley Cain – Activity After Math

FREE Lizards Notebooking Page | Homeschool Helper Online

Zoo Letter Craft – L for Lizard | Up and Away TK

Lizard Nomenclature – Book | Montessori Printshop USA

Lizard craft preschool – Preschool and Homeschool | The Animal Blogs

Lizard Worksheets for FREE | Cool Kid Facts

All About Lizards- Animal Science | Simply Schoolgirl

Are you considering getting a lizard as a pet? Here are the best lizards for pets. 

There are some super fun YouTube videos about lizards. Here is one, but you can search and find many! 

Books and Fun Lizard Toys:

Lizards Toys,9-inch Rubber Lizard Set(6 PACKS),Realistic Lizard Figure Squishy Toy-Gecko Iguana Chameleon Komodo DragonTimex Analog Youth Watch – Kidz Analog | Green Case w Blue Elastic Strap

National Geographic Readers: LizardsGuaishou Artificial Model Reptile Lizard Animal Figures Kids Gift 12pcsIf I Were A Lizard (Rhyming Animal Book)Lily The Leopard GeckoI Want A Bearded Dragon: Best Pets For Kids Book 2 (Volume 2)Boris Gets a Lizard: A Branches Book (Boris #2)It’s a Chameleon! (Bumba Books ® _ Rain Forest Animals)The Mixed-Up Chameleon Board Book

 

As soon as the weather warms up, you can see lizards popping up all around outside. I live on a tropical island, always hot, which means lizards are around all the time. They are in my house too. It has become no big deal for us in the island life.

These printables will help you teach all about lizards in your homeschool. The lizard printables are perfect to go alongside lessons for kids to research to build their knowledge on the reptiles all around us. Just one thing. Don’t forget to tell them about the Jesus Christ lizard!