A House for Hermit Crab Activities & Printables

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Our A House for Hermit Crab activities and free printables will give you endless learning options as you follow hermit crab through his year-long journey of growth.

A House for Hermit Crab Activities & Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons from the A House for Hermit Crab unit study. The download includes many more ideas and activities!

Social Studies: Different Types of Homes

A house is a place where someone (or something lives).
Discuss different types of animal houses with your young student.
A Hermit Crab lives in a shell. Where does a bear live? A bird? A bee? A fox? (discuss other animals, too).

Applied Math: Growing

“Little by little, over the year, Hermit Crab had grown”
Remind your student that little hermit crab grows. Print a copy of this Growth Chart. Record your student’s weight and height each month for one year. If you have record of weight and height from other ages (even when your student was born), make up some math problems using the data. “When you were born you weighed about 9 pounds, now you weigh 42 pounds. How much weight have you gained since birth?”

Language Arts: Word Choice

If you student is ready, direct his attention to the different words Eric Carle used for each of the sea animals as they answer the crab. Instead of using “said” each time, he used a variety of other words:

the sea anemone whispered
the sea star signaled
the coral creaked
the snail offered
the sea urchin answered
the lantern fish replied

Later, when the animals are speaking again, Carle only uses the word said once; he also uses murmured, complained, and cried.

Bible: Making Friends

How does the hermit crab make friends with all the sea creatures he meets? He compliments them first and then asks for their help. Proverbs tells us that if we want friends, we have to be friendly! You may want to discuss a time when your student made a new friend. You may also want to memorize Proverbs 18:24a this week. “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…”

To access all of the lessons, activities, and printables in this A House for Hermit Crab unit study, subscribe to Homeschool Share’s email list using the form in this post.

A House for Hermit Crab Free Printables

Story Sequencing & Months of the Year Cards (Matching Activity)

This unit study also includes a set of free printables to create A House for Hermit Crab lapbook:

Ocean Animals Tab Book
Types of Houses Mini-book
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man Flap Book
Decorate Hermit Crab’s Shell
I’m Growing! Growth Chart
My Address Simple Fold Book
Shells Layer Book
Story Sequencing & Months of the Year Cards (and pocket)
If you’d like some month handwriting practice pages, try these.

How to Get Started with A House for Hermit Crab Activities & Free Printables

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the A House for Hermit Crab lessons, activities, and lapbook:

Buy a copy of the book, A House for Hermit Crab, or grab one from your local library.
Print the A House for Hermit Crab unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Choose and prepare the lapbook activities you want to use with your student.
Enjoy a week of ocean animal learning with your student.

A House for Hermit Crab Lapbook Example

This sample lapbook was made with one file folder. It also includes a center extension which is a piece of cardstock taped to the center section of the lapbook. You can find more information here: How to Make a Lapbook.

Download Your A House for Hermit Crab Unit Study and Printables

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