A Magical Homeschool

Here’s a wonderful resource for your nature studies. Hobby Farms is offering free, colorful animal track ID cards that you can print out to use for all sorts of educational fun.

The sixteen cards include:

• Deer
• Mountain Lion
• Wolf
• Wild Turkey
• Skunk
• Beaver
• Bobcat
• Squirrel
• Fox
• Opossum
• Mole
• Mouse
• Raccoon
• Rabbit
• Coyote
• Bear

The cards are on two pages in PDF form, and can be printed out here. They can be printed on card stock and laminated to make them even more durable.

Kids can use them on nature walks to try to identify tracks they find. They can also be used in other ways, such as:

1. Print two sets and use them for games such as concentration and go fish.
2. Compare and contrast the prints to see what similarities and differences they have.
3. Research which animals are in your area.
4. Find out more information about each animal, such as diet and lifespan, and have the kids put the info on the backs.
5. Classify them into sets, such as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores; or nocturnal and diurnal animals.
6. Make tracks for the kids and for pets like cats and dogs, then see which wild animals most closely match each of them.
7. Discuss the shapes and sizes of each set of tracks and the reasons for differences. For instance, why do they think rabbits and bears have larger back feet, and why do they think moles have larger front feet? Are there any similarities in the animals that have claw prints? Why do they think opossums have such strange looking tracks?

Have fun!