Free printable Stone Soup lesson plans, recipes and sharing activities

Hello my Omschooligans! Today Teacher Omi (Grandma, that's me!) is thinking about gardens. I got a pretty herb garden for Mother's Day. And my Louisiana grandkids have a huge garden full of good things to eat! So I am going share some gardening and cooking activities from one of my favorite books, called Stone Soup." The legend of "Stone Soup" is a timeless classic. It's been retold many times, notably by Marcia Brown, Ann McGovern and Jon J. Muth. This story is sacred text in preschool and elementary classrooms. Here are free printable Stone Soup lesson plans just in time for summer produce harvest! First, let's start with the recipe and a game to play!

🍲 The Magic of Stone Soup

A Recipe for Sharing and Community

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins | Serves: A whole village

Ingredients

• 1 Large, Smooth Stone (Scrubbed very clean!)

• 6 cups Water or vegetable broth

• 3 large Carrots, sliced into rounds

• 3 stalks Celery, chopped

• 1 large Onion, diced

• 4 medium Potatoes, cubed

• 1 cup Green beans or peas or corn

• 2 cups chopped cabbage

• 1 can (15 oz) Diced tomatoes

• 2 cloves Garlic, minced

• Fresh Herbs: Parsley, thyme, or bay leaf

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• Optional: A handful of barley or small pasta, some cubed beef roast and a little milk or cream. If you can coax it out of your little villagers 😆

Instructions

1. The Secret Start: Place your "magic" stone in the bottom of a large heavy pot. I would use a crock pot or slow cooker for safety in the classroom. Fill the pot with water or broth and bring it to a gentle boil.

2. The First Contribution: Add the onions and garlic. Let them simmer until the water begins to smell fragrant.

3. Building the Flavor: Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. As the legend goes, "a bit of this and a bit of that" makes the soup better.

4. The Final Additions: Stir in the tomatoes, green beans, and herbs. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30–40 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.

5. The Seasoning: Remove the lid and add salt and pepper. If you have a crusty loaf of bread nearby, now is the time to slice it!

6. The Reveal: Carefully remove the stone (save it for next time!) and serve the soup hot to friends, family, and neighbors.

"It is amazing how much flavor a simple stone can have... when everyone adds a little something to the pot."

🎨 Teacher Omi’s "Sharing Soup" Game

The Setup: Ask each child to bring in one small vegetable or ingredient (or provide them yourself) and have the children "hide" them—either in their desks, under their chairs, or behind their backs during circle time. 

The "Wondering": Place your pot and "magic stone" in the center of the circle. Begin to "wonder" aloud.

• "Oh, this stone soup smells lovely, but it would be so much better if only we had a bright, crunchy carrot..."

The Magic: The child with the carrot then "finds" it and brings it forward to the pot to share! Continue until every child has contributed their piece to the village feast.

            The Lesson: It transforms a simple recipe into a lesson on how everyone has something valuable to contribute, no matter how small.

Souper Simple Sharing Soup

So you could make a "Souper Simple Sharing Soup" for Thanksgiving or any time, just by asking each child to bring in one can of his favorite vegetables. This "souper simple" recipe works well in classrooms because it's quick and easy to make. All you need is a can opener and a crockpot, if a stove isn't available. It's endlessly creative and never turns out the same! It was fun to see how many different kinds of vegetables were brought in. It's also cheap and easy for parents. You could do it with frozen or fresh vegetables too. 

And now for the free Stone Soup printables

• Mrs Albanese's Kindergarten has free printable Stone Soup activities. In fact, this teacher created an entire unit based on the Stone Soup legend complete with matching card game, song, reading and writing activities and more. 
• DL-TK has free printable Stone Soup felt board activities, coloring pages, recipes, crafts, nutrition science lessons and more. 
• Songs for Teaching has eight free printable "Stone Soup" worksheets,cut and paste manipulatives, lesson plans, puzzles and games. 
• Crayola has free printable "Stone Soup" coloring pages and crafts. 
• Scholastic has a free printable Stone Soup lesson plan. 
• Lil Country Kindergarten is a blog with several Kindergarten lesson plans on Stone Soup.

Literature Connections

Marcia Brown's "Stone Soup" is the oldest book version (1947). It was a Caldecott honor book. Brown also wrote other Caldecott children's literature winners "Shadow" and "Once a Mouse." Ann McGovern is the "If you lived..." book lady. In the 1960s she wrote a non-fiction Scholastic series on what it would be like to live with Sioux Indians, Colonial Times, etc. 

Books in the Series by Ann McGovern

• If You Lived in Colonial Times (1964) – Covers life in the New England colonies between 1650 and 1750.

• If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln (1966) – Details what it was like to live on the frontier and in the city during Lincoln's time.

• If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (1969) – Explores the journey and the first year of the Pilgrims in Plymouth.

• If You Lived in the Circus (1971) – A look behind the scenes of traveling circus life.

• If You Lived With the Sioux Indians (1972) – Describes the daily life, traditions, and hunting practices of the Sioux on the Great Plains. (We know now it's not accurate to call them Sioux. They are correctly called Lakota. And we now say American Indians or native American or indigenous. But it's still a good book.)  

• If You Lived 100 Years Ago (1999) – Focuses on life at the turn of the 20th century (specifically in New York City).

• If You Lived in the Days of the Knights (2001) – Covers the training, armor, and daily routines of medieval knights in the 13th century.

  
  

  Jon J. Muth wrote a Japanese version of Stone Soup. Muth is a celebrated author and illustrator whose career spans award-winning children's picture books and influential graphic novels. He is perhaps best known for his series featuring Stillwater the giant panda. Many of these works are inspired by Zen koans and Buddhist parables.

  Title	Year	Notable Awards/Honors
  Stillwater and Koo Save the World	2023
  Addy's Cup of Sugar	2020
  Zen Happiness	2019
  Mama Lion Wins the Race	2017
  Zen Socks	2015	Junior Library Guild Selection
  Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons	2014	Beehive Book Award (Poetry)
  Zen Ghosts	2010
  Zen Ties	2008	Children's Choice Book Award (Illustrator of the Year)
  Zen Shorts	2005	Caldecott Honor; Book Sense Book of the Year
  Stone Soup	2003
  The Three Questions	2002	National Children's Publication Award

Teacher Omi’s Note on Evolving Language

When we read books written several decades ago, like those by Ann McGovern, we sometimes find words that were commonly used then but have since been corrected.

• The term "Sioux" is actually an exonym—a name given to a group by outsiders. It originated from a French version of an Ojibwe word that meant "little snakes" or "enemies." 

• • The Preferred Name: Most people within that nation prefer Lakota, Dakota, or Nakota (depending on their specific dialect and region).

  • The Meaning: In their own language, these names mean "allies" or "friends." It’s a much more beautiful and accurate way to describe their community!

  • Oceti Sakowin: You may also see the term Oceti Sakowin (The Seven Council Fires), which is the proper collective name for the entire alliance of these bands.

  
  

Geography Landforms craft projects and free printable topography maps and lesson plans

Hello my Omschooligans! Today in the Omschool you and I are going to make some hands-on Geography crafts projects. We'll begin by making topography maps. Let's first mix up a large batch of play dough. Make the play dough in class and use it for interactive math measuring lesson plans. Here's an easy play dough recipe.  Students will use these in hands-on geography lessons.

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🥣 Omschool Kitchen Science: Topography Play Dough

Turn your kitchen into a geography lab with this simple, non-toxic recipe. Use this for interactive lessons in fractions and measurement before the geography lesson begins!

Yield: 1 Student Portion (Multiply for class size)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Hot water

• 1 cup White flour

• 1/4 cup Salt

• 1 tsp Vegetable oil

• 2 tsp Alum (or Cream of Tartar)

• Food Coloring (Blue and Green/Plain)

Instructions:

1. Mix: Combine ingredients with a fork until the dough is smooth and cool enough to handle.

2. Divide: Separate the dough into two equal balls.

3. Color: Leave one ball plain (Land) and color the other blue (Water).

4. Prep: Give each student a paper plate, a plastic knife, and two zippered bags for storage.

Next, introduce geography bee terms and definitions for landforms. Demonstrate shapes of landforms using play dough and then by drawing landforms on the overhead projector. Use black pen for land and blue for water. Students will use their blue and white clay to create landforms based on drawings from the board or overhead projector. Students should locate examples of landforms on topography maps or globes with 3D landforms. 

👩‍🏫 Omi’s Pro-Tip for the Classroom:

"When modeling these landforms for the class, I like to use a black pen for land and blue for water on the overhead projector. This way, the students can perfectly match their clay colors to my drawings on the board. It keeps everyone on the same page (and the same continent!)"

🗺️ Geography Bee: Landform Key

Use these definitions and examples to identify features on your topography maps and globes.

Water-to-Land Connections

• Isthmus: A narrow strip of land separating two large bodies of water and connecting two larger landmasses (e.g., Isthmus of Panama).

• Strait: A narrow strip of water separating two large landmasses and connecting two larger bodies of water—the inverse of an isthmus (e.g., Straits of Mackinac).

• Delta: The mouth of a river where it fans out in silt or tributaries to meet a larger body of water (e.g., Mississippi Delta).

Island & Coastal Features

• Island: A small landmass surrounded by water.

• Archipelago: A chain or group of islands (e.g., Hawaii).

• Atoll: A circular ring of islands, often surrounding a lagoon.

• Peninsula: Land that juts out into a body of water (e.g., Michigan, Florida).

• Key: A small island in a chain.

Inland Water Features

• River: A narrow strip of water flowing from high to low elevation.

• Tributary: A branch or smaller stream that flows into a main river.

• Lake: A large body of water, generally smaller than a sea (e.g., Lake Superior).

• Basin: The area along a river that is drained by that river.

Elevation & Terrain (Highlands)

• Mountain: A high area of land rising to a peak.

• Mesa: A steep, narrow elevation with a flat top—like a table.

• Butte: An isolated rocky hill with vertical sides and a flat surface.

• Plateau: A wide, expansive area of high, flat land.

• Cliff/Bluff: Sharp or rounded edges where land drops off to a lower elevation.

Terrain (Lowlands & Passages)

• Canyon: A narrow corridor or pass between rocky elevations.

• Gorge: A canyon with a riverbed at the bottom (e.g., Snake River Canyon).

• Dune: A sandy elevation, often found along the shoreline.

Printable landforms charts

🌍 Landform Discovery Chart

Category	Landform Type	Description
Highlands	Mountain, Mesa, Butte, Plateau, Hill, Bluff, Cliff, Promontory	Elevated areas ranging from sharp peaks to flat-topped "tables."
Lowlands	Valley, Canyon, Dune, Basin	Areas that sit below the surrounding terrain, often carved by water or wind.
Water Features	River, Tributary, Lake, Bay, Sea, Ocean	Bodies of water that vary by size, salt content, and movement.
Coastal & Islands	Peninsula, Cape, Delta, Strait, Isthmus, Archipelago, Atoll, Key	Land features defined by their relationship and proximity to the sea.

📚 Montessori-Style Landform 3-Part Cards

• The Helpful Garden: Offers a fantastic free download of land and water forms using real-life photographs. These are highly recommended by Montessori educators for their clarity.

• Kid World Citizen: Provides 20 free landform posters with beautiful illustrations and definitions that can be used for a matching game or a classroom word wall.

• Landforms Match-Up Foldable: A free TPT resource that includes photos and definitions for 8 key landforms (plateau, isthmus, cape, etc.) specifically designed to be used in a graphic organizer.

🧩 Landform Matching Worksheets & Games

• Super Teacher Worksheets: A great set of 2nd-4th grade picture cards that can be used for a memory game or a classic "question and answer" review.

• Tutoring Hour Landform Pack: This site has a massive collection of free PDFs, including a "Cut and Glue" matching activity where students match picture cards to written descriptions.

• Landforms on Earth Flashcards: A set of 12 vibrant, colorful flashcards perfect for visual learners to identify key terrain features.

Assorted Links for Geography worksheets to print. 

• Enchanted Learning has free printable geography worksheets, landforms coloring pages, terrain and topography maps. worksheets, diagrams, labeling pages, coloring pages, puzzles, maps, quizzes and activities.
• Teacher Planet has free printable geography worksheets with matching activities to teach geography and landforms vocabulary. 
• Super Teacher Resources has some free printable geography worksheets.
• ESL Tower has many free printable geography worksheets, landforms coloring pages, diagrams, puzzles and topography maps. 
• Edupics has free printable social studies coloring pages, world maps, landforms coloring pages, biomes, habitats, nature scenes, political maps, topography maps to use as geography worksheets. This link takes you to free printable maps, diagrams and coloring pages. 

Animal Habitat Diorama Games for Science Learning Centers: Free printable animal classification and taxonomy lesson plans

Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi thinking today about ways to make all our activities more engaging and interactive. Over 40 years ago, I started teaching in a Montessori school and created these hands-on activities for preschool and elementary classroom learning centers. I'll share a series on ways to create preschool learning centers in classroom or homeschool settings. Today we focus on ways to explore animal habitats and biomes in preschool social studies and science learning centers. 

Social Studies/Science learning center connections

When studying different countries or cultures in social studies build in biology and zoology by showing in hands-on ways which animals and plants live in the locations you are studying. Cover classroom walls with educational maps, charts, diagrams and posters. Activity Village is a great resource for free printable world maps, coloring pages and lesson plans from around the world. Here are free printable animal habitat diorama coloring pages and charts. Here are more free printables. 

🌍 Free Printable Habitat Dioramas

• 3D Triorama Templates: Teachers Pay Teachers offers a free 3D triorama set that includes printable backgrounds and animal cut-outs for Arctic, Forest, Savanna, Ocean, Desert, Pond, and Rainforest habitats.

• Taiga Biome Project: Little Bins for Little Hands has a dedicated free printable for a Taiga (Boreal Forest) diorama, including trees and specific animals like moose and snowshoe hares.

• Rainforest Shoebox Background: If you are using shoeboxes for your learning centers, this free rainforest background provides a four-piece printable (left, back, right, and ground) designed specifically to fit.

• Animal Habitat Sorting: For younger "Omschooligans," this free sorting activity allows children to color and then cut-and-paste animals into their correct environments (Desert, Jungle, Ocean, Arctic).

🔍 Discovery Prompt: Habitat Match-Up

Look at the animals in this diorama. Can you find one that has fur? One that has scales? Why do you think that animal needs that covering to live in this habitat?

🌍 Recommended Free Printable Dioramas

These are excellent, ready-to-use downloads that fit the "hands-on" Montessori style you mentioned:

• The 3D Triorama Set: This is a fantastic "all-in-one" freebie that includes templates for Arctic, Savanna, Ocean, and Rainforest biomes.

• Taiga Biome Project: A beautiful, specific printable for the Boreal Forest that includes native animals like moose and snowy owls.

• Shoebox Habitat Assignment: If you want your students to do a deeper dive, this freebie includes a research page and a rubric for a shoebox project.

• Habitat Sorting Activity: Perfect for your younger learners, this cut-and-paste set helps them categorize animals by their environment.

Must Love Books! 

It goes without saying that all learning centers should have a bookshelf or basket of books appropriate whatever unit you're studying. DK--Dorling Kindersley makes excellent science reference books and field guides so use those in learning centers. 

📖 Omi's Book Research Challenge

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Pick a book from our habitat basket. Can you find a picture of an animal that lives in the Tundra? Now check the Taxonomy Chart in the back of the book. Does that animal have fur or feathers?

📚 Recommended Animal Habitat Bibliography

DK Reference & Field Guides

• DK Eyewitness: Animal by Charlotte Uhlenbroek. A classic visual guide that covers anatomy, behavior, and habitats across the animal kingdom.

• DK First Animal Encyclopedia. An ideal "first look" for younger Omschooligans, featuring clear photography and simple facts about where animals live.

• DK Smithonian: Animal!. A massive, spectacular visual encyclopedia that organizes animals by taxonomy and habitat—great for your KPCOFGS games.

• DK Nature Guide: Animals. A portable field-guide style book that is easy for children to handle while they explore their learning centers.

Habitat & Biome Explorations

• Habitats (Learn About Series) by William B. Rice. This book breaks down the differences between rainforests, deserts, and tundras in a way that is accessible for Early Childhood Education.

• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner. Part of a beautiful series (including Over and Under the Snow and Over and Under the Rainforest) that explores the hidden ecosystems of different biomes.

• National Geographic Kids: Animal Habitats. A high-interest reader that pairs perfectly with the free printable maps and charts you are using.

• The Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth by Rochelle Strauss. A fantastic resource for explaining the five kingdoms and how every living thing fits into the global "neighborhood."

🧬 Animal Classification (KPCOFGS) Guide

To help your students visualize the hierarchy, you can use this simple breakdown:

• Kingdom: The big group (e.g., Animals vs. Plants).

• Phylum: Does it have a backbone? (Chordata).

• Class: Is it a mammal, bird, fish, or reptile?

• Order/Family: Narrowing down by specific traits (like "Carnivores").

• Genus/Species: The "First and Last Name" of the animal (e.g., Panthera leo for a Lion).

Getty Images

Interactive games and hands-on activities for science learning centers. 

🦴 Class vs. Phylum: The Backbone Test

When playing the KPCOFGS game, remember the "Backbone Test":

• ✅ Vertebrates: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Fish, and Amphibians are all in the Chordata Phylum.
• ❌ Invertebrates: Insects have no backbone; they belong to the Arthropoda Phylum!

• Stuffed Animal Sort: Assemble realistic stuffed animals from different animal habitats and biomes in the cultures or countries you're studying. Stuffed animals aren't scientifically correct, but they at least help children understand which creatures live in different animal habitats and regions.

🎲 Animal Classification Bingo: Teacher Calling Cards

• Cut these out and pull them from a jar, or call out the "clue" to see if children can identify the group!

  • Mammal: "I have hair or fur and feed my babies milk."

  • Bird: "I have feathers and lay eggs in a nest."

  • Reptile: "I have scaly skin and am cold-blooded."

  • Amphibian: "I spend part of my life in water and part on land."

  • Fish: "I use gills to breathe underwater and have fins."

  • Insect: "I have six legs and usually have wings."

• Animal habitats bingo: Play this game by sorting stuffed animals according to taxonomy class . Make a bingo grid on the floor and label the top with the animal classification. Mammal, reptile, fish, insect, amphibian, bird. Bingo caller calls out an animal and children place it on the chart. You can print animal bingo cards too. 

  🐾 Animal Bingo! 🐾

  Place a marker on the animal group Omi calls out!

  Mammal	Bird	Reptile
  Fish	FREE SPACE	Amphibian
  Insect	Mammal	Bird

  Print this card for your Omschool Science Center!

• VAKT play: Set out small plastic or resin animals for children to explore using visual, kinesthetic and tactile skills. The ideal kind will have simulated body coverings. Find a book the plays animals sounds and place it with the toy animals so children can connect animal sounds. There are some very realistic toy plastic animals available from local toy and craft stores. Place animals in the biology area where children can sort critters into animal habitats or play KPCOFGS--Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species--animal classification bingo games, by sorting these animals into their bingo cards. 

🌍 External Bingo Resources

If you prefer a full-page PDF with photos of real animals for your center, these are high-quality free options:

• Animal Group Bingo: Search these results for free sets that specifically feature photos of mammals, reptiles, and birds to help children practice identification.

• Habitat & Class Bingo: Check the printable biomes project at Little Bins for Little Hands for board games that combine habitats with animal types.

1. The Five Classes of Vertebrates

• The most common groups people refer to belong to the Phylum Chordata (animals with backbones). Within this phylum, they are divided into these specific Classes:

  • Mammalia (Mammals)

  • Aves (Birds)

  • Reptilia (Reptiles)

  • Amphibia (Amphibians)

  • Agnatha/Chondrichthyes/Osteichthyes (The three classes of Fish)

2. The Exception: Insects

• Insects are not in the same phylum as the others. They belong to the Phylum Arthropoda.

  • Insecta is the name of their Class.

🧬 Omi’s Taxonomy Challenge

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Can you find the animal’s "address"? Choose a plastic animal from the center. Use our reference books to find out:

• 📍 Class: Is it a Mammal, Bird, or Reptile?
• 📍 Order: Does it eat meat (Carnivore) or plants (Herbivore)?
• 📍 Species: What is its "Scientific Name"?

• Taxonomy games: In preschool and ECSE (early childhood special education) learning centers, students can play animal taxonomy games that organize animals by body covering and how they give birth to identify class (mammal, fish, bird, insect, reptile, amphibian). 
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  🧬 Animal Class Reference: Body Coverings & Birth

  Animal Class	Body Covering	How They Give Birth
  Mammal	Hair or Fur	Live birth (mostly)
  Bird	Feathers	Hard-shelled Eggs
  Reptile	Dry Scales	Leathery Eggs
  Amphibian	Moist, Slimy Skin	Soft, Jelly-like Eggs (in water)
  Fish	Wet Scales	Soft Eggs (usually in water)
  Insect	Hard Exoskeleton

• Plant Species and Samples: Collect several plant species, either living or artificial, from different regions for students to explore in the science learning centers. Gather tree bark, seed pods, seeds and seed carriers, leaves and evergreen needles, mushrooms and other plant life. Sort plants by region, biome and animals habitats (woodland, desert, tundra, rain forest, deciduous forest, coastal wetlands, marsh). Students can place appropriate plants within animal classification groups and taxonomy categories. 
• Rocks and minerals. Collect rocks, geological specimens, minerals and shells from the regions you study in biology and life science. Rock, mineral and shell specimens look best when viewed in water. Put them in an old dishpan in science learning centers or biology area. Provide brushes for the children to clean the samples and provide magnifying glasses for children to explore with. It isn't necessary for children to have expensive, high powered magnifying glasses; cheap, plastic ones are actually better as they get lost and knocked about in classroom use. 
• Aquarium. Put an aquarium with specimens of plants or animals or animals body parts in science learning centers. Cruelty-free fur samples, exoskeletons, feathers, animals shells, bones, scales, shed snake skin; empty hives and nests, egg shells; many people collect these things and may share them. Identify items by plant biology, taxonomy and animal classification. 
• Classroom pets: Different schools have different rules for keeping animals in the classroom. Most allow a fish tank or small rodent pet. A fresh and saltwater aquarium, as well as different species of birds, small mammals, fish, reptiles, insects and amphibians would be ideal for a science learning centers. Students create animal habitats for pets. Be sure to post animal classification or taxonomy charts for reference. 

🎨 Omschool Pro-Tip: Layering Learning

"When building dioramas, encourage students to add 'texture' using the items we collected: real tree bark for the forest floor, or sand and small rocks for the desert center. It turns a flat printable into a true sensory experience!"