Be a friend to TREES
Welcome song
Letter of the Day
T for tree
Talk about children’s names that start with “t” and other words they like- treat, tooth, toe, table, tears, try, etc.
Pretend Play
Act out the parts of a tree-
Curl up in a ball and pretend to be a seed. Then slowly stand up tall and stretch arms out. Plant your feet into the ground like roots. Slurp, slurp, slurp. The roots suck up water from the ground. Now puff out your chest- your middle is the trunk, sturdy and strong. The trunk has an important job- it holds up the branches and the leaves. It also protects the tree from getting sick and insects eating it all up! Now, sway your arms in the breeze. Feel the mighty wind through your branches and leaves. Now wiggle your fingers! Your leaves are super important they are what make food for you to eat (pretend to feed yourself with your hands). Close your eyes and imagine what it feels like to be a tree.
Group activity
Adopt a tree
As a group, go on a search for a “special tree”. When everyone agrees on a tree, take some time to let the kids get to know it. Look for special traits- branches, bark, leaves, roots, markings, mushrooms, holes, etc. Let the kids get to know it by smelling, touching, listening, looking with magnifiers.
Have the kids sit under the tree and look up into the branches. What kinds of animals might live here? Now everyone be very quiet and listen to our tree. What does it sound like? Do we hear birds, squirrels, branches creaking?
Feel the bark. Does it feel soft, smooth, rough, cold, warm?
Bark rubbing- A bark rubbing is a way to remember our special tree and take a part of it home without hurting it. Give each child a crayon and piece of paper. Have an adult help hold the paper in place on the bark of the tree, while the child rubs a crayon back and forth over paper.
Games
Play “Ring around the Tree” with the tree you have found. Have the kids make a circle around the tree by linking hands. Sing the following to the tune of “Ring around the rosie”
Ring around the tree, you are so tall and free
Wind blows, wind blows the leaves fall down!
Tree Tag
This is a very, very simple game that kids as young as 1 ½ can play!
Find an area with lots of trees. Have the kids stand next to a tree. When you call out “Switch!” they run to a new tree. Wait till all the kids have found a new tree, then call out “Switch” again. Kids love the anticipation and getting to run. We have played this game for a good twenty minutes before losing interest ;)
Book
Read “Be a friend to trees”
Discussion
Why are trees important?
They give us air to breath- we could not live without them
Wood to build things
Shade
Nice to look at
Homes for animals and insects
Food for animals and insects
How can we take care of trees-
Climb gently, plant a tree, protect forests
Craft
Homemade Paper- this craft must be done at a home because you need a blender, water, screens, etc.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Paper/
Welcome song
Letter of the Day
T for tree
Talk about children’s names that start with “t” and other words they like- treat, tooth, toe, table, tears, try, etc.
Pretend Play
Act out the parts of a tree-
Curl up in a ball and pretend to be a seed. Then slowly stand up tall and stretch arms out. Plant your feet into the ground like roots. Slurp, slurp, slurp. The roots suck up water from the ground. Now puff out your chest- your middle is the trunk, sturdy and strong. The trunk has an important job- it holds up the branches and the leaves. It also protects the tree from getting sick and insects eating it all up! Now, sway your arms in the breeze. Feel the mighty wind through your branches and leaves. Now wiggle your fingers! Your leaves are super important they are what make food for you to eat (pretend to feed yourself with your hands). Close your eyes and imagine what it feels like to be a tree.
Group activity
Adopt a tree
As a group, go on a search for a “special tree”. When everyone agrees on a tree, take some time to let the kids get to know it. Look for special traits- branches, bark, leaves, roots, markings, mushrooms, holes, etc. Let the kids get to know it by smelling, touching, listening, looking with magnifiers.
Have the kids sit under the tree and look up into the branches. What kinds of animals might live here? Now everyone be very quiet and listen to our tree. What does it sound like? Do we hear birds, squirrels, branches creaking?
Feel the bark. Does it feel soft, smooth, rough, cold, warm?
Bark rubbing- A bark rubbing is a way to remember our special tree and take a part of it home without hurting it. Give each child a crayon and piece of paper. Have an adult help hold the paper in place on the bark of the tree, while the child rubs a crayon back and forth over paper.
Games
Play “Ring around the Tree” with the tree you have found. Have the kids make a circle around the tree by linking hands. Sing the following to the tune of “Ring around the rosie”
Ring around the tree, you are so tall and free
Wind blows, wind blows the leaves fall down!
Tree Tag
This is a very, very simple game that kids as young as 1 ½ can play!
Find an area with lots of trees. Have the kids stand next to a tree. When you call out “Switch!” they run to a new tree. Wait till all the kids have found a new tree, then call out “Switch” again. Kids love the anticipation and getting to run. We have played this game for a good twenty minutes before losing interest ;)
Book
Read “Be a friend to trees”
Discussion
Why are trees important?
They give us air to breath- we could not live without them
Wood to build things
Shade
Nice to look at
Homes for animals and insects
Food for animals and insects
How can we take care of trees-
Climb gently, plant a tree, protect forests
Craft
Homemade Paper- this craft must be done at a home because you need a blender, water, screens, etc.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Paper/
Hey, this is Kim's friend Lindsey (outsidemom.com). We met on Facebook today only I couldn't comment on her comment so we didn't really "meet". Anyway, this is all great stuff, I Looking forward to following your blog for pre-school ideas. So nice to virtually meet you :)
ReplyDeleteHey Lindsey! I'm so glad we've connected! I checked out your blog and LOVE it! It's really nice to know there are moms all over the place who care about connecting kids to nature. I'll be following your blog too! Maybe someday we can actually meet and take our kids hiking together :)
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