Lesson Plan- Trees and St. Patrick's Day

Nature School, March 12th, 2011

Trees are Special

Supplies: Trees are Special book, Crayons, Paper, Blindfolds, clover seeds,

Welcome to nature school today!! I’m so excited about playing in the woods with all of you today! I can see that many of you are wearing green! Why do we wear green around St. Patrick's Day?

Let’s sing our welcome song to everyone!

So today we are going to talk about trees. First, let’s use our bodies to pretend to be a tree. What should our arms be (branches) and fingers (leaves)? What about our tummies and legs (sturdy trunk)? What about our feet (roots)?
Now, our roots needs to suck up water. Let’s all make a big huge slurping noise! Now, the water travels up, up our trunk (crouch down with hands on ground, then stand up tall raising hands up high). Now our leaves use the sunlight and water to make sugar and oxygen. We let the oxygen out of our leaves for humans and animals to breath (take a deep breath) and the sugar, we trees use to feed ourselves and grow bigger and taller (stand up taller and puff out chest).

We are really lucky to have trees. What are some things that you love about trees?
-They give us oxygen to breath fresh, clean air
-The provide us with shade on a hot sunny day
-Trees are fun to climb
-Many things we use are made out of trees- our houses, toys, beds, paper, pencils, bookshelves, etc.
-Trees make our world a more beautiful place
-Many animals use trees to make their home- bird, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, owls, snakes, monkeys,

Nature Walk- take about 20 minutes to let the kids explore and be creative.

Picking a “special tree”. (Give each adult a blindfold, a piece of paper, and a crayon)
I want each child to find a tree that they want to get to know better. Take some time to wonder around and pick a tree that you find interesting. Once you have found your special tree, take a few minutes to be scientist, observe the branches, the bark, the roots, the soil around it, if there are cones or needles or dried up leaves on the ground beneath it. After a few minutes, have an adult put the blindfold on so the child can use he/she’s sense of touch to get to know his/her tree even better. Does the bark feel smooth or rough, wet or dry, cold or warm? Does it have cracks? Are they big or small, narrow, shallow, deep, long, short?
Bark Rubbing-crayons and paper

Let’s do our letter of the day! Our letter is “S” for St. Patrick’s Day, which is this week!

Let’s play a game called “Hiding the Shamrock”. I’m going to call on a child to be it. He or she will hide the shamrock while the rest of us close our eyes. When the child is done, I’ll say “shamrock” and everyone tries to find it. If you find it, you get to be the next to hide it and so on.

FIVE LITTLE SHAMROCKS
1 green shamrock, in the morning dew,
Another one sprouted, and then there were two.
2 green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;
Another one sprouted and then there were three
3 green shamrocks, by the cottage door;
Another one sprouted,
And then there were four.
4 green shamrocks, near a beehive
Another one sprouted,
And then there were five.
5 little shamrocks, bright and emerald green,
Think of all the luck these shamrocks will bring.

The Plant Part Song
Tune: The Farmer in the Dell
written by Mrs. Jones

The seed makes a plant.
The seed makes a plant.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The seed makes a plant.

The roots find the water.
The roots find the water.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The roots find the water.

The stem holds it up.
The stem holds it up.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The stem holds it up.

The leaves make the food.
The leaves make the food.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The leaves make the food.

The flower makes the fruit.
The flower makes the fruit.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The flower makes the fruit.

The fruit holds the seeds.
The fruit holds the seeds.
With soil and rain and sunny days,
The fruit holds the seeds.