"In this classroom, relationships are fostered, families are respected, and children are honored.
In this classroom, nature's gifts are valued and children's thoughts are captured.
In this classroom, learning is alive and aesthetic beauty is appreciated." -Unknown

Sunday, October 13, 2013

To Be a Tree: Preschool Autumn Adventures

 

We continued our tree study this past week. We continued talking about the parts of a tree and did some hands-on exploring to make it more meaningful. 


We had a discussion of the things we like about trees. Different children shared their reason for liking trees. As I wrote down their responses, I alternated between writing in green and brown. We've been talking about patterns and this provided an opportunity for many of them to notice that we were making an AB pattern in our data recording.


We had taken paper grocery bags and cut them into vests. Each child was then taken outdoors to do a bark rubbing on a local tree on our playground.


Our next project was to make leaf crowns. We displayed three different colors of leaves and the children chose the leaves they wanted to use to make a pattern.


We used our new cool temp glue gun for the first time and loved the results. It made it possible to safely use the glue gun with the kiddos to ensure the leaves would stay on the construction paper strips, without worrying that the kiddos would get burnt.


After the leaf crowns were completed we moved on to making acorn necklaces. Ms. Myrna and her husband drilled holes in collected acorns and the children got to choose between using large acorns, small acorns, and acorn caps in this patterning activity.


We even did some dramatic performances portraying the life of a tree. In this photo the kiddos were seeds curled up in the soil soaking in the water from the rain. 


In this one they were beginning to grow and their branches began reaching out to the sun. 


We completed our week by wearing the tree costumes they had worked on during the week: tree bark vest, leaf crown, and acorn necklaces. We did a Tree Parade as we walked around the school campus and answered questions when asked about the tree parts. 

It was so much fun and the kiddos got to take the costumes home with them on Friday. We were able to incorporate nature appreciation, science understanding, and math patterning skills along with dramatic play with the one concept of Trees. 






17 comments:

  1. This is a really fun looking personification activity. It is perfect for fall too! Thank you for sharing and for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop.

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    1. I agree, Jill. I work with 23 preschoolers so if it isn't hands-on and something they can relate to, there's no point in teaching about it.

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  2. I love all the hands on activities for being a tree. I love that almost every sense is involved in it!

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  3. Great ideas! So much fun, hands-on activities, and getting outside too! Perfect for little people :) Thank you for sharing! I found your post on Share It Saturday.

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    1. Thanks so much, Missy! The kids really did have a good time.

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  4. Beautiful and respectful of nature :) not sure about the use of the word "kiddos" though?

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. I use "kiddos" as a term of endearment for the children in my classroom. I could say just "kids", but tend to prefer "kiddos".

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  5. Hi Ms. Barbara. Fall is our favorite! I really your fall unit. Great fine-motor with the acorn lacing and the bark rubbing is so simple and clever! Thank you for sharing on our page! =)

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    1. You're most welcome, Heather. Thanks so much for your kind words.

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  6. It's really cool that you were able to link so many activities to the autumn theme. I especially like the writing you did on the board with two colors of ink. What a natural way to learn.

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing this post at last weeks Saturday Spotlight on Angels Homestead.

    Hope to see you again this week!

    April

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    1. Thanks for providing a forum for sharing, April!

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  8. I love the activities children are doing in kindergarten. I have visited Phoenix kindergarten many times. It is great to see the activities going around.

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  9. Dear Ms. Barbara,

    I am revamping the Tree Activity for Camp TaPaWingo in Manitowoc County in Wisconsin. I thought that the activities you have here are spot on and wanted to share them in my new lesson plan, as well as to use two of your photos in the lesson plan. This is for 4-H and University of Wisconsin Extension and has the potential for going statewide. It is also not for profit, so we would be sharing these materials with other 4-H clubs throughout the state and with other extension agents.

    I would be sure to leave the citing of your photos intact and would also be sure to cite your blogspot. I would prefer to cite you as more than Ms. Barbara, but if you prefer that, that is okay.

    Please let me know if this is okay.

    Matt Welter
    4-H Youth Development Educator
    Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
    matt.welter@co.manitowoc.wi.us

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