Discovering Trees

Fall is a great time to get outside and explore trees. Before heading outside, ask your students the following:

• Do you have trees at your house?
• Do you like playing in the leaves?
• Do you have a favorite tree?
• Is there one kind of tree or are there many kinds?
• Where are trees located?
• Can you name different types of trees?  
• What colors of leaves do you see on trees?

Go on a leaf walk around the school or to a local park. Give each child a brown paper bag to gather fall leaves and nuts. Create a “tree mural” with the kids’ collection - draw a very large tree trunk with branches and allow children to decorate branches with their leaf collection.

Decorate your classroom with sponge painted trees - each child draws a tree trunk and branches on a white piece of paper and using odd sponge shapes (dipped into fall colored paint) bounce the sponges onto the tree branches they drew. 

Tree Themed Games

Make Applesauce 

Lay a long jump rope into a circle which will represent the pot.  Tell the children they are the apples. Call a color of an apple and if a child is wearing clothing that color they may jump into the pot. Talk about when you turn up the heat, the apples start to bubble. Pretend to turn the heat up and down.  The children move around faster as the heat goes up and as the apples simmer they children slow down.  You can also pretend to stir the pot so the children move in one direction in a circle.

Tree Trunk Shuffle

Arrange carpet pieces (1 less than the number of students) in a circle. Alternating students are assigned names of Iowa native trees (e.g., hickory, cedar, boxelder, maple, oak, walnut). Call out the name of one or more trees and those students assigned that tree/trees must move to a new carpet square. If you yell out “Tree Trunk Shuffle,” all students must move to a new carpet square.

Leaf Tic-Tac-Toe

Make the tic-tac-toe grid from sticks (or draw it in the dirt). Each player picks five of the same leaf of his or her playing pieces. Now you’re ready to play tic-tac-toe with two different types of leaves instead of Xs and Os. Three of the same leaf in a row wins.