Tree Project

Teacher

Linda Kraft, Sarah Lennert, Lauren Rust

Program

Hand in Hand Learning Land, home child care

Age Group

2 - 8 years

Phase I

We decided to investigate trees and the ways in which they change throughout the seasons, since the children showed a natural interest in them during our frequent walks or while exploring the yard. We began our project by making a web about trees. The children discussed what they already knew about trees and we recorded their comments. We also recorded all the questions children had about trees during our discussion times.

            Our focusing project included a trip to our local library. The children checked out many different books about trees. After we had observed trees in our environment and read books about trees, we decided to focus on how the trees looked throughout the different seasons. The children had prior knowledge about the different seasons in terms of names and the weather that corresponded to each one. Our goal was to build on this knowledge and have the children become familiar with the ways in which the trees changed over time. We began in the summer when the trees were very green and full, and as the months went on we wanted them to be aware of the different phases.

Our first investigation consisted of a field trip to the River Trails Nature Center. We took a walk down the path and talked about what the trees looked like. There were tree trimmers on site that particular day trimming tree branches. An expert spoke to the children about trees and why sometimes the branches needed to be cut. While on site, we made observational drawings of the trees. The children used clipboards and felt-tip pens to record their observations. We returned to the nature center more as the months went on. The children would talk about and record the ways in which the trees were changing.

            The children seemed to become particularly interested not only in how the appearance of the trees changed throughout the season, but also how each tree looked different in size and shape. Back at our home school, we would take walks throughout the neighborhood and look at the many different trees. We did various projects during these walks including: using a tape measure to record the size of the circumference of the trees, talking about the different animals that build nests in the trees, discussing and collecting what grows on a tree (pine cones, fruit), and when fall came we collected leaves from the tree. We talked about the different types of leaves and also used them for many different projects like leaf rubbings and leaf waxing. When the pine cones were collected, we also measured their different sizes.

            We continued to check out different books from the library about trees throughout the seasons. We also checked out books about fruit trees. The children represented what they were learning by coloring detailed drawings of trees, by making trees out of clay, and by discussing their knowledge spontaneously with one another and with teachers. The parents were very supportive, and oftentimes children would bring in leaves that they found with their parents, or fruit that came off of trees in their yard to share with the rest of the class.

            We even were fortunate enough to visit a second tree expert at River Trails Nature Center. This time he talked about the kinds of animals that live in trees. He answered many of the children’s questions and the children came home excited to share their new found answers with their families.

Phase II

Phase III

Our culminating event was to return to the nature center once all the leaves had fallen from the trees and to take the same walk down the path that we did during the beginning of the project. The children talked about how bare the trees looked, and how they expected seeds to form on the trees during spring. They were able to see the nests in the trees from birds and squirrels. We studied what kind of animals live in trees and how they make their homes in trees.

            We created a board for our classroom that consisted of pictures, drawings, and the children’s reflection about the project. This was displayed for all the parents to see. The children seemed to learn so much in depth knowledge from this project, as well as really enjoyed the numerous activities and investigations we completed! Their detailed drawings of trees seem to illustrate their enjoyment as well as their knowledge.

            (We did return in the spring to the same nature path that we walked down in the fall and the winter. The children loved seeing all the changes on our path).

 

Teacher Reflection

“Our tree project seemed to be very successful not only for our students, but also for us as teachers. Letting the children take the lead was important because it helped us to really see what they were interested in learning about. In some cases, it was different than what we had expected. For instance, the children became extremely interested in the types of fruit that grows on trees. It meant so much to us (teachers and parents) to see how excited the children were about learning about trees. They came up with many creative ideas on their own, and it was really exciting to see the children so interested and eager to learn. It ended up being a great topic because the children truly seemed to gain so much from it. We thought it might be hard to keep the children’s interest but it turned out to be easy since they were so fascinated. They loved going to the nature center, and it brought a whole new level of interest to our usual neighborhood walks. We were able to learn together about trees, and we all really came to appreciate all there was to know about trees!”
 

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