This simple story tells why trees are nice to have.  It helps children become aware that there are many uses for trees.

Materials

• 10-20 sticks of varying lengths
• Evergreen branches to use as paintbrush
• Variety of tree leaves
• Pictures of things that come from trees

Vocabulary

• Trunk (the tall body of the tree)
• Limb (another name for branch, usually a thick branch)
• Hoe (a tool that you use in the garden for scraping weeds)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know why trees are very important? Tell them that we get many things from trees.  Put up one picture at a time of items that come from trees.  Ask a child to help name the item and then have everyone repeat, “Thank you tree for  ______”.  Before reading the story, ask the children if they can think of any other reason why trees are important?  Explain that the story today is about some nice things that trees do, introduce the story.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you read, allow the children to comment upon the pictures and words.  After any comment say to the children, “a tree is really nice don’t you think”? 

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

After Reading the Story

In the story the author states that apples come from trees.  Ask the children if they can think of any other foods that come from trees? (nuts, lemons, oranges, apricots, pears, oranges, coconuts). Make a list, ‘Foods we get from Trees’.

Literacy/Writing;develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Discovery

Bring in parts of a tree for the children to look at through a magnifying glass.  Include; bark, stick, leaf, flower. pinecone, branch, etc..

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a varied of tolls and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the chorus to the song song, Trees, Trees, Trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7dKRBZVLvI Add musical instruments. Are any made from wood? Point this out to the children.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Pretend to be trees.  Tell the children that their feet are the roots that go deep into the ground and do not allow them to move.  The wind begins to gently blow and the leaves rustle (wiggle fingers).  Now the wind blows a little stronger, it’s breezy and the branches begin to move back and forth. (Move arms around)  Suddenly a strong storm is coming and the wind is very blustery making the tree bend and sway.  Good thing your tree roots are buried deep in the ground to keep you from falling over. (Move bodies all about without moving feet).  Now have the wind die back down to blustery, then breezy, gently blowing, to standing tall with roots/feet firmly planted in the ground.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Blocks

Tell the children that your wooden blocks and cardboard blocks are made from trees,  Thank you trees for the blocks!  Build and enjoy playing with parts from a tree today.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing patterns and shapes, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Art

Bring in evergreen branches and tie several together to make a paint brush.  Put these at the easel today for the children to experiment with.  Add several sticks as another way to apply paint to the paper.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

Add water to the table today and a variety of tree leaves. Do the leaves float or sink? Does the water change the way the leaves look? Does a wet leaf smell different from a dry leaf?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a varied of tolls and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Library and Writing

Bring in a book of trees or a variety of pictures of trees that the children can look at and compare the likes and differences.  Talk to them about the parts of the tree. Challenge the children to draw a tree with all of it’s part. Help the children to label the tree parts (roots, trunk, branch, bough, leaf, needle, flower, fruit, etc.).

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, na drecord information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Dramatic Play

Math and Manipulatives

Bring in sticks of varying lengths and challenge the children to put them in order from shortest to longest.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as size or shape.

Outdoor Play

Go outside and listen quietly.  Can you hear the wind whisper through the trees? 

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a varied of tolls and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Or…Go outside and rake and then jump in the leaves. 

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Find a stick on the playground and let the children use it to practice writing their name.

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Transitions

Remind the children that your story today was, A Tree is Nice and gave so many reasons that a tree is especially nice.  Ask the children if they can recall reasons or is they have any reasons of their own.  Write their responses onto a piece of paper and hang it on the wall.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

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