A Tree is Nice, by J. Udry

The simple text and illustrations are a wonderful introduction to why trees and are nice.

Materials

picnic basket, small blanket, thermos
Bag of dirt
Many sticks and small branches from trees
Small pine needle branches rubber banded together to make paint brushes
A variety of tree leaves found in your area, include pine needles
Leaf shapes for cutting
Sticks
Tree trunk page for each child
Paint sticks (free where you buy paint)
10 empty tin cans

Vocabulary

Valley-a low area of land between two hills or mountains.
Woods/Forest- when many trees grow together they make a woods.
Tree Trunk-the main part of the tree, like a humans torso.
Tree Limb-the part that comes out of the torso which is very thick. Branches grow off the limb.
Shade/Shadow – Where the sun is blocked from reaching the ground by an object.

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that today you are going to read a story about a very special friend to all of us. Explain that you are going to give them clues to see if they can guess who or what this special friend is. The clues; This friend helps make air for us to breath, provides food for us to eat, provides wood for us to build with and paper for us to write with, this friend provides shelter and homes to many kinds of animals, helps keep us from getting sunburned, and tells us what season it is. Can you guess who this friend is? A tree! Let the children share with you anything they would like to about trees.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Reading the Story

If possible, take the children out to under a read this book.

On the first page where it says, athey fill up the whole sky, stop and ask the children if they have ever seen this many trees all together? Do they know what it is called? (forest, woods,backyard). On the page where it states, even if you have only one, ask the children to raise their hand if they have a tree in their yard? On the page where it is fall, remind the children that in the fall many tree leaves turn colors and fall off the tree. On the page where it talks about the trunk and limb of the tree, explain that the trunk is like our torsos and the limbs are like our arms but that trees have more than two arms. Count the limbs of the tree in the illustration (5). On the page where the tree holds off the wind, help the children to notice what happened to the dog house roof.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

After Reading the Story

Show the page of the children climbing and picking apples in the tree. Ask them to think of other foods that come from trees. Or hold up the tree pictures for the children to name the food that comes from a tree. Has any child noticed that almost all of the food grown from trees is considered fruit?

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

Discovery

Add binoculars that the children can use to look out the window into the trees. Ask them what they see (birds, clouds, leaves, squirrel, etc.).

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

Put out a variety of leaves and pine needles for the children to examine and compare. Encourage them to sort by smooth edges and pointy edges, big leaves and small leaves, by types. Add magnifying glass so children can see the veins of the leaves.

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

Music and Movement

Way up high in the apple tree, Make 2 fists and hold over head

Two red apples smiled down on me.

So I shook that tree as hard as I could Shake fists

And down came the apples

And they were good! Pretend to eat apple

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Blocks

Put out the wooden blocks and add paint sticks that can be used to enhance building structures.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Art

Put pine needle paint brushes out at the easel today to experiment painting with.

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

Give the children a tree trunk page and show them how to use bingo daubers, circle stickers, finger prints, or Qtips to cover the tree with leaves. Do this according to the season or with lots of colors for festive looking trees.

Creative Arts/Art; develops growing ability to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects.

Library and Writing

Let the children cut out leaf shapes. Keep these on the simpler side. After the child has cut out a leaf, ask them to tell you why trees are nice and write their response on the leaf. Gather all the leaves cut and hang them on the wall around a tree trunk made from construction paper or paper bags.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity , and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Add sticks of various lengths and challenge the children to try to make letters in their names with them.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shapes and sound.

Sand and Water

Add the dirt to the table today along with small shovels or spoons for the children to plant “trees” (sticks and small branches.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Dramatic Play

Add a picnic basket and small blanket to the center so the children can pretend to go on a picnic.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Math and Manipulatives

Line the 10 empty, and cleaned, tin cans on the table. Label them 1-10 with markers or small pieces opf paper. Put out a bowl of sticks and challenge the children to fill the cans accordingly. For children who are more adept in counting, mix the cans up so the numbers are out of order.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Outdoor Play

Take several books and a blanket outside for the children to read and relax under a tree. Take a few minutes to lay on your backs and look up into the tree and watch how the sun plays with the leaves. What else do you see?

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; engaging in pretend -reading with other children.

Bring in, or look for sticks on the playground, to practice writing names in the dirt.

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

Hang an old stuffed animal (pillow case, pinata) from a tree and use a stick or wiffle ball bat for the children to practice swinging and hitting the stuffed animal.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using a slide and swing.

Transitions

Hold up, or draw large letters on a whiteboard/piece of paper. Ask the children if they can name the letter, the letter sound, or something that begins with that letter sound. Have them draw the letter in the air.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge;shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shape and sound.

Resources

On Bird Hill, by Jane Yolan

On Bird Hill is a story that follows a boy and his dog as they discover a bird nest. The story follows a similar path as the song, The Green Grass Grew All Around. This is a nice book to introduce a unit on Ornithology or spring.

Materials

Find or make a poster of birds in your area. Hang by a window where the children can look out and look for common birds.
Pipe cleaners in 3-5 inch pieces and bowls that correspond in color.
Tweezers, tongs, clothes pins, chopsticks, forks.
Newspaper, shredded
Jelly Beans
20 Egg shapes
Bird flying to nest picture, 1 per child
Box of Cheerios and 12 inch lengths of yarn

Vocabulary

Habitat (Where a bird or other animal lives. It is their home where they find food, water, and shelter).
Camouflage (To blend into the environment so difficult to see).
Ornithologist (A person who studies birds).
Chick (A baby bird).
Territorial (The area around the birds home/nest that they protect against strangers and other animals).

Before Reading the Story

Hold up the cover of the book and ask the children if they can guess what today’s story is about. Begin a conversation about birds. Do the children know where they live? (Many birds live in trees but they also live in bushes and rocks. They live in the country and also in the city. Where there home is is called their habitat). Do they know the names of any birds? What makes a bird a bird? (All birds have feathers, 2 feet, and beaks. Most birds can fly). Ask the children what the brown oval like shape is on the cover of the book, an egg. Explain to the children that birds lay eggs. Show them a picture of several real eggs. Do all eggs look the same? Count the number of eggs in each of the pictures, which has the most, the least? Ask the children again what they think the story might be about. 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. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Reading the Story

At the end of the story, have the children crouch very small into an ‘egg’ shape and then slowly crack their shell by pecking. Slowly uncrouch, stretch wings/arms, shake out legs, look around, and then fly away around the room and back to their nest.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

After Reading the Story

Can the children recall the order in which the story took place? Ask them what happened first, then open the page to reveal. What happened next? Turn the page. Do this as a picture walk with the children telling what is happening on each page.

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.

Discovery

Watch a video of baby birds hatching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAfm7ErYLXg

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

Set out a bird feeder and a poster showing common birds in your area. Make several pairs of binoculars by taping two toilet tubes together. Encourage the children to look from the feeder to the poster and try to identify the birds. If your feeder is popular, keep a running tally of the birds who visit it.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the song, The Green Grass Grew All Around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AsSBYIrZNo This song is a echo song where the children echo back to you line by line.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Put on the song, Just Flap Your Wings Together, and teach the children the movements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaARSaHa5GA

Language/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Play the song, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and let the children dance to the music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what ifs felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles.

Sing Two Little Blackbirds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08s1i5h2xFw. Start with holding up one finger from each hand and have them fly behind your backs. Sing again holding up 2 fingers on each hand, have the children count. Now sing about 4 little blackbirds and have them fly behind your backs. Continue till you have all 5 fingers on each hand held up and sing about 10 little blackbirds.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate and name “how many” concrete objects.

Teach the children the chorus of Blue Bird and let them take turns going through the windows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arwbBx1jmQY

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games or using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Blocks

As the children build in blocks today, stop by and ask them to pretend they are woodpeckers. Explain that woodpeckers tap on trees to find insects to eat. Show them by tapping onto a block several times. Ask them if they have ever heard that sound when they are outside? If they have, it was probably a woodpecker! Now play the woodpecker game. Woodpecker, woodpecker tap for me…tap your beak to the number 1-10. The children then tap out the correct number while counting out loud.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate and name “how many” concrete objects.

Art

Make bird puppets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vf3vqxEyRyg. Older children should be able to do most of the folding by themselves with some adult supervision.

Language/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Add sturdy feathers to the easel today to use as paint brushes.

Set out bowls of Cheerios. Give each child a 12-inch length of yarn (one end should have a Cheerio tied to it and the other end a bit of masking tape around it to make it firm). Let the children string the Cheerios and then take them to the playground or outside your science window for the children to watch the birds come to eat off them).

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

Library and Writing

Use the sequence cards of a bird hatchling and also from The Green Grass Grew All Around. Can the children put them in correct sequential order?

Use the bird flying to nest picture (one per child) and have the children follow the lines with a marker from bird to nest. Are they able to stay within the lines?

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

Sand and Water

Fill the table with shredded newspaper about one inch deep. Cut pipe cleaners into 3-5 inch lengths. Add bowls to correspond with the colors of pipe cleaners (color the bottoms of the bowl). Explain to the children that birds use their beaks to gather food. Have the children pretend to be birds by using the tongs, tweezers, chopsticks, and fork to pick-up the worms from the table and put them in the matching colored bowls. (Hang the picture of the bird beaks over the table and share with the children the explanations of the different bills. Picture taken from A Glorious Illustrated Love Letter to Curiosity and the Magic of Our World, by J. Rothman)

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Fill the table with birdseed today. Add small bird feeders and various sizes of containers for the children to fill and scoop. How many scoops from this container does it take to fill this bird feeder? Have the child count as they scoop. (when you are finished using the seed in the table, use it to feed the birds)

Dramatic Play

Add colorful scarves to the center and make simple beaks stapled to headband made from sentence strips (many children do not like wearing a mask that covers their face). Turn the table over or add boxes and blankets to make nests.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Math and Manipulatives

Give each child 10 jelly beans. Have them sort them by color and then count each color. Which color has the most? The least, any two colors have equal amounts? Which color is the child’s favorite? (Ask a child to eat one of the 3 red jelly beans, how many do you have left?).

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, and equal to.

Ahead of time print 2 copies of the egg patterns page. Color the eggs to make 9 sets of 2. These can then be used for matching or playing memory.

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

Outdoor Play

My class used to like to use rakes, shovels, and brooms to gather pine needles to make a nest. The pine cones can then become the eggs.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Pretend to be birds and flap around the playground. Fly to your nest and feed your babies. Then fly back out around the playground to look for more bugs or seeds. Take turns being the adult birds flying around and coming back to feed the baby birds who sit in the nest and cheep loudly. The parent bird can pretend to feed the baby bird and then they can switch roles.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Transitions

Hang the pictures of the real eggs on the wall where the children can reach them. Give each child a piece of masking tape with their name written on it. Have them stick their name beside the nest that they think is the most beautiful. Which nest has the most votes?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a way for solving problems and determining quantity.

Resources

This web site includes pictures, characteristics, and songs of common birds. https://www.audubon.org/news/get-know-these-15-common-birds

Umbrella by Taro Yashima

Momo had a birthday and received new red boots and an umbrella. Unfortunately the days ae sunny and she can not use them! Momo learns to wait and anticipate the time when she can finally bring out her new boots and umbrella.

Materials

Copy of Rain on the Treetop poem for children to fill in.
Pictures of umbrellas
One umbrella and several bean bags
Several plastic containers with holes punched in the bottoms or small watering cans.
1 Silhouette picture per child and dice
Flat sheet and clothes pins

Vocabulary

Japan (if you have a map or globe, show them where Japan is and also New York. How far is it from where your school is located, show them on the map).
Indian summer (In the fall time when the weather becomes unseasonably warm and sunny)

Before Reading the Story

Hold up a picture of many umbrellas and ask the children if they know what these are? Then hold up a picture of one umbrella or bring in a real umbrella. Show the children or pantomime the motion of opening up the umbrella and placing it over your head. Encourage the children to do the same. Ask them again what this is called? When do you use an umbrella? What does the umbrella do? Do you use umbrellas in the house or outside? Why should you not open an umbrella inside the house?

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.

Reading the Story

On page 12 where Momo’s mother tells her to get up because of the rain coming, ask the children if they know what this means? (Momo can use her umbrella today!).

On page 16 where her doodle disappeared on the sidewalk, ask the children if they know what happened to it?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they hold their parents hand when they walk? How do you think Momo felt now that she was walking without holding on? (Like a grown-up, happy, like a big kid).

Explain to the children that in the story Momo had to learn to wait, to have patience. Like when we are playing a class game and you have to wait your turn and it is hard because you are excited but you have to have patience. Ask the children if they can think of times when they had to have patience and wait? (When it was my birthday I had to wait for my birthday cake until after we ate dinner. My Grandma is coming and I am so excited. When my dog was gonna have puppies I had to wait and wait and have patience to see them. I want to play with the blue truck but Jimmy has it).

Discovery

Give the children colored chalk or magic markers to draw/write their name onto a piece of paper. After they have finished their drawing, let them use a spray bottle filled with water to spray over their drawing/writing. Ask them to predict what they think will happen when the water touches the paper. Were they correct?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Music and Movement

Sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kExtyaxao0U Make hand movements to go along with. Try changing itsy bitsy to great big, huge humongous, teeny tiny.

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

Bring out your instruments and encourage the children to shake, rattle, or roll them as you repeat the sound of raindrops that Momo heard on her umbrella.

Bon polo

bon polo

ponpolo ponpolo

bolo bolo ponpolo

boto boto ponpolo

boto boto ponbolo.

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of musical instruments.

Play Umbrella by Laurie Berkner and dance along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKtnSmDADuA

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what is felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles.

Teach the children the song and movements to Come Under My Umbrella. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Q8QziZMVg

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

Blocks

Add people today. Encourage the children to build houses with roofs to get the people out of the rain.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Art

123 Homeschool4me.com has a cute and quick umbrella art craft using bubble wrap. https://www.123homeschool4me.com/bubble-wrap-rain-craft_71

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Library and Writing

Teach the children the poem, Rain on the Treetops. After you have shared it with them, ask them to name things that the rain falls down on. Write their responses on the Umbrella picture in resources and encourage the children to decorate the umbrella and add raindrops.

Rain on the rooftops and rain on the trees.

Rain on the sidewalk but not on me!

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more that one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Sand and Water

Bring in containers in which you have punched holes or watering cans so the children can make and hear rain. Make containers with different amount of holes and hole sizes. See resources.

Dramatic Play

Give the children the flat sheet and the clothes pins. Challenge them to build a fort that will keep them dry when the rain comes. If you have rubber jackets and boots, add these to your center today. Add a musical thunderstorm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIILT0eIWeA

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Math and Manipulatives

Give each child a silhouette picture of child with umbrella and a blue magic marker. The child rolls the dice and adds that many raindrops onto their picture. Play with several children at a time and have them take turns rolling the dice. Play until each child has had 5 turns rolling the dice.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. Begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Lay several hula hoops on the ground and tell the children that they are pretend puddles. Have the children practice jumping from one puddle to another. This could also be done on cement by using chalk to make puddles.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Open the umbrella and lay it upside down on the ground (like a basket). Make a mark on the ground that is the throwing line. Let the children take turns throwing three bean bags into the upside down umbrella. After each child’s turn, have them count how many bean bags are in the umbrella and how many bean bags are on the ground.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using the slide and swing. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare the number of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Transitions

On a dry erase board or a large piece of paper draw 3 letters, 3 numbers, and 3 shapes. Dismiss the children one at a time by asking them to circle a letter, a number, or a shape. When 5-7 children have had a turn, make a new board. The idea is to see if the children are able to recognize what is a letter, a shape, and a number.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; knows that the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics and can be individually named. AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.