Trees and their importance to our environment

One of my favorite things to introduce to children is anything having to do with trees. This lesson focused on trees and what might live in them. We let the children come up with ideas of their own but offered them tools to make birds, nests, insects, plants and leaves. Books were used to guide them on the many different types of trees that surround us as well as how to calculate how old a tree really is. They loved counting the rings that went around the tree trunks. Thanks to Forest Park Tree Removal for donating the tree trunks.

Our light table became a nature zone with tree bark, leaves, small tree stubs, incased insects, butterfiles and more. With a mural of tree trunks on the wall they added branches and their creations. The little birds made from recycled egg cartons were a hit with parents too. They were mighty cute if I do say so myself.

Transportation around the city and beyond

We thought it might be fun to continue with the building boxes since the children had so much fun with them. Lauren decided to create a lesson that expanded the city theme so she came up with a really cool transportation lesson. We turned our water table into Lake Michigan too!

Some children decided we needed a bridge, boats, some thought tunnels, it was fun to see them get on the floor and use chalk to draw cars and landscape scenes. They were able to conceptualize their own town in the process which brought the exploration closer to them. One of the things we strive for - making it about them, and helping them find their place in this world.