~ Pre-K & Preschool theme ideas for learning about forest animals, trees, and leaves ~
What we learn about trees:
- How trees look: bark, leaves, etc.
- Trees as habitats for animals and insects.
- Tree products: nuts, fruit (apples), etc.
- How trees change during the seasons.
- Forests are homes to plant and animal life.
Books
Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood
Owls
Bats
Bears
Birds
Snakes
Squirrels
Rabbits
Raccoons
Trees and Leaves
More
Rhymes
Leaves
Down, down,
Yellow and brown,
Fall the leaves
All over the ground.
Rake them up
In a pile so high,
They almost reach up to the sky.
I Had a Little Nut Tree
I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear
But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear.
The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me,
And all for the sake of my little nut tree.
Songs
- The Bird Song, by Mrs. Jones
- Ten Little Leaves, by Mrs. Jones
- Kumbaya: traditional song
- The Bear Went Over the Mountain: traditional song
- Peter and the Wolf: by Sergei Prokofiev
Tree and Leaf Activities
Leaf Hunt
[Science]
We take a leaf walk around the schoolyard and nearby park to observe and collect various shapes and colors of leaves. We notice the trees they come from. Children
put their collections in a ziplock bag.
Leaf Drawing
[Science, Art]
We go on a leaf hunt around the school grounds to collect leaves. Children study the leaves with magnifying glasses,
and draw pictures of different leaves with a fine-point black ink pen. I choose one leaf drawing from each child, scan it,
enlarge it on the computer, and print them out on white art paper. I print several copies for each child. The children
decorated the leaf copies with different materials: watercolor paints, tempera paints, fine point colored pens, markers, and colored pencils.
Big Classroom Tree
[Art]
One year, my class decided on their own to create a huge tree "as big as the wall". They drew the tree on sheets of posterboard, mixed their own paint to paint
the tree, and made branches for it. The leaf artwork that children made went onto the branches. Some of the leaves were painted, some were decorated with
colored markers and pencils, and some were made with art sand.
Tree Observational Drawing
[Science, Art]
We "adopt" a tree in the schoolyard each year. I chose a pear tree because it has very visible changes in every season: green leaves in summer, red leaves
in fall, bare in winter, and white flower buds in spring. Each season we go outside to draw the tree. I take a photo of the children standing in
front of it every season.
What Color Leaves?
During one of our group discussions, we made this chart to record our predictions of what colors the leaves on our "adopted" tree might be in the Fall. Our first pear tree drawing is done in the Summer (August) when the leaves are green, and we made this chart then while discussing what we thought would happen.
3-D Trees
[Art]
Children make trees with paper towel rolls and construction paper.
Tree Paintings
[Art]
After we read the book, A Tree is Nice, and talk about different kinds of trees, we paint a picture of a tree. We use a long, narrow
piece of paper for our tree painting to resemble the tall shape of trees. (The pages of the book,
Play Dough Leaves
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children press leaves into the play dough to make leaf impressions.
Leaf Fossils
[Art, Science]
Children press leaves into a slab of clay and allow it to dry. The imprint of the leaf's veins will make an impression similar to a leaf fossil.
Amaco Marblex self-hardening clay works well.
Leaf Graph
[Math]
We graph leaves that children collect outdoors by color and/or type. Each child collects one leaf to graph. Leaves from a single tree can also be graphed when the
leaves are changing from green to another color. Some children might collect green leaves, some might collect red, and others might collect leaves that
are two-toned.
Leaf Color Sorting
[Math]
Children sort yellow, green, brown and red leaf cut outs by color. The leaves are made using a leaf-shaped paper puncher from a craft store. Children
sort and glue each color in a section of the paper. I have done this both using plain paper with four sections drawn on with intersecting lines, and
also using a basket sheet (children sort the leaves into the four baskets.
Printable
Leaf Patterns
[Math]
I used a leaf craft puncher to cut out the pieces from construction paper. Children glue the cutouts on
the paper pattern strip. You can do AB, AABB, ABC, ABB, AAB, etc.
Leaf Counting
[Math]
I used leaf craft punchers to cut out the pieces from construction paper. Print out the numeral sheets. Have children
count out the correct amount of paper cutouts to glue onto the numeral.
Leaf Symmetry
[Science, Math]
Children explore the symmetry of leaves using real leaves and mirrors.
Leaf Matching
[Science, Math, Visual Discrimination]
Print out two copies of the leaf matching cards, cut them out, and laminate. Children use visual discrimination skills to match the leaves that are the
same. Since these are photographs of real leaves and children are using observational skills to notice differences in nature, I added these cards to our
science center.
Tree Life Cycle
[Science]
These cards can be used to show children the life cycle of an oak tree: from acorn, to seedling, to young oak tree, to full grown oak tree.
These can also be added to the science center, along with the self-checking card, for children to put in order.
Tree Display
[Science]
This is a display of all kinds of things that come from trees. The jars contain pinecones and different types of tree nuts. The "tree cookies" and other pieces
of tree with bark are from our collection of "Tree Blocks". When the children discovered flower buds on the pear tree at school, we
brought in two branches for our science center.
Tree Display
[Science]
This is a set of tree figurines from a Safari Ltd. "Toob". We use them in the science center.
Tree Rubbing
[Science]
Children work in pairs. One partner holds a piece of paper against a tree while the other child makes a tree bark rubbing with the side of a
crayon. Then the partners switch roles so that each child has a turn to make a rubbing.
Parts of a Tree
[Science, Sensory]
In advance, collect a variety of things that you find close to one tree (or a few trees that are close together) in the schoolyard: bark, nuts, pine needles, pinecones,
leaves, small branches, etc.
Bring the children out to that same tree(s), show them each item one at a time, and have them find that item on the tree (or on the ground below the tree).
Educational Videos
[Technology]
From United Streaming Videos:
"A First Look at Trees"
"Art Tango: Fall Leaves: Working with Warm Colors and Crayons"
Art Tango: Inking Lines on Our Trees"
Apple & Leaf Stamping Games
Write a letter or numeral on each apple or leaf, and make a copy for each child. Children will draw a number or letter card from a stack (or roll a die), find that letter/numeral on their mat, and stamp it out. You can use rubber stamps or bingo dot markers. As an alternative, you can have children draw an "X" over the apple or leaf if stamps or bingo dot markers are not available.
Printable
Printable
Apple Same/Different Game
Print, laminate, and cut apart the cards. Three of the four pictures are the same and one is different. Children find the picture that is different and cover it with a bingo chip or token. This set has 8 cards.
Ten Red Apples Counting Mats
After reading the book, Ten Red Apples, by Pat Hutchins, children can use these mats for counting practice. Print out ten copies of the mat, and write a numeral (1-10) on the cards. Children will identify the numeral and count out the correct amount of "apples" to go on the tree. For the "apple" counters, you can use red flat floral marbles, red tokens or bingo chips, or spray paint lima beans red.
Printable
Apple Patterns
[Math]
I used an apple craft puncher to cut out the pieces from construction paper. Children glue the cutouts on
the paper pattern strip. You can do AB, AABB, ABC, ABB, AAB, etc.
Apple Counting
[Math]
I used an apple craft puncher to cut out the pieces from construction paper. Print out the numeral sheets. Have children
count out the correct amount of paper cutouts to glue onto the numeral.
Owl Activities
Wax Resist Owl Picture
[Art]
After reading the book Owl Babies, we look at the pictures in the book and talk about the art (the owls and the black night painted around them).
Children use oil pastels to draw a picture of the baby owls (white) and the mother owl (brown). Some children just draw the owls and some children
draw the owls sitting in the tree. They paint over the picture with black watercolor paint, which turns the picture into a nighttime picture.
Owl Listening Activity
[Literacy, Science]
Listening activities help children learn to listen for specific sounds. One child is chosen to be the owl, and turns away from the class. Children
take turns being the owl. One child in the group is handed a squeaky toy, and everyone holds their hands behind their back. The "owl" turns around,
and tries to find the squeaking mouse. Real owls can hear a mouse squeaking from a long distance away.
Owl Babies Story Retelling
[Literacy]
After reading the book, Owl Babies, children drw a picture to illustrate some aspect of the story. They dictate a "retelling" of the story for
the teachers to write on the page.
Letter Tumble
[Literacy]
We use white painted lima beans with letters written on them on one side. The other side was decorated with a Sharpie to resemble owls. Children shake
the beans in a cup and toss onto
black felt (which represents the night sky). They match the letters on the beans to letters on a mat. Children are matching
uppercase to uppercase letters. Since the beans do not last for more than a couple of years, I decided to make these Owl Letter Tumble Game printables.
Choose one of each: the owl letters and the letter chart. This game can be used to practice matching uppercase to uppercase letters, lowercase to lowercase
letters, or uppercase to lowercase letters. Print out a set of Owl Letters and cut them out. Also, print out one of the Letter Charts
(but do not cut this one out). After children "tumble" the owls onto their felt mat, they will match the letters on the owls to the letters on the chart.
Uppercase
Lowercase
Educational Video
[Technology]
From United Streaming Videos:
"World of Nature: Owls: Hunters of the Sky"
Bat Activities
Bat Bingo
[Literacy or Math]
Use bat rings to cover the letter/number/shape on the bingo cards. We use these to play alphabet bingo, number bingo, shape bingo, or rhyming
bingo.
Mystery Socks
[Math, Sensory]
Children work in pairs. Each pair of children has one sock and 4 bat rings. One child puts 0-4 bat rings into the sock (without the other child
seeing), and the other child slips his hand in to count the bats without peeking. Children who have difficulty counting blindly can slip each
ring onto a fingertip.
Bear Activities
Bear Paintings
[Art]
We use several shades of multicultural paints and a special "paintbrush" (cotton ball clipped in a clothespin). The children dab the paint onto
their paper, making sure to make a body, arms, legs, head and ears. Later we add wiggly eyes, pompom nose, and yarn mouth.
Gummi Bear Sorting
[Math]
Children use a paper plate that is divided into six sections (I drew lines on the plate to make the sections). They sort a bag of Gummi bear
candy by color, putting each color into one section.
Bear Sorting
[Math]
This is an activity we do on Teddy Bear Day. After we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we sort the children's teddy bears by size
(Papa bear, Mama bear and Baby bear).
Internet
[Technology]
Kids' Bears Page: Children learn about bears on the WWW.
www.prekinders.com/bears_kids.htm
Bird Activities
Bird Beaks
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children use clothespins as little bird beaks to pick up small objects (bird food): sunflower seeds, yarn "worms", small plastic bugs.
Bird Feeder
[Science]
Children spread peanut butter on a pinecone or a bagel half and sprinkle on the birdseed. We put these in ziplock bags with
string so the children could take them home and hang them. If any of the children are allergic to peanuts, we make a bird feeder
with a folded paper box or milk carton, which the children can decorate, and scoop the birdseed into the box.
Snake Activities
Spiral Snakes
[Art]
Children decorate a paper plate with a spiral drawn on it. They cut the spiral to make the snake and draw eyes on the snake's head.
Play Dough Snakes
[Fine Motor Skills, Math]
Children roll the play dough to form snakes. They form snakes of different lengths to learn the vocabulary: long and short.
Model Magic Snakes
After practicing with the play dough, children also make snakes with Model Magic and paint them.
Mouse Count
[Math, Literacy]
Each child in the group has a jar of mice (beans painted and decorated to look like mice). We read the story, Mouse Count, and count the mice into
the jar just as the snake does in the story.
Edible Snakes
[Cooking]
We use an edible play dough recipe and form it to make snakes. We add mini M&M's for eyes.
Nutty Putty (Edible Playdough Recipe)
3 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3 1/2 cups corn syrup or honey
4 cups powdered milk
chocolate chips (optional)
Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips. Divide mixture into 15-20 portions, place into plastic bags and refrigerate. Children mold dough,
add chocolate chips for decorations, and eat.
*We do not do this activity if any child has a peanut allergy.
Squirrel Activities
Squirrel Grid Game
[Math]
To play a grid game, children roll a game die, identify the numeral
and count out that amount of manipulatives. Each manipulative is placed over one picture in the grid. Children play until the whole grid is full.
This grid game uses acorns collected from the school yard, or any kind of tree nut that squirrels might eat.
10 Spaces
20 Spaces
Nut Sorting
[Science, Math]
Children use tongs to pick up each nut and sort the four types of nuts into the four wooden bowls.
More Activities
The Mitten
[Literacy]
Children assemble the mitten and cut out the animals from Jan Brett's website
("Put the Animals in the Mitten" activity).
The children put each animal into the mitten as the story is read to them. As a group, children try to recall the order of the animals.
Story Retelling
[Literacy]
Choose any forest-themed book that you would consider good literature (good characters, plot, beginning, middle, end, etc.) Show the book to the children
and tell them to think about what happened in the story, and the people (characters) and places they saw in the story. Think about what each character
said. Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to draw something they remember from the story. Remind them that this should not be a picture of their
cat or their friends, but only pictures of things from the book. After each child has illustrated the story, have them retell the story in their own words.
Either record each child with a voice recorder or write their dictation on the page.
Brown Bear Book
[Literacy]
After reading the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, we make our own version. Children choose a color and a forest
animal to draw on the page. "[Brown bear, brown bear], what do you see? I see a [red fox] looking at me."
Nature Walk
[Science]
We go on a nature walk to find things, such as sticks, leaves, acorns, pebbles, birds, squirrels, etc. Children mark a checklist when they
find each item. The children are also given a small ziplock bag to collect items they find.
Camping Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Sleeping bags, Sticks, Maps, Back packs, Flashlights, Small tent, Cooking utensils, Play food, Butterfly net, Logs made out of rolled
brown paper with red, orange, and yellow tissue paper for pretend fire, Binoculars, Compass, Canteen, Paper plates, First-aid kit
Educational Videos
[Technology]
From United Streaming Videos:
"World of Nature: Nature's Foresters"
Resources
Printable
Uppercase
Lowercase
10 Spaces
20 Spaces
Printable
Printable
Printable
*use for pocket charts, flannel boards, graphing labels, matching, games, beginning sounds, etc.
- Tree Project: a project on trees we did one year in my class
- Forest Theme Links: my bookmarks on del.icio.us
- Nuts to You @ TheTeachersRoom.com
- Forest Animals @ Enchanted Learning
- Fall Leaf Printables @ Play2LearnPrintables.com
- Apple Life Cycle Printable
- Pre-K Pages: Fall Theme
- The Virtual Vine: Fall is in the Air
- Mrs. Jones' Songs: Fall Song
- The Teacher's Room: Autumn Leaves
Links
Teacher Resource Books
