~ 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 bearBut 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.
I skipped over water, I danced over sea,
And all the birds in the air couldn't catch me.
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 talk 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 went on a leaf hunt around the school grounds to collect leaves. Children studied the leaves with magnifying glasses,
and drew pictures of different leaves with a fine-point black ink pen. I chose one leaf drawing from each child, scanned it,
enlarged it on the computer, and printed them out on white art paper. I printed 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". The 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 made trees with paper towel rolls and construction paper.
Tree Paintings
[Art]
After we read the book, A Tree is Nice, and talked about different kinds of trees, we painted a picture of a tree. We used a long, narrow
piece of paper for our tree painting to resemble the tall shape of trees. (The pages of the book,
Leaf Sponge Art
[Art]
Children cut out a yellow leaf shape, taped it to a yellow piece of paper with double-sided tape, and sponge painted over the whole paper with
red paint. We pulled the red-painted leaf off to reveal a yellow leaf on a painted red background. We glued the red-painted leaf to yellow
paper. (Some children chose yellow paper with red paint, some chose orange paper with green paint.)
Play Dough Leaves
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children cut leaves out of green play dough with leaf-shaped cookie cutters. If leaf cookie cutters are not available, you can use real leaves
to press 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 punchers 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 contained pinecones and different types of tree nuts. The "tree cookies" and other pieces
of tree with bark were 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 Rubbing
[Science]
Children worked in pairs. One partner held a piece of paper against a tree while the other child made a tree bark rubbing with the side of a
crayon. Then the partners switched roles so that each child had a turn to make a rubbing.
Outdoor Classroom
[Science]
Spend some time outside near a group of trees. Ask children to notice the animal and insect life they see near the trees. Look for animals climbing the
tree or flying to it. Look for animal homes, such as holes in the tree or nests (tiny insect holes can often be seen on bark). Look for chewed leaves,
nuts, fruit, bark.
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 daubers. As an alternative, you can have children draw an "X" over the apple or leaf if stamps or bingo daubers 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 looked at the pictures in the book and talked about the art (the owls and the black night painted around them).
Children used oil pastels to draw a picture of the baby owls (white) and the mother owl (brown). Some children just drew the owls and some children
drew the owls sitting in the tree. They painted over the picture with black watercolor paint. This turns the picture into a nighttime picture.
Owl Listening Activity
[Literacy, Science]
Listening activities help children learn to listen for specific sounds. One child was chosen to be the owl, and turned away from the class. Children
took turns being the owl. One child in the group was handed a squeaky toy, and everyone held their hands behind their back. The "owl" turned around,
and tried 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 drew a picture to illustrate some aspect of the story. They dictated a "retelling" of the story for
the teachers to write on the page.
Letter Tumble
[Literacy]
We used white painted lima beans with letters written on them on one side. The other side was decorated with a Sharpie to resemble owls. Children shook
the beans in a cup and tossed onto
black felt (which represented the night sky). They matched the letters on the beans to letters on a mat. Children were 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
Alphabet Bingo
[Literacy]
We used bat rings to cover the letters on an alphabet bingo set.
Mystery Socks
[Math, Sensory]
Children worked in pairs. Each pair of children had one sock and 4 bat rings. One child put 0-4 bat rings into the sock (without the other child
seeing), and the other child slipped his hand in to count the bats without peeking. Children who had difficulty counting blindly could slip each
ring onto a fingertip.
Bear Activities
Bear Paintings
[Art]
We used several shades of multicultural paints and a special "paintbrush" (cotton ball clipped in a clothespin). The children dabbed the paint onto
their paper, making sure to make a body, arms, legs, head and ears. Later we added wiggly eyes, pompom nose, and yarn mouth.
Gummi Bear Sorting
[Math]
Children used a paper plate that is divided into six sections (I drew lines on the plate to make the sections). They sorted a bag of Gummi bear
candy by color, putting each color into one section.
Bear Sorting
[Math]
This is an activity we did on Teddy Bear Day. After we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we sorted 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 used 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 decorated a paper plate with a spiral drawn on it. They cut the spiral to make the snake and drew eyes on the snake's head.
Play Dough Snakes
[Fine Motor Skills, Math]
Children rolled the play dough to form snakes. They formed snakes of different lengths to learn the vocabulary: long and short.
Model Magic Snakes
After practicing with the play dough, children also made snakes with Model Magic and painted them.
Mouse Count
[Math, Literacy]
Each child had a jar of mice (beans painted and decorated to look like mice). We read the story, Mouse Count, and counted the mice into
the jar just as the snake does in the story.
Sound Vibrations
[Science]
We talked about the ways some animals (such as snakes) use vibrations of sound. We tied a spoon to the middle of a piece of string.
Children worked in pairs. One child wrapped each end of the string around index fingers and placed fingertips in ears. The partner banged
the spoon with another spoon. Each child got a turn to try it. Last, we tried the activity again without putting our fingers in our ears.
Edible Snakes
[Cooking]
We used an edible play dough recipe and formed it to make snakes. We added 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 used tongs to pick up each nut and sorted the four types of nuts into the four wooden bowls.
Thumbs
[Science]
Each child was given a peanut to shell and eat. We described how we got it open. Children were asked to think of a part of our hands that squirrels
do not have (thumbs). We then tried to shell a peanut without using thumbs (with our thumbs folded to our palms). We discussed how and why squirrels
eat differently than we do.
*We do not do this activity if any child has a peanut allergy.
Rabbit Activities
Zig Zags Movement
[Large Motor]
Rabbits run in zig zags when they are trying to get away from their enemies. In this activity, children run to a designated location in a zig zag pattern.
Zig Zag Drawing
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children can draw rabbit zig zags in the sand with a stick, or they can draw them on paper with finger paints or markers.
Listening to Volume
[Literacy, Science]
Children made rabbit ears on their head with their hands when they could hear the volume of the music turned up. They put their "rabbit ears"
down when they heard the volume go down.
More Activities
The Mitten
[Literacy]
Children assembled 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 was read to them. As a group, the children tried 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 made our own version. Children chose 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 went on a nature walk to find things, such as sticks, leaves, acorns, pebbles, birds, squirrels, etc. Children marked a checklist when they
found each item. The children were also given a small ziplock bag to collect items they found.
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
