Skip to main content

Fine Arts and Science - Exploring Trees

Spring is in the air and with it comes budding and blossoming all around. Following spring break, we heard many stories from the children about how the trees around them were changing. In order to learn more about the topic, we brought nature to the classroom and the classroom to nature. Through tracing, art, circle time, observation of trees in our community and a field trip to the Nature Park, the children explored and learned lots. Here are some snapshots of the fun we had:

In the Classroom




The children completed this puzzle after talking
about the parts of a tree at circle time.


 They also enjoyed tracing leaves.


After tracing the leaves, the children noted the various parts.


 Caleb, inspired by the tree puzzle, drew his own tree!


 We brought cherry blossoms in for kids to look at during art.


 Madeleine presented us with her inspiring interpretation!


Exploring Trees in Our Community




On our walk around the neighborhood we saw many
 trees with no leaves...
...in one of which we discovered a nest!


 
 

 
We also encountered some budding cherry blossom trees and the children had a great time climbing one of them!

 
 

Nature Park Field Trip


At the Nature Park, the children got to learn about bees and other animals with a park guide. They were also able to ask questions and have a closer look at various animals.



 We learned about how bees use pollen to make nectar.
 
 
The kids pretended to be bees by collecting pollen with droppers. 


The children were brave enough to touch the garter snake


And were fascinated by the see-through busy beehive.


 




Outside, the kids were able to view turtles from afar and various leaves up close with a magnifying glass.

 
 

The children got to collect the bugs they found along the way.


 They ran down the trail looking for more animals.

Throughout the day the children enjoyed playing in the sun, listening to the constant chirping of the birds and taking in the fresh air. Our field trip was best summarized by Madeleine who said: “It seems like we are really in the forest! It’s so peaceful and beautiful…”
 

We are looking forward to more nature exploration between now and the end of the school year. To enhance the children’s learning about trees and what trees give us, we will be reading the book The Giving Tree next week in circle time. It is one of my all-time favorite classics and I look forward to sharing it with the class!






With warm spring greetings,
 
~Teacher Michelle


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mosaic Garden Stones

Today our children had an amazing opportunity to work with Glen Anderson, a local artist specializing in mosaics. You can see his work at http://www.mosaicplanet.net . I met Glen last year at Urban Weavers Studio in Strathcona. I asked him many, many questions about mosaics, all of which he patiently answered with expertise. I was gearing up for an art project in our preschool class so I really wanted to get any pointers I could from him. The plan was to have our students make mosaic tiles to place along our fence at the garden plot at Terra Nova Farm. They worked out very well, thanks to Glen's great advice and it was a beautiful moment when child and parent hung the stones at the farm on our last day of school. It was a moment of great pride for all of us. The garden that they cared for with their own hands- tended to its needs in sunshine and in rain. They will always remain part of that space, that land and their stone will remind them of this connection. Even though they turne...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Love for Cabbage

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volunteering at Richmond Food Bank

Today was our last day volunteering at the Richmond Food Bank. I am so grateful we had this opportunity– it has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. I, myself, have been very lucky to work in a community where I have seen dedicated volunteers working countless hours for people and projects they believe in. In my own community centre, the staff devote extra hours for many events, all to help strengthen our community. From these experiences grew a desire within me to try to share this with our children. How can we make them generous with their time and energy for the good of others? How can we teach them to be giving people– people that think of others? Are they too young for these concepts? In my need to answer these questions, I sought to find a volunteer opportunity for them. I thought about many different ideas but the food bank always came out ahead. I was lucky enough to come across an open-minded and risk-taking individual– let's face it, preschoolers gett...
Post a Comment
Read more