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Trees Craft - Learn Shapes Preschool Lesson Plan Printable Activities

These activity is to practice shapes and to learn about trees.

Below are external resources to learn about trees and their importance.

Activity 1: Learning about trees and the importance of trees. Online Activities

Trees are Terrific... Travels with Pierre site from the University of Illinois extension.
It is a rather long presentation for young children under five years old. Suggestion: Bookmark specific pages and discuss portions of it in different activities.
For example: Below there a links to pages in this presentation that deal with specific topics, such as the shapes of trees before the craft presentation.

Here are some tree facts to share with children -- most of these facts are beautifully presented in the web site above. Some specific pages are linked below:

1. Trees are not only among the largest living things on Earth, but also can live the longest.
2. Parts of a tree (separate activity - use this coloring page to label and reinforce the basic parts of the tree)
3. A trunk is really just a hard, woody stem.
4. Under the protective bark, water and food travel up through the outer layer of wood, called sapwood, to the tree's crown of the branches and leaves.
5. Fine roots take in the water, but trees have big, strong roots as well. These will help anchor the tree very firmly in the ground.
6. Trees grow a new ring of wood every year. If there is lots of sunshine and rainfall, that year's ring is wide.
7. A forester is a person who works in and looks after a forest. Visit the Community Helper: The Forester theme for a separate activity to learn the responsibilities of the forester.
8. Foresters count the rings of felled threes to see how old they are.

Environmental education > The Importance of Trees:
There are many reasons why trees are important, here are just a few:

1. Trees are a important source of food. They grow many of the fruits we eat. Can you name some?
2. Trees prevent soil erosion, that is to protect the upper layer of the soil from drifting away by wind and water.
3. Trees are the homes of many animals and help provide the shelter and food for them and many plants. Can you name some animals that live and need trees? Visit forest animals for additional activities.
4. Trees produce oxygen something that we need in the air to breath, so trees help keep the air nice and clean! A tree gives shade in the summer and keeps us cool.
5. We also need some trees to build structures, homes and many products that we need like very important medicines.
6. We need to replant them and take care of them.
7. They help store water that we may need during a drought.

Activity 2: Online visit to observe trees

Come and visit some trees online: evergreens and deciduous. in this link the children can see several pictures depicting different types of trees and other related information.

Activity 3: Easy Shapes Trees Craft

Before starting the craft visit and have fun with these online activities to identify the shapes of trees:

1. Print your choice of templates in color or black and white in the materials column.
2. One of the trees is shaped like a pine - evergreen (triangles) and the other one as a fruit tree such as an apple, orange or plum tree (oval).
3. If you print the black and white version there are a number of ways this can be decorated:
• Color the template with crayons or paints first. Wait to dry and cut the templates
• Fill the tree with scraps of green paper or tissue paper for leaves and then cut the template.
• Choose the type of fruit color: orange, red for the apples, or purple for plums.
4. Once the pieces are decorated, glue to another piece of paper or blue construction paper. Decorate with clouds (cotton balls or a piece of soft "Kleenex"), bird or forest animal stickers, grass, to create a scene.

Activity 4: Alphabet Letter T is for Tree lesson plan printable activities

Activity 5: Arbor Day and Trees coloring pages
Decorate the trees with a variety of materials, real dry leaves, use fresh leaves as stampers, cut-up paper, tissue paper, add stickers of fruit an animals that depend on the health of trees.

*scissors
* paper or construction paper
* coloring tools
* glue or glue stick
* choice of green paper, tissue paper