CYH: Nature Study – Trees (with printables + book lists)

Jess

3 years ago

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Trees are probably my favorite nature study – you can study them in different seasons and see so many different aspects of trees! You can deep dive into leaves, seeds, how plants grow, and go so many different places. We love to study this in the fall, because the leaves are falling, but you can do it any time of year.

Here you’ll find some of of things we’ve done as a family to study trees, along with some of our favorite supplies and resources. You can put these together to do a full blown unit study, or you can just add an activity here and there during your day.

Books

**You can take the seed studies and go into pumpkins, apples, or any other plant/vegetable/flower!

Guide Books

Nature guide books are so important to have, especially ones that are relevant to your region. These are great to pull out when your kiddos find a tree that they can’t identify right away. Find a tree guide that is specific to your area! We have a Trees of Wisconsin book that’s super helpful for identifying local leaves/trees.

The Golden Guide books are my favorite nature guides.

Golden Guide: Trees
Golden Guide to Field Identification: Trees of North America

Nature Journal

Grab a sketchbook (or any kind of notebook) and take it outside to start observing the trees you see around your yard, in your neighborhood, or on a hike. You can also do nature journaling from a book if you can’t actually go out to see trees. Draw leaves and trees, label them, draw them in different seasons and compare how they look. What animals or insects are living in the trees? Draw those too!

Make sure you check out this post if you haven’t done any nature journaling with your kiddos and want some tips on how to incorporate it.

Field Trips

library – bring home books about trees/leaves and watch for any kids’ nights about trees/leaves (especially in the fall)
nature centers – look for classes specifically about leaves or trees
nature hikes – state parks, local parks, etc. — some state or national parks have visitors centers with activities or reference guides about what types of trees are in the park

Resources

Posters/Cards

Brighter Day Press – set of nature anatomy posters (includes anatomy of a seed and anatomy of a tree trunk)
Chickie and Roo has some great printable posters and nature guides – this one is on deciduous trees, but she has a lot more that could fit with a tree unit study

Videos

(always preview videos to make sure you feel comfortable with your kids watching)

Trees for Kids
PBS Science Trek – Trees
National Geographic Kids – Trees (this is a collection of videos on lots of different insects)

Comparisons

sort leaves by color, size, shape
compare two trees – what do they have in common or what’s different (write/draw about it)
use a Venn Diagram to compare trees, seeds, or leaves

Topics to study

parts of a tree
what we make from trees
the tallest/largest trees in the world
trees in different parts of the world
leaves – types of leaves, leaf shapes, why leaves change color
seeds – how seeds grow, types of seeds (plant seeds together!)

Art

Leaf or tree bark rubbings
Make your own paper
Make pinecone bird feeders
Paint pinecones and hang them as decorations in your home (or as Christmas ornaments!)
Read the book Leaf Man and use leaves you find to make your own leaf art (this is one of our favorite things to do!)

Math

graph the types of leaves you find
graph how many different leaf colors you find
count and word the different types of seeds you find outside
comparing seed sizes – sort according to size, color, etc.

Engage the Senses

Sensory Bins – If you have young kids, they might really enjoy a tree themed sensory bin – put acorns, seeds, pinecones, real or felt leaves into a sensory bin
Movement – act out the life cycle of a seed to tree: be a seed in the ground and then grow slowly into a seedling, grow up into a tall tree, stand tall like trees, be leaves blowing in the wind, fall to the ground slowly like leaves, lay flat on the ground like a leaf that has fallen

Observations

Use these printables to guide you as you observe trees, leaves, and seeds in your yard or at a nearby park or hiking trail:

Seeds-Leaves-and-Trees-from-Silo-and-Sage Download

Poetry

There are some great poems about trees, leaves, or seeds in these books:

Create your own poems about trees, seeds, and leaves. Try different types of poems – try writing them in the shape of a leaf!

You might also like:

Gardening with Kids

Creating Literature Based Unit Studies