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Dress up a Tree for a Season Craft - Arbor Day Preschool Lesson Plan Printable Activities

Print the tree trunk template in your choice of color or black & white format. Print directly to light blue paper for a nice blue sky background.

Paper Product Recycling Theme Method: Use scraps of green construction paper, wrapping paper, felt or tissue paper, any discarded paper products (junk mail). Discuss the importance of recycling and how we will be using recyclables to make a beautiful craft. Shaper scissors are great to achieve easy leaves with different edges. A combination of different types of paper or textiles is interesting and will provide different textures to explore.

Printing Templates Method - Reuse Paper Products: Whenever possible try to print templates behind the blank/clean side of junk mail or similar discarded paper. Show the children how the other side is printed and was used for spreading information, and we will now reuse it and print on the clean side to make the pieces for the craft. Explain that to reuse the paper is an important way to use less trees. Paper is a product that is derived from trees. Trees are important to because they help keep air clean, they help protect water resources, and are the homes and food source for many animals. Refer to the materials column to print leaves (small and large version) in color or black and white.

Alphabet Letter T Tree practice: Reinforce letter T letter recognition - T is for Tree and Trunk. Suggestion: Write letter T inside the Tree Trunk template with dots, children can help connect the dots, and decide on a title for the finished craft with the word tree and write somewhere on the craft.

Fingerprint fruits tree version: Another method is to fill the tree with green foliage with scraps of paper, then do fingerprints for a fruity tree: red apples, red cherries, oranges, purplish plums, etc.

Tree Bark Imprints: Take a piece of paper outside, or the black and white leaf template. Hold the paper against the trunk of a tree - discuss which type of tree it is. Take green or fall color crayons and the child rubs the crayons gently over the paper. This method will leave an imprint of the tree bark with interesting designs. Cut out leaves and decorate the trunk.

Depending on the age of child, adult may need to cut help cut out leaves.

For younger children - 2 to 3: * Place some drops of glue in different branches, the sky (if using light blue paper for background) and encourage child to add the leaves, grass and cotton balls for the puffy clouds.

For 3 - 6 year olds:
They can apply drops of glue or use a glue stick and put leaves and cotton on their own.

Add other elements to make a landscape:
Stickers are an easy and fun way to enhance the activity - birds, insects, flowers. Use green scraps to add grass. Cut out a yellow sun and cotton balls or sanitary tissue paper for puffy clouds.

Older children can draw an image of themselves in the scene or add photocopy of a family picture or their pet.

Discuss that the color green is one of the first signs of the Spring season. Talk about other things that happen in the Spring season: flowers bloom, plants grow, the trees grow back their leaves, many baby animals are born, etc. Do the same discussion for the other seasons.

Activity: Alphabet Activities > Letter is for Tree (and Tree Trunk) or Letter L is for Leaf (leaves)

Tr Blend - (Advanced K or 1st grade level): Optional - You may also focus on practicing the Tr blend consonant after children are acquainted and comfortable with beginning T sound - Have the children repeat these words with you - trunk, truck, tractor, trumpet, trampoline, triangle, travel

Visit related activities in the trees theme and the community helper: the forester.