Trees and Seasons go hand in hand

Make a 4 season tree book.
Summer Tree

Beginning at the bottom of the paper trace arm and hand with fingers close.  This is a challenging task for many early kindergarteners.  Color the hand as the tree top leaves and the arm as the trunk.  Color the green grass that grows around the tree.  (I feel a song coming on  "The green grass grew all around")  Use the vocabulary terms trunk and body parts wrist.
Save each season tree to put into a book in the spring.

Fall/Autumn Tree

For the Fall tree trace arm and hand with fingers spread for the larger branches.  Draw smaller branches and twigs (again using vocabulary terms, trunk, roots that you cannot see)  Show students how to tear a leaf by holding paper between thumb and finger on one hand and tear around. The part still held is the leaf.   I combine this with a counting to 10 informal assessment.  Glue some leaves on the branches and some 'falling.'    Technically most trees don't have the color variety of yellow, orange, brown and green leaves.  

 

For higher ability students they can write a complete sentence "I see a fall tree."

Winter Tree

Winter trees we discuss how the snow falls from the clouds in the sky down so snow sticks to the top of the branches. Too much snow will make the branches break.  Use a small paint brush (or Q-tip) to make snowflakes falling and on the tree.  Cover the ground with the white snow paint.  Some years there hasn't been a lot of snow for us so we still draw grass and paint a little snow over the grass. 

Spring Tree

Spring trees are just budding so we use our 'pinkie' and do little touch dots for the buds. 

Make a book

 Make a cover and staple all the saved tree pictures.  This is a conclusion to our seasons unit.  Little did the children realize, they have been learning about the seasons throughout the school year.

HAND-IN-HAND THEY GROW!