Trees are Terrific!

Trees were the storytime theme this week!

I began by asking the children what a tree has. They said leaves, so I asked what color and they said green.  I drew some green leaves on a dry erase board. I asked what else and a couple of children said branches and I drew those. I waited while they looked at what I had drawn. They realized something was missing but did not have the vocabulary to say trunk so they described what it was with words like big and brown. I drew the trunk and we talked about the word trunk.

(As we read the other books and the children noticed trees had different leaf colors, roots, flowers, apples and coconuts, I drew those on the board as well.)

I read a few pages of the nonfiction book It Could Still be a Tree which starts with the question: how do you know it’s a tree? The children enjoyed sharing the facts they knew and were interested in the ones they didn’t.

Acorn to Oak Tree by Lisa M. Herrington is another nonfiction book suitable for preschoolers. Easy to read and illustrated with photos, this nonfiction book tell the story of an oak tree and how it begins and ends with acorns.

Tap the Magic Tree, written and illustrated by Christie Matheson begins with a bare brown tree.  The readers are invited to tap the tree and turn the page to find that one green leaf has sprouted! The preschoolers really enjoyed patting, clapping, wiggling and shaking to see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves blow away with the wind.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr was another fun book.  The children were excited to place the magnetic letters on the board.

Other books we read: Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid.

The Tree: A Fable by Neal Layton.

A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry.