Adopt a Tree

Description

Deepen your child’s awareness and appreciation for trees with this lovely activity. Encourage your child (or the entire family/class) to “adopt” a tree in the neighborhood. Spend time observing and getting to know the tree over a period of several days. For a longer project, and to witness the changes taking place in the environment, observe the tree once every few weeks or once a season. Ask children questions like, Is the tree alive? How do you know? What does the tree look like? Smell like? Sound like? Feel like? Do you notice any animals in or near the tree? Do you see any changes taking place in the tree? How is this tree similar to or different from other trees in the neighborhood?

Have junior botanists draw, write, or dictate their scientific observations on our printables. Record observations using drawings, photographs or take samples from the tree (bark, leaves, or seed pods that have already fallen to the ground). Discuss ways to take care of the tree and create a special scrapbook showing how the adopted tree changes over time!