In the Trees Enriching Play Ideas!

We’re ready to fall for fun! This October, our learning adventures are taking us In the Trees!

Our inquiry adventures are beginning with questions to our young students like,

• Where do you see trees?
• What kind of trees are there?
• What are the parts of a tree?

This conversation sends us shooting off in all directions, based on each class’s interests!

Our expert teachers scaffold this kind of learning in a variety of ways. Classroom Enrichments are a key element of our educational model. Enrichments are the age-appropriate items added to a child’s environment throughout the course of the month. The succession and addition of items is carefully planned to promote the most diverse learning experiences.

For instance, with In the Trees, a teacher may begin the month by inviting all of the students to bring in leaves from their yard.

• These leaves can be inspected with tools like magnifying glasses. Next, we could add sticks and try to imagine: which leaf could have grown on each stick? The next day, yarn could be added to wrap the sticks and tuck the leaves in as a process art exploration. Tissue paper and wax paper squares could be added to compare texture with leaves, and cut leaf shapes with scissors. On the last day of the week, the leaves could be traced or resists drawn and then a pestle or block could be used to crush the leaves and see what happens.

You can imagine with us how incredibly rich each of these learning moments could be… all starting with a leaf!