Trees...they're all bark and no bite!

As part of our tree study we have been looking at and learning the different parts of a tree. For example, trunk, branch, twig, leaf, roots, flowers, seeds, and bark. Kids have been introduced to some new vocabulary like boll (the part of the tree trunk from the ground to the first branch) and canopy (the crown of leaves that surround the upper part of the trees). 

We took a picture of each child in a "tree pose" of their choosing and used that shape as the base of a piece of tree artwork. Kids first used pencil to draw the shape of a tree embedding their own bodies within the tree (feet=roots, body=trunk, arms=branches). From there, students used crayons to outline their tree features as well as create some bark texture. Some kids even included some creature features like a hole or a nest. After the crayon outline, we added color with watercolor creating a crayon wax-resist effect. Finally, our photos were positioned back into our trees and the beautiful finished artworks you see below! 

Have your child to tell you about their tree. All students were asked to use a deciduous tree (one that loses its leaves each fall) as the model for their tree. The trees chosen included oaks, maples, birches, beeches, or ash trees. Ask them to tell you about the parts of their tree.