Trees
Hi there! If I am
able to schedule my posts to actually post as I hope and plan, you will read
this while I’m surrounded by Trees at my school’s Outdoor School program for 5th
graders. I think I will be getting ready to Teach a class we call Tree Time.
This class is a great class to help kids understand Trees and what’s going on
around them, hopefully helping them gain an appreciation for the world in which
they live. The fact that it is a very simple class to Teach is a major bonus.
One year, the kit for the class got left behind on accident, and I was put in a
position to Sink or Swim.
So, I made stuff up to entertain the group I was with (until
someone could bring up the kit), and – since I knew some stuff about Trees, thank
goodness – ended up giving them the info that was in the kit to a pretty good
extent. Though the Tree Time kit has Tree cookies in it, which are always cool
for the kids.
Step one: Take a Tree cookie – this is a slice of a Tree
branch or trunk that shows a complete circle and allows the Tree’s rings to be
counted and observed. I dare students to count the rings on their Tree cookie.
The outer ones are pretty easy, and watching them go cross-eyed as they try to
keep track of the inner rings adds extra entertainment for me. We talk about what they notice and how each
one is just a little bit different because they come from different Trees. We
have a piece of a Tree where a branch attaches to the trunk, so students are
able to see what that looks like (pretty cool, I must say), and compare that to
their Tree cookie.
Step two: we Take a walk. The camp where we have our Outdoor
School program is surrounded by Trees, and has definite paths, so it’s a safe
and easy walk to take 5th graders on and not worry about losing
them. We always pass two Trees that have been a buffet for woodpeckers, and I
love hearing what the students think caused those holes. My favorite over the
years had something to do with an alien treasure box being accidentally transformed into a Tree, and the
very tiny aliens were coming at night to try to dig another hole in the trunk
to find their treasure. This took all ten of us – counselors, kids, and me, to
come up with – we obviously rocked it!
Step three: well, step Two and whatever throughout the
lesson. A couple years ago, my best friend/brother-from-another-mother came to
volunteer as a counselor. He had a great group, and we decided on the spot that
whenever we called out a time (12:47!),
they had stop everything (movement and noise), and point to a Tree. Our reasoning
was that the class is called Tree Time. It worked, and has continued since
then. Yes, we are dorks. Yes, we own it. J
Step four: return group to starting place, and wait for new
group. See? Not a hard class to teach. I only will do it Twice, I think, since
I’m covering for someone who can’t make it up until afternoon one day, but I
plan to have fun with it. My favorite
part is seeing what the 5th graders – who think they will die
without their phones and gaming systems for three days – notice and how excited
they get over a Tree and it’s life story.
1:36! (Did you point? J)
Go have some Tree Time for yourself! Enjoy your
surroundings. Take deep and cleansing breaths. And Relax!
Enjoy!
J
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