Hands-On Activities to Explore the Many Uses of Trees
Learning about trees is a great introduction to many subject areas – from science to music to geography. Here are some outdoor lesson ideas for students in any grade.
The Branch Archive
Tree Product Images
Print out pages containing many examples of everyday products from trees!
Tree Art
Inspire children to express their appreciation of trees through PLT’s collection of 21 Tree Art Projects for Young Learners.
Gardening with Kids
Get children playing, learning, and growing plants through garden-based activities and lesson plans from KidsGardening.org.
Ideas from PLT’s Blog
Educator Olivia Griset, who lives in snowy Maine, offers tips and rationale for teaching outdoors in winter with preschoolers: Why Teach Outside in Winter? See also 10 Outdoor Winter Activities for Preschoolers for more ideas.
More Outside Winter Activities
Check out Tips, Tricks and Lesson Ideas for Winter Outdoor Learning for a bunch more suggestions for teaching outdoors in the deepest of winter.
Winter-Themed Videos
These videos of beloved children’s books about winter help bring the stories to life: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats features a boy who explores his neighborhood after the first snowfall. The Mitten by Jan Bretts is the retelling of a Ukrainian folktale about snow and animals.
Exploring Smell
Try these 6 Smelly (and Really Fun!) Activities for Kids to further explore the sense of smell.
Helping with Sense-itivities
Some kids are highly sensitive to tastes and smells. Check out these 7 Ways to Help Kids Who Are Sensitive to Taste and Smell.
Treemendous Science!, PLT’s New E-Unit for K-2, is Now Online
Whether you regularly use the outdoors as a classroom or tend to hesitate every time you take your class outside, this unit is an invitation to increase the quantity and quality of your K-2 learners’ contact with nature and trees.