All Kinds of Trees. Children are curious about trees because they are so big. You can be scientists as you collect some information about a tree. You can measure a tree by stretching your arms around you reach all the Feel the bark of the it. “Can way around?” tree and use words like smooth, soft, rough, bumpy, and hard. Look at the leaves of the tree. Notice the veins. Ask your child to describe the shape. Compare the shape leaf’s to like your hand with Compare the bark and something familiar. “It looks fingers.” leaves from different trees. First-Grader/Reader-Writer Ball Games. Children need practice playing team games. Sometimes you have to be flexible about the rules. Try an easy game of baseball with your child and some friends. Use a big plastic ball and a big plastic bat. Make sure that each child has a turn to hit the ball and run around the bases. Introduce words like teamwork and sportsmanship. If your child has experience with team sports use specific vocabulary like score, base hit, and homerun. Balancing Act. As children get more practice controlling their bodies, they can balance more easily. They also begin to understand the idea of balance in a scientific way. Encourage your child to notice and think about balance in many situations. can we “How move the children on the see-saw so they If your child has other will balance?” experiences with balance make a when we weighed the connection. “Remember tangerines at the market on a balance scale?” Who Lives in a Tree? The park is a good place to learn about how plants and animals help each other. Look with your child for evidence that animals live in the trees at the park. Maybe animals use the trees for food or shade. Look for birds flying near the trees. See if you can find any nests. Look for animals like squirrels or chipmunks. “Why do you think they like the your child that it will be fun to learn more about trees?” Tell trees. can look for a book about trees at the library or the “We bookstore.”
All Kinds of Trees. Children are curious about trees because they are so big. You can be scientists as you collect some information about a tree. You can measure a tree by stretching your arms around it. “Can you reach all the way around?” Feel the bark of the tree and use words like smooth, soft, rough, bumpy, and hard. Look at the leaves of the tree. Notice the veins. Ask your child to describe the leaf’s shape. Compare the shape to something familiar. “It looks like your hand with fingers.” Compare the bark and leaves from different trees. First-Grader/Reader-Writer Ball Games. Children need practice playing team games. Sometimes you have to be flexible about the rules. Try an easy game of baseball with your child and some friends. Use a big plastic ball and a big plastic bat. Make sure that each child has a turn to hit the ball and run around the bases. Introduce words like teamwork and sportsmanship. If your child has experience with team sports use specific vocabulary like score, base hit, and homerun. Balancing Act. As children get more practice controlling their bodies, they can balance more easily. They also begin to understand the idea of balance in a scientific way. Encourage your child to notice and think about balance in many situations. “How can we move the children on the see-saw so they will balance?” If your child has other experiences with balance make a connection. “Remember when we weighed the tangerines at the market on a balance scale?” Who Lives in a Tree? The park is a good place to learn about how plants and animals help each other. Look with your child for evidence that animals live in the trees at the park. Maybe animals use the trees for food or shade. Look for birds flying near the trees. See if you can find any nests. Look for animals like squirrels or chipmunks. “Why do you think they like the trees?” Tell your child that it will be fun to learn more about trees. “We can look for a book about trees at the library or the bookstore.”