Tu B'Shevat Theme: Early Literacy, Water-play Fun & a Field Trip!

We have been keeping busy around here with our tree-themed Tu B'Shevat fun. My son, although definitely in the category of pre-readers, is quite excited by having little booklets of his very own. Whether it's one he can color and help to create or one that he can read with me, I find great value in the plethora of free printable early literacy resources available online. This time of year, many trees in our area are bare and in their winter state. My son really pointed this out when during a discussion earlier this week about parts of a tree, I asked "do trees have leaves?" He replied, "No!" I was stumped (pun intended) at first--but then I realized that many of the trees do NOT have leaves right now! We made such a big deal about the leaves falling off during our Autumn learning that it is no surprise he would say that trees do not have leaves. Pine trees and other evergreens are great trees for observing year round in nature. My son loves to collect pine cones and fallen branches with bunches of pine needles still attached. I printed out this great emergent reader and sequencing set about The Life Cycle of a Pine Tree via teacherspayteachers.com. We had a lovely collection of natural props at home to accompany the lesson. He loved pointing to and naming objects in the photographs as we read. He enjoyed working through the four sequence cards together with me and somehow had the idea to involve a few of his favorite toy cars and trucks in the activity! 

You can also use the sequencing cards for a game of "What's Missing?" Simply place the four cards in order and give your child(ren) an opportunity to observe and commit them to memory. As the child closes his/her eyes, remove one card. They can then open their eyes and try to answer the question "What's Missing?" To make the game more advanced, you can hide 2 cards or jumble up the order.
Alternatively, you can play a Tu B'Shevat themed version of "What's Missing?" with actual objects from nature! This is a great activity to do at home or at the park together.

We have been getting a great deal of use and benefit from our collection of natural items and parts of a tree. In addition to using them for observation and even building, we had a lot of fun using some of our sticks, twigs, bark and pine cones for sensory play this week. I simply filled a shallow plastic bin with a small amount of water, added the aforementioned natural materials and a couple of cups for scooping and pouring. My son asked to add some additional kitchen set materials from his dramatic play area and involved himself for quite a while mixing up "tree food" and "tree smoothies." He loved this simple waterplay activity so much, he requested to do it again and I was glad to oblige (especially since, when set up in the kitchen, it meant I could simultaneously get dishes washed and dinner on the stove).

He loved using the sticks to mix up his magical potions and recipes!

I try to include at least one or two out-of-the-house activities into our week. We belong to a great mommy-and-me playgroup and have fabulous library story times. In addition, we are fortunate to have memberships at a few amazing local museums and attractions. Field trips often involve visiting one of these destinations and one should never underestimate the educational value (and potential enjoyment) of even accompanying a parent on errands. Some of our favorite ever field trips have not been to famous attractions or destinations that have admissions costs. In fact, some of my son's favorite places to visit are the pet store, the park, the playground and, um, Walmart (don't ask!). On Friday, I made plans to take him to a nearby nursery and garden center. While the nursery seems like an unlikely destination on a dreary and cold February morning, for us it was a huge hit! And what better way to wipe away a case of the winter doldrums than to be surrounded by the pleasant smell of fresh cut flowers and the eager squeals of a delighted toddler in his version of Paradise? Yes, our local nursery had everything a boy could ask for--chickens, rocks, dirt, greenery and tractors!

The chickens were all in hiding, but look, we found an egg outside the coup!

"Mommy, a big digger!"

We left two very satisfied customers--my son, with his very own little houseplant to take care of and nurture, and me with a lovely bouquet of fresh cut flowers for our Shabbat table. And our whole family has big plans to return closer to Spring as we get ready to begin our own family garden again. We will be working on some indoor planting for the meantime in the week to come. My son is most eager to come back when all the worms are out!

Happy Playing!