Getting to Know a Tree

Where did you find this tree? What is nearby?

Where can you see it? From your street? A window in your house?
A park? On your way to school? Do you ride by it on your way somewhere?

What does it look like? Does it have leaves on it? How are they shaped? What color are they? What does its bark look like? What are the patterns and colors? Can you see the tree’s roots? Can you see anything resting in its branches?

DESCRIBE IT…
DRAW IT…
MAKE A RUBBING FROM ONE OF ITS LEAVES…
DO SOMETHING NICE FOR IT…
(Leave a gift. Take away some litter. Give it water. Help it get rid of its dead leaves.)

Does the tree make shade with its shadow? Can you see the sky through its branches? Can you wrap your arms around its trunk and touch your hands together on the other side? Can you make it move?

Does your tree make a sound in the wind?
Do its leaves rattle or hiss? Do they sough? (This is a special word to describe the sound of a tree a tree makes in the wind).

Does anything about this tree change from day to day?
Do you notice anyone else looking at this tree? Do you think anyone is taking care of it? Is it losing its leaves? Is anything growing?

Draw your tree each day for a week. Write about it each day (a story, a poem, a song, or just describe what you see). If you can, read a book underneath it. Or stare up at the sky through its branches. After a week, once you think you know it a little bit, give it a name (and tell it
yours!)