National Tree Week started in 1975 and is a wonderful opportunity to bring schools and communities together. Run by the Tree Council, the week commemorates the importance of nature and why we should encourage environmentally friendliness!
At Playforce we’re always enthusing about nature and stressing the importance of outdoor play in schools. It’s important for developing confidence, along with physical, numeracy and literacy skills. That’s why we’ve hunted around for ways to incorporate National Tree Week into the classroom (and playground!). Here are our favourite learning resources for National Tree Week:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The RSPB is a fantastic organisation that aims to provide “bigger, better, more joined up spaces for nature.” National Tree Week is a perfect fit with the RSPB’s mission - so the society has come up with some fantastic learning resources. It suggests a Tree Planting Challenge where schools and communities come together to volunteer their services to plant trees in public spaces! If you’re looking for another hands-on approach to National Tree Week then the RSPB suggests encouraging the children to create art from leaves and twigs found on forest floors, making for some glorious natural masterpieces!
Guardian Teacher Network
As a goldmine of resources for National Tree Week, the Guardian Teacher Network encourages children from Early Years to KS2 to get involved. National Tree Week treats include an interactive map showing events near your school, a twig identification sheet and a leaf hunt sheet. Other ideas include drawing or painting pictures of different tree types, making notes about various tree species, tree-themed crosswords/word searches and creating “ice art.” The latter encourages children to use pine cones, leaf skeletons and more to produce amazing collages. If you want to access the resources then its advisable to sign up to the Guardian Teacher Network to get access to thousands of learning materials!
Collins KS1 Resources
Not only is Collins a renowned children’s publisher, it offers some great learning resources too! Early Years all the way up to year 6 will appreciate the Plant a Tree for Life activity. It’s a great way to learn about the lifecycle of a tree, giving them a chance to answer questions such as “how long will it take for a tree to be taller than me?” Other activities include teaching children about seasonal trees - deciduous and evergreen. Focusing on physical geography can be incredibly fun with outdoor play and learning - so National Tree Week is certainly the time to start!
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