I feel like fall is the perfect time to learn about tress because they’re doing some really dramatic things this time of year (and going on a leaf hunt is always a good idea once the weather starts to cool down a little bit). But you can do different tree learning activities throughout the year regardless of the season. Let’s take a look at some great tree unit study ideas.
You can start out by learning the parts of the tree with this printable from NurtureStore. Use the drawing of a tree to label the parts, then look at a real tree and see what parts you can identify or gather for a nature table in the classroom.
Homeschool Helper Online has free printable journaling pages with trees through the year so kids can color in the leaves a little buds in spring, full green leaves in summer and changing colors in the fall. There are both deciduous and evergreen trees included so you can talk about the differences (free download with email signup).
Homeschool Share has a great printable unit study and lapbook about trees and the animals that live in them. This one is also free with email signup and includes tree trivia, vocabulary, the life cycle of an oak, parts of a trunk and much more.
Another great free download comes from Homeschool Giveaways, which has a leaf and tree unit study. This one gets into things like seeds and how they are dispersed, parts of a plant, photosynthesis, parts of a leaf, flower and fruit, layers of soil, places where different plants live and more. So it’s not specifically about trees entirely but still a great resource for talking about plants of all kinds. They also have a leaf vocabulary workbook if you really want to get into it.
Superstar Worksheets has some nice leaf printable worksheets including parts of a leaf and leaf coloring pages. And Happy Homeschool Adventures has ideas for a Montessori inspired tree unit study, as well as printable leaf three-part cards.
If you’re able to pay for resources, I like this tree unit study from Early Childhood Adventures at Teachers Pay Teachers, and this lovely unit study on deciduous trees from Fun Mom Printables on Etsy. There’s also this great Charlotte Mason inspired printables set from RikiTikiArt.
And of course you’ll want to identify the trees where you live, and maybe even find your state tree if you live in the United States. And check out more leaf learning activities, as well as activities around leaves that don’t use real leaves. And don’t forget some leaf crafts, too!
