nature- conifers

On Friday morning Janice and Kirsten taught our community about conifers- trees with cones- through an engaging puppet show, read aloud, and hands on exploration. We learned about four different kinds of conifer trees in our woods and how to identify them;

Spruce - needles are stiff and sharp

Fir- soft needles spread individually on branches

Hemlock - drooping branches, needles on opposite sides, tiny cones

Pine- bundles of needles!

 

 

Using pine cones, sun butter, and seeds the children made bird feeders to bring home!

 

 

We later connected our learning to a new choice during academic choice; pine cone painting. Providing a cone still life, children practiced drawing the cone and adding color with crayons and liquid water colors.

 

For outdoor classroom, we brought our learning with us into the woods, walking the perimeter of Misty Meadows and identifying the different conifers we saw.