Arbor Day is a national holiday that encourages tree planting and tree care. First celebrated in Nebraska in 1872, National Arbor Day is now observed annually on the last Friday in April. It is an opportunity to learn about the ecological and economic importance of trees.
From things you probably already have around the house (such as construction paper and egg cartons) Enchanted Learning creates seven tree-related craft projects. The colorfully illustrated step-by-step instructions are great for preschoolers and lower elementary grades. Looking past Arbor Day, these crafts will also be fun around Thanksgiving (see the string of leaves) and Christmas (especially the paper evergreen tree, and the pop-up tree greeting card.)
Arbor Day Net tells the history of Arbor Day, from 1872 Nebraska to President Nixon's 1970 creation of National Arbor Day. Nebraska's first Arbor Day, proposed by state agriculture board member J. Sterling Morton, was an amazing success -- more than one million trees were planted. So when Nebraska made Arbor Day an official state holiday in 1885, they chose to honor Morton by celebrating it on his birthday , April 22nd. Arbor Day (or some variation) is celebrated in many countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, Korea and Israel.
"Trees don't just stand around. They do many jobs that are very important to animals, people, and the environment." This illustrated, eleven-page guide for K- 3 students was created by The Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Best clicks are the glossary (from "Arbor Day" to "zoologist") , and the teacher guide, which includes ideas for projects and activities. The site is also available in Spanish. To find it, click on "Other Classroom Materials" and follow the link to "Wild About Plants."
The kids section of the National Arbor Day Foundation site is my pick of the day site because it integrates fun with learning. It has a great selection of games (with corny names such as "Who wants to be a Treelionaire?" and "Treevial Pursuit"), educational articles ("Trees Make a Difference"), and community activity ideas ("Kids Make a Difference.") Clicks not to be missed include "What Tree is That?" (a feature by feature guide to tree identification) and the classroom activities you'll find by moving your mouse over the little red schoolhouse.
"Everyone has a story to tell. This is ours. It is a story of cycles ... life cycles, crop cycles, and environmental cycles. We invite you to join us as we journey behind the scenes to see just what tree farming is all about." The National Christmas Tree Association has lots of facts, figures, charts and even games designed to teach us all about (you guessed it) Christmas tree farming. There are separate sections for elementary and secondary students and teachers, covering grade-appropriate topics in science, geography, language arts and economics.
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or try a FREE trial of the Printables ClubThe following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
American ForestsIf Trees Could Talk | Talk About TreesTreetures |
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