Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand the importance of forests and recognize some of the plants and animals that live in them.

Materials and Prep

Materials needed: paper, crayons or colored pencils, and access to a nearby forest or park with trees.

Before the lesson, review some basic information about forests and the types of plants and animals that can be found there.

Activities

1. Forest Scavenger Hunt: Take a walk in the forest or park and look for different types of leaves, flowers, and insects. Draw and color what you find on your paper.

2. Tree Rubbings: Find a tree with interesting bark patterns. Place a piece of paper over the bark and use a crayon to rub over it, revealing the texture of the bark on the paper.

3. Animal Charades: Act out the movements and sounds of animals that live in the forest, and see if your family members can guess which animals you are pretending to be.

Transitional-Kindergarten Grade Talking Points

• "Forests are special places with lots of trees, plants, and animals. They give us clean air to breathe and provide homes for many creatures."
• "When we go to the forest, we can look for different leaves, flowers, and insects. We can draw and color them to remember what we saw."
• "Trees have different patterns on their bark. We can use crayons and paper to make a rubbing and see the patterns."
• "We can pretend to be animals that live in the forest, like birds, squirrels, or rabbits. It's fun to act like them and guess what animals we are pretending to be."