Nursery World - EYFS Activities: We've explored… a special tree

Finding an oak tree on a visit to a local country park acted as a catalyst for a year-long creative journey. By Annette Rawstrone

At Mill Hill Nursery in Waterlooville, Hampshire, a small group of children were taking part in a term-long art project with the Inspiration Federation. But their affection for the big oak tree they saw on visits to Staunton Country Park deepened as they watched it change through the seasons. ‘It became more about the tree and their relationships with the tree,’ explains pedagogical lead Carlie Powell, whose setting is part of the Growing Places group.

‘We didn't know where their explorations were going and that's the most important part for us – that it's open-ended and we follow the children's interests and fascinations.’

Educator Sheila Butland explains how the children grew to feel a lot of concern for the tree, especially when they returned in autumn to find its leaves had dropped off and after it was damaged in a storm. ‘It was important to the children that the tree had feelings, so they had great concern for the tree and the creatures living on it,’ she says. ‘This one tree had so much to offer.’

The children gathered to talk about the tree every week. They excitedly ran to the tree when they visited it, and when they didn't go, they looked at photographs, had linked activities in the nursery's wooded area or explored the tree's leaves and bark in greater detail.

‘The Special Tree project enabled our children to stop and notice the world around them,’ reflects Carlie. ‘They were able to develop a sense of respect and appreciation towards nature, and to be mindful of the subtle changes of the seasons.’

THE COMPANY’S ETHOS

‘For us at Growing Places, we say that we create the future by inspiring the moment,’ says Carlie. ‘We believe our children are sociable, articulate, responsible and caring and that they grow with tolerance and understanding and with respect for each other and their community.’

She adds that outdoor learning is a ‘huge facet’ of children's experience at Growing Places and the special tree explorations are a good example of how they encourage children to engage with nature and link it to other areas of the curriculum.

SUMMER

Tree visit When the children first encountered the oak tree in late summer, they were initially interested by its sheer size. They looked up at its branches and discussed how big it was compared to them.

Children studied the leaves in detail and felt the tree's rough bark. ‘The special tree is old because it has lots of branches and hundreds of leaves,’ said Lillianna, while Darcy noted, ‘The bark looks like a maze.’

They spotted a hole in one of the thick branches and were intrigued to discover that it was made by a woodpecker. Sheila asked the children what else may live in the tree. ‘Squirrels use their claws to climb the special tree,’ said Darcy. ‘I think bugs live in the tree,’ suggested James. The children went on a bug hunt to see what they could find.

In the studio Children took rubbings from the leaves they collected and made screen print impressions of the leaves to preserve the beauty and detail.

‘Insects that live in the special tree also became a big part of the children's dialogue and they decided to make bugs out of clay,’ says Sheila. ‘We visited a local area so the children could freely collect natural materials to use in their creations.’

AUTUMN

Tree visit Children noticed that the special tree's leaves were changing colour to yellow and orange and that some had fallen off. They spent time playing in the fallen leaves, throwing them in the air and running through them. ‘The leaves were crunchy when we walked in them,’ noted Phoebe.

They examined the bark again. ‘There is moss growing on the tree trunk… it feels really bumpy,’ said Lillianna. ‘The lines of the bark go up like they are stretching.’ They used clay to make impressions of the bark. ‘This preserved the texture and gave our children a physical reference of their special tree,’ explains Sheila.

Simon Whitcomb, a local artist, helped the children to make a squirrel out of leaves and sticks. ‘Not long after we finished creating our large squirrel, we spotted a real one nearby,’ recalls Sheila. ‘He looked very busy burying nuts.’

In the studio Children created their own bark interpretations using wax crayons. Ethan used the side of the wax crayon to run over his tree, which produced an uneven texture reminiscent of tree bark. They visited a local woodland area to see the different colours of leaves and then used wax crayons, which they could blend using their fingers to reproduce the colours and leaf shapes. Phoebe noticed that some of the leaves had brown spots on which she included in her picture.

WINTER

Tree visit ‘Look! The tree!’ exclaimed Katelyn when they returned to find all the leaves had fallen off the oak. ‘Someone chopped the leaves off! They’re naughty, it's our tree… wait, it has a little bit of leaves,’ said Alex.

In the studio ‘The leaves have all fallen off because it's cold,’ commented Darcy when they discussed how trees lose their leaves. Sheila showed the children an oak leaf branch with buds and a time-lapse video of oak leaves growing, and they talked about how the tree will regrow leaves in spring.

Children decided to paint pictures of their special tree. ‘I'm doing lots of branches, I'm making buds,’ said Phoebe. ‘I'm doing the leaves, it's spring,’ said Darcy – demonstrating their developing knowledge.

During Storm Eunice, the special tree was damaged and a big branch broke off. A staff member took photographs to show to the children. ‘It makes me feel sad, the wind was too strong,’ commented Nina.

Sheila asked the children if they remembered which creatures lived in the tree and they recalled a squirrel and woodpecker, which led to them wondering what had happened to them. ‘Woodpecker worked really hard to get the hole. The bugs in the tree might get squashed too!’ exclaimed Darcy.

SPRING

Tree visit ‘The buds grew into leaves!’ said Phoebe. They looked up at the broken branch and were happy to see the woodpecker's hole was still there and spotted two little birds coming and going from a nearby crack. Sheila said, ‘Look, birds are nesting in the tree.’ They noticed lots of bugs living in the fallen branch too.

They sat in the shade of the tree and continued to watch the birds. Sheila discussed how the fallen branch caused a new crack to appear which blue tits were now nesting in.

In the studio Children explored leaves and bark under a microscope. Sheila noticed brown spots on the leaf and asked the children how they might have got there. ‘I think something made it, a woodlouse stepped on it!’ said Ashlyn.

They were inspired to paint their tree with leaves on. ‘I hope the tree will be there forever,’ said Katelyn.

Book corner

Tree: Seasons Come, Seasons Go by Britta Teckentrup and Patricia Hegarty

A peek-through book with rhyming text taking readers on the lifecycle of a tree.

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater

Squirrel is so cross. Yesterday there were loads of beautiful leaves on his tree, but today some are missing. Join Squirrel on a mission to find the culprit.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Ride the wind and drift east with Leaf Man. Follow his journey depicted by illustrations crafted out of actual fallen leaves.

The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons in One Day by Jessica Courtney-Tickle

Isabelle carries a little apple tree with her, and we see it bud, blossom and lose its leaves as each season changes and the picture reveals a sound clip from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

After the Storm by Nick Butterworth