Trees Read and Play

Written by Rebecca Reid

I'm glad to be a part of a great Halloweeen Read and Play blog hop today as well. The Halloween-ish book I chose to focus on is The Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I loved this book when I was a child, so I love that it has lived on in to my children's generation. Strawberry loves the "three bears" (as she calls them). For my toddler daughter's workbox this week, then, I decided to continue the fall-ish theme started with apples last week by playing with trees! Our Trees Read and Play activity includes all of these tree activities I mention below. However, my main tie-in to The Spooky Old Tree is a fun action game that Strawberry loved and did not want to stop playing! We practiced prepositions by acting them out. I wrote up 12 cards with actions (over, under, around, on) with a Great Sleeping Bear (as acted by myself and my son), actions (around, through, in, and on) with the "spooky old tree" (as represented by a folding chair), and actions (up, down, and on top of) with the "twisty old stairs" (as represented by our playroom's stairs). Strawberry had to answer "Yes! I dare!" for each "dare" and then she had to do it. She loved this game! She especially loved crawling over the sleeping bear, because somehow we always awoke and had to chase and tickle her. Surprisingly, climbing up and down the stairs was a delight as well! It's amazing how such a simple game is so much fun for a two-year-old child! We played our preposition fun game on Monday, but I  also included the cards I made in her workbox for when I am teaching my class at co-op. This would be an easy activity for you to recreate, even without the cards. Or, you can get a revised edition at my shop! I also put in these tree-related activities.
  1. Tree Scavenger Hunt (download this from my shop for free!) I also put in the toddler camera. It was about $10 5 years ago and it does not take very good pictures, but she loves playing with it.
  2. Felt Tree and Leaves. I made this myself, but I saw it all over Pinterest.
  3. Ripped Paper Tree Collage. Strawberry helped draw the brown lines that are the tree's branches and trunk.
  4. Roll and Say Fall ABC by Fantastic Fun and Learning.
  5. Fall Leaves and Shadows matching file folder game from totschooling.net.
  6. Where is the Leaf? preposition booklet from Pre-K Pages.com
  7. LEGO brick tree and LEGOs.
  8. Tree snack (pretzels and grapes). Idea from Fantastic Fun and Learning (not pictured)
  9. Apple trees and puffs (not pictured: these are the freebie I shared last week)
This post is part of an AWESOME Halloween Read and Play Blog Hop.  Make sure to check out the other book based activities from fantastic bloggers!
Pleasantest Thing- Goodnight Goon- Halloween Slime  | LalyMom- Five Little Pumpkins- Clothespin Activity | The Jenny Evolution- Go Away Big Green Monster- Paper Monster | Hand Made Kids Art-  The Legend of Spooky the Square Pumpkin- Square Pumpkin Art | The Inspired Treehouse- The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything | Lovely Commotion- Pumpkin Pumpkin- Pumpkin Life Cycle | Bambini Travel- Broom, Zoom- Night Sky Activity | Chicken Babies- Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance- Monster Dancing and Eyeball Games | Preschool Powol Packets- Room on the Broom- Croaking Frog Craft | Adventures of Adam- Winnie the Witch- Multicolored Cat Project | Cutting Tiny Bites- Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat- Sound Effects Box  | Cutting Tiny Bites- Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat- Halloween Shadow Garland | Betsy's Photography- Popcorn- Making Popcorn Bars | All Done Monkey- Runaway Pumpkin- Rolling Pumpkin Experiment | Kitchen Counter Chronicles- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown- Great Pumpkin Bowling Game  | Mama Smiles- Where is Baby's Pumpkin?- Felt Board Activity | Craft Ideas for Kids- Spider Sandwiches- Halloween Sensory Play: Monster Pizza Parlour | Teach Beside Me- Inside a House That is Haunted- Haunted House Craft  | One Time Through- Magic School Bus: Haunted Museum- Spooky Sound Experiments | Bare Feet on the Dashboard- Curious George Goes to a Costume Party- Costumes and Pretend Play | Where Imagination Grows- 5 Little Ghosts- Ghost Collages | Fireflies and Mud Pies- Scary Scary Halloween- Halloween Necklace Craft | Artsy Momma- Pippa the Pumpkin Fairy- Pumpkin Wand and Pumpkin Crafts | Royal Baloo- AlphaOops- Halloween Letter Puppets | Rubberboots and Elf Shoes- Skeleton Hiccups- Paper Chain Skeleton | P is for Preschooler- Clifford's Halloween- Cotton Ball Ghost Craft | Little Bins For Little Hands- ABCs of Halloween- Sensory Bin | Mama Miss- Sheep Trick-or-Treat- Sheep Craft, Activity, and Snack | Pink Stripey Socks- Scaredy-Cay Splat the Cat- Spider Costume | Fun-A-Day!- Big Pumpkin- Sequencing Activity | Line Upon Line Learning- The Spooky Old Tree- Prepositions Game | Kitchen Floor Crafts- Pumpkin Eye- Halloween Sticky Collage | Coffee Cups and Cratons- Spookley the Square Pumpkin- Glitter Pumpkin Sun Catchers | Wise Owl Factory- Bunnicula and others- Halloween Book Fun Learning Round Up | Planet Smarty Pants- The Picky Little Witch- Halloween Cupcakes | Study at Home Mama- 10 Halloween Books and 50 Activities
Don't forget to check out the Halloween Read and Play Pinterest Board which features ALL these great activities!
 

Related Articles:

Personalized Angel Kids Craft

For my preschooler, this angel kids craft was a nice alternative to snow play. The craft can also be converted into an angel Christmas ornament. The angel uses an outline of the child’s hands and one foot to form the wings and body, and a personal photo of the child’s face makes it personal. My daughter has a

Read More

Vehicle Town Busy Bag

Making our own little town to drive around, something compact to easily fold away, is a perfect companion for one of our favorite books, Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. There is so much to enjoy on every page of that book. My oldest child’s first imaginary friend was “Goldbug,” the little creature who hides

Read More

Top Gifts for Imagination Play

My children have amazing imaginations. My older kids still love to join my youngest in imagination play. As I consider our toys and accessories, I appreciate the fact that many of them are ones that encourage them to further develop their imagination. Here are some of the best toys for imaginative play. What gift ideas

Read More

Keeping My Redheads Safe in the Sun

Everyone in my family (husband, myself, and all three kids) has red hair, with skin sensitive to the sun. This is a difficulty, given the fact that my kids love sunshine and running around outside for hours! Nevertheless, when we go on excursions, we have to plan ahead to make sure that none of us get

Read More

Sign up to get Hands-On Learning Ideas in your inbox!