Tu B’Shevat

 “The New Year of Trees”

One holiday we are looking toward is Tu B’Shevat. We have been talking about how important they are. The children have learned trees and plants help us breathe and that they should be treated respectfully. We have been admiring the plants around us and celebrating their differences. We have also been learning about some of the critters that help plants grow (Worm blog coming soon!)

Tree Jewelry

A few weeks ago we were playing outside and a friend remarked that our fig tree looked a little sad, as she had recently lost all her leaves. We decided that we should make jewelry and decorations for her.

Friends threaded beads, keys, metal loose parts, and ribbons on wire.

With a Morah’s help, friends hung the creations on the tree’s branches.

We even had a discussion that we should hang our decorations higher up to keep our younger friends safe.

Neighborhood Walk

Later that same week, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was a rainy day and friends were itching to stretch their legs.

We walked in pairs of two and asked friends to point out trees and plants that excited them.

Morahs took photos of all the plants that friends liked.

A giant mushroom!

A palm tree!

We even saw a worm on the sidewalk!

We saw a tree decorated with many colorful glass balls,

some trees that were starting to get tiny pink flowers,

and we also saw some stumps of trees that had been cut down, and some very tall trees.

Tree/Plant Drawings

In class, Morah Jessica worked one on one, or with groups of two, drawing and labeling the pictures from our walk.

They used colored pencils and pens to sketch out their representations of the photo.

Some fun guests made a surprise appearance (a vampire and Hudson’s dad).

We hung up the drawings side-by-side on our Tu B’Shevat documentation board for all to see.

Nature Sculptures

Our next effort was individual sculptures made from natural materials.

We used pine cones, palm fronds, sticks, leaves, dried flowers, and wire.

Friends used wire to attach different objects together.

Each sculpture was different, and they seemed to feel so proud of themselves for accomplishing their visions, turning a bunch of small objects into one larger piece of art.

In honor of Tu B'Shevat, Morah Lindsey has started making paper mache' plant sculptures with the children.

Paper Mache' Plant Blog coming soon!