Branching Out

Comparing different types of trees and tree parts provides opportunities for supporting your child's emerging number skills and math vocabulary. Draw your child's attention to trees in and around the neighborhood. Make a collection of fallen leaves, flowers, cones or nuts from several different trees and compare them. How many different leaf shapes can you find? What's the biggest leaf? What's the smallest? Investigate any cones, pods, fruit, and nuts you've found. What do you think is inside? How could you find out? Can you figure out which tree the fallen items came from? Gently remind your child not to pull or break any parts from the tree.