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Fun Tree Activities for Kids!

Mar 27, 2020

With school out and a lot of our community staying at home, now is the perfect time to spend some quality time outdoors! Texas Tree Surgeons is a family-owned company and we wanted to share a few fun tree-related activities we have been doing with our kids:

Leaf Painting

What you need:

Dry Leaves
Paint

This one is super easy: paint designs or solid colors on the leaves!
Thread the painted leaves together into a garland, or tape them on the wall for decoration!PRO TIP: You can also use rocks instead of leaves!

Leaf and Bark Rubbing

What you need:

Leaves
Bark
Paper
Crayons or colored pencils

Lay the paper over the leaves, and rub gently with the crayon or colored pencil. The pattern of the leaf will be transferred to the paper!

You can also take bark rubbings from trees, or from pieces of bark that you find on the ground.

Use the leaf and bark patterns as components in a drawing, or use the designs to decorate signs, cards, or paper airplanes!

Spirit Sticks

What you need:

Sticks or twigs
Glue or tape
Yarn or ribbon
Leaves or feathers
Beads, sequins, glitter

Look around your yard for fallen sticks or twigs
Pick one that you think represents you or your school the best!
Find some pretty leaves, stones, or maybe even a bird feather!
Attach the leaves or feathers to the spirit stick with tape or glue
Add some ribbon or yarn, and beads or other decorations!
Hang your spirit stick where everyone can see!

Make a Simple Tent

What you need:

Trees
Rope or Clothesline
Sheet or Tarp
Stones

For a fun outdoor hideaway, you can use simple materials to make an easy to put up and take down tent!

If you have two trees, or a tree and a nearby structure:

Tie a rope between them
Put the sheet or tarp over the middle of the rope so that it reaches the ground on both sides
Weigh down the corners of the sheet with stones or pieces of wood.
Enjoy your cozy outdoor hideout!

PRO TIP: Decorate the sheet with painted leaves or leaf rubbings, and display your spirit stick!

Acorn Gathering

What you need:

Just your hands!

With our bumper crop of acorns last year, your yard is probably full of them!

See who can gather the most acorns(PRO TIP: Offering a penny an acorn is a great incentive!)
Paint the acorns for decoration or thread them into a garland or necklace!
You can even grow a tree from an acorn!

Different types of trees produce different types of acorns: how many are in your yard?

Tree Scavenger Hunt

What you need:

Scavenger Hunt List (see below)
Paper bag or basket

With a little prep work, you can have a fun outdoor scavenger hunt!

Make up a list of tree-related itemsHere’s our arborist-approved suggestions:
- Acorn
- Green Leaf
- Brown Leaf
- Flower
- Twig
- Branch
- Catkin
- Pecan
- Bark
  PRO TIP: If you have unique trees in your yard, you can add items (like magnolia seed pods or horse apples) to personalize your list
Print out your list or write it on the paper bag
See how many of the items you can find!
Draw a picture of each item you found next to its name on the list!

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our families! During uncertain or difficult times, it is more important than ever to recharge with fresh air and nature. Fun outdoor activities can help break up the boredom and monotony of being stuck at home, and can help kids (and parents, too!) learn about the environment around them. If you enjoy any of our suggestions, let us know by posting your photos and tagging us! And as always, if you have any questions about your trees, get in touch!

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