At Home Learning Dec 14
This week we take a look at some trees!
Welcome to our At Home Learning Page! We will do our best to offer weekly ideas for at home learning about agriculture! These activities will all be free to access and share. Our weekly activities do not build on each other, but are individual and can be done in any order.
This week we take a look at some trees! This will be our last At Home Learning offering for 2020. We will be back after the holidays with fresh ideas for supplemental learning! Happy Holidays to all!
It's the season for thinking of trees! Ever wonder how Christmas trees grow? Watch this video to see what it takes to grow a Christmas tree. This video also shows how trees grow, and has some fun ways to tell the difference between trees.
Still curious about Christmas trees? Read our blog interview with a Christmas tree farmer!
Poetree! A concrete poem is a poem written in a shape. The poem is about the shape – so try writng a poem about a tree (any kind of tree!) in the shape of a tree! Get more ideas here.
Trees are homes for lots of animals like birds and squirrels. Food can be harder for these creatures to find in the winter. Make a peanut butter pine cone craft bird feeder! OR if you don 't have pine cones near you, check out these.
Maple trees are also "in season" in the winter! Sugaring season starts in February - April. Want to know how we get syrup from sap?
Watch this farmer answer that question!
After you watch the video, you can talk about evaporation. The sap from the tree is boiled so the water evaporates and leaves the sugary syrup! You can do an easy evaporation demonstration by filling a plastic cup with water and putting by a sunny window. Mark the water level on the cup – and then check on it every few days and mark the new water level.
BONUS: Some maple books we love:
Maple Syrup from the Sugarhouse
While it has some inaccuracies, it is hard not to also love The Cow in Patrick O'Shanahan's Kitchen - just be sure to let kids know about how sap needs to be boiled before it becomes syrup and milk is pasturized before it is sold.
