Visiting Your Own Tree
One tree, chosen by them, that you come back to touch through every season.
Visiting Your Own Tree is a Montessori activity for a child aged 2 to 3 years. Area: Science and Nature. Time: 10 min.
What the activity builds
Follow a living thing over time, and discover through direct observation that a tree changes across the year.
The materials
- A tree near your home, along a route you travel often
- Your two hands, that's the main thing
- Optionally, a camera, to keep a picture from each visit
How to do it, step by step
- Let your child choose the tree, even if it isn't the prettiest one.
- Walk up close, set both hands flat against the trunk, and stay there a moment.
- Walk all the way around the tree together, slowly.
- Pick up just one thing that's fallen at its base: a leaf, a seed, a piece of bark.
- Head home, and add the find to the nature basket.
- Come back to the same tree at every change of season, doing exactly the same motions each time.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. The value of this activity is in the repetition, not the outing itself. Repeat the same motions in the same order: that's what lets your child compare, and so notice that something has changed. Don't tell them what changed, let them find it.
Safety
Stay with your child the whole way there and the whole visit, especially near a road. Don't let them climb. Watch for plants and berries at the base of the tree, many are toxic, as well as stinging insects. Wash hands when you get back.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: two minutes, touch the trunk and head off.
- Harder: they point out what's different from last time.
- Extension: display the four photos from the year side by side, at their height.
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