Springtime or Autumn Tree

Materials

1. sponges
2. scissors
3. 9" x 12" white construction paper
4. black, pink, and green tempera paint (for spring tree)
5. black, brown, orange, yellow, red, and green tempera paint (for autumn tree)
6. small shallow containers to hold paint
7. paintbrushes

Instructions

1. Cut sponges into blossom shapes and leaf shapes. Make several of each.
2. Pour each color of paint into a separate container.
3. Ask the children to use a paintbrush to make a black tree on white paper. Allow the painting to dry.
4. For a spring tree, encourage the children to paint small green leaves on the tree and the grass underneath. Show them how to dip a blossom-shaped sponge into pink paint and dab it onto the tree.
5. For an autumn tree, the children dip the leaf-shaped sponges into the desired color and tap them on the tree, with some falling and some on the ground.