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.

Instructions

1. Ask the children's parents to send in one or two gently used or new toys.
Make sure that any of the used toys is not a child's favorite.
2. Explain to the children that they will be creating a "toy library." Tell them that
they will be able to check toys out from the toy library and take them home
for two or three days at a time. Make sure the children realize they cannot
keep the toys, but must bring them back after the allotted time.
3. Ask the children to sort the toys into different categories, such as vehicles,
action figures, stuffed animals, dolls and doll care, and electronics.
4. Have the children arrange the toys on the shelves according to the
categories.
8. Create a sign for the toy library. Post the sign on the classroom door.
9. Encourage the children to design toy library cards for themselves. Print the
name of the toy library on the card and each child's first name. (Do not put
any personal information on the card, especially the name of your school.)
10. Open the toy library for business! Designate one child to be the librarian. At
the end of the day, each child can choose one toy to take home for a few
days.
11. Remind the children to show the librarian their toy library card. The librarian
finds the card that matches the toy and prints the child's name on it. Put the
card in the "Checked Out" box.
12. Each day, choose a different child to be the toy librarian. Have the librarian
collect the returned toys and put them back on the shelves.
13. Continue the activity as long as the children's interest remains strong.
14. At the end of the activity, donate the toys to a local children's shelter or allow
the children to take them home.
More to do Books: Add books to the toy library. Find books that feature the toys in the
library. Place the books near the toys and let children check them out with the
toy. For example, place a book about cars near the cars.
Field Trip: Take a field trip to a real library. Attend a story time session and let
the children choose a book to check out. Most libraries have teacher library
cards, which allow teachers to check out many books.
5. Help the children create colorful labels for each category of toy. Post the
labels near the toys.
6. Using index cards, let the children help make a card for each toy. Draw a
picture or paste a small photo of each toy on a card. Print the name of the
toy under the picture. Put the cards in an index card box.
7. Label the other index card box "Checked Out." Put the index card boxes and
a pencil or marker on a small table with a single chair. This is the librarian's
station.