trees, trees and more trees...

I had a request from one of my students to learn how to draw trees.

So that was what we did this week.

I sketched out a couple of variations and we even took turns drawing on the board.

This was a very hard concept to grasp for K-3 and I found that most of the students wanted to do very complicated branches rather than the easy way I first showed them.

I also showed them this wonderful tree...

made by the talented Valentina and posted on 

her January 14 blog post.  

She is even nice enough to share it with you too.  

You can down load the PDF file if you go to her site. 

She also has other free downloads and a beautiful etsy shop.

Check out her designs.

So we drew our trees then watercolored them...

then we added leaves and foliage...

 

and gave our paintings some texture with crayons...

(my favorite art tool)

and added woodland creatures...

and we even have a pop-up doggie...

This young lady wanted her tree to lay flat on the table and 

made pop up animals which stand vertically.

Aren't kids' minds great?

She was adamant about it even though my 'older' brain could not 

quite grasp the concept she was working towards.

I talked to her mom several days later and 

she said the painting

was on the table just like she wanted.

Finally I wanted them to write verses about trees 

on and around their trees, 

but you should have seen the looks I got -

they were definitely ready to be done with this project.  

So here are three of my favorite verses...

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season 

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1:3

I am like an olive tree

flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God's unfailing love

for ever and ever.

Psalm 52:8

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;

Those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Proverbs 3:18