Tap the Magic Tree - read, retell and create

Trees are pretty amazing organisms.

They start from a tiny seed. Some grow into majestic edifices.

They create energy from sunshine.

They are self perpetuating.  Doing what they can to ensure the survival of their species.

And they give us oxygen.

Most impressive.  And important.

We were chatting about the importance of trees as part of our Earth Day lets-take-care-of-the-earth learning.

One of the books that we visited was Tap the Magic Tree.  A wonderful, interactive book - read our [book report].


Tap the Magic Tree
written and illustrated by Christie Matheson
published by Greenwillow Books (August 2013)

A book that is perfect for interactive retelling.

First you need a tree.


I found this tree plate at our local (and amazing) thrift shop.
Any (deciduous) tree would do - a hand print tree, drawn tree, a painted tree, a made with sticks tree, a tree outline ...

And some "magic" bling.  I found all of these bits and pieces at dollar stores. The wooden tray is another thrift shop treasure. 



When we were reading the book together, the kids noticed that the "words page" had the same colour background as the "magic" that was happening on the "picture page".  Coloured background papers were acquired. 



Let the story retelling begin.


In the spring time there are small leaves on the tree.  Then the blossoms come.  The apples grow in the summer.

In the Fall, the apples fall off and the leaves turn orange and yellow.  There is snow in winter.  And then it starts all over again.


The kids also like to create their own magic trees -- Look!  We used all the magic tree bling!


Then they get to sort ...


Oral language, story retelling, story sequence, organizing, co-operating, creating, and sorting. 

It's all good.  Very good.




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