I need a really creative idea on how to make a tree for a preschool special needs. classroom?

Question

A few teachers already have ones with the trash bag trunks and crumpled up tissue paper, Because our kids are original I would like to have one made "with them" or one that they can contribute to this will hang in their classroom

Answer 1

I once bought some brown vinyl from the fabric store.  I used it to make a very large tree trunk with branches.  Our class adds different things each season. (I can't draw, so I used a projector to trace onto the vinyl.)

Fall:  apples or peaches, fall-colored leaves.  We make our leaves by squirting red, yellow, and orange paint onto a piece of paper, then scraping the paint with a comb or paint scraper.  This looks so nice and the comb marks sort of simulate the veins in the leaves (at least that's what I tell my kids.)

Winter: Snow, snowflakes.  I do hearts in February.

Spring: apple blossoms, green leaves, squirrels, birds.

I take the tree down in the summer.

You can use a carpet tube for a tree trunk (wall-to-wall carpet is rolled on a large tube.)  Any carpet store should be able to donate a tube for you to paint and add your branches and leaves.

I saw a bulletin board where the teacher bought a red/white checker tablecloth for the background and made a picnic under a tree.  She had Styrofoam ants with pipe cleaner legs, and even sawed a soda can in half to staple it to the board.  This was at my son's special needs school.

Answer 2

You could make the chika chika boom boom tree.  You cut out palm leaves and let each student paint them green.  Then give them a cocunut (brown circle) with the first letter of their name and have them put it on the tree.  Trunk will be easy brown staight  up with a few brown lines paint on it.

Answer 3

I just made a class tree by making a tree shape on the wall with brown construction paper. I gave each of the kids a small square of paper and then painted their hand and made a handprint. When the handprints dried I cut them out and hung them on the tree to look like leaves. It looks really great and that way your kids have their own individual special handprints where they can see them!

Answer 4

a trunk made of bread dough.... limbs and branches made from drinking straws.... foliage made from tissue paper of different colors. you can also add texture to the trunk as a sculpture.

OR

coffee can trunk (that's a little beat up).... Go-gurt tubes branches.... partially-blown balloons for foliage

OR

have kids wear all-brown clothes.... and cover them with clown wigs for foliage

Answer 5

Not sure about the trunk, but you could maybe have them trace their hands on construction paper to cut out for the leaves.  They could try placing their hands on the paper in different ways to create uniquely shaped leaves.