Have you ever had a special tree in your life? I’ve had lots—the trees I climbed in my Pennsylvania yard as a kid, the one I got stuck in after a sledding mishap (stupid crabapple thorns), and the ones we planted to commemorate when our children were born. Beautiful trees, and beautiful memories (or mostly, once again I say, stupid crabapple thorns…).
This week you have a chance to win A Year Around the Great Oak (Floris/Steiner), which tells the story of three cousins and a special 300-year-old oak in the forest. The back of the book has handy info about the life of an oak tree, how trees eat and drink, and more.
To enter the random drawing, submit a comment to this blog to let us know your favorite tree of all time. It can be a real tree or a tree from a book (The Giving Tree, Winnie the Pooh’s tree in the Hundred Acre Wood, the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter… so many choices!). Send your comment by Thursday, November 7. Congratulations to our lucky winner Karen Dilworth!
Ready to branch out? Here are some great gardening grants and other freebies to check out this week:
KidsGardening has just opened several grant programs, including Carton 2 Garden, Budding Botanist, and the Youth Garden Grant. Grants come with cash, supplies, educational materials, and more. Visit kidsgardening.org/grants.
Annie’s Grants for Gardens are all about helping kids think holistically about their food, communities, and planet. Applications are due November 1. Visit annies.com/giving-back/grants-for-gardens.
Looking for a new way for individualized instruction to take root in your class? Try a free 45-day trial of Essential Skills Software. Designed for K–6 reading, math, science, and ELL, the software works on iPad, Chromebook, PC, Mac, and Android. After a student completes a pretest, the software creates an individualized program to target each student’s learning gaps. Click here to take a look.
Bring on those tree tales!
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| Karen |
PS: Have you visited The Mailbox on Pinterest? Click here.
The apricot tree in my grandparents front yard. I remember doing so many wonderful things under this tree from running through the sprinkler to having picnics. We would also pick apricots and make wonderful things with my grandmother with them.
As a child we had two big catalpa trees on euther sude of a sude walk, which lead off of our porch.
those trees became my audience as I sang and played outside. ( they were the only audience who could tolerate my singing.)
My favorite tree was a tree we planted on the day my first son was to be born. It was a tree my dad picked out from the river bank near where I grew up.
A peach tree planted in memory of my mother.
The oak tree in our front yard when I was growing up. It had a huge limb I could climb onto and spend hours reading my books.
My favorite tree is a Japanese Maple that we planted the year our son was born. Every year the leaves turn amazing colors and I remember the day we planted it every time I look at it.
My favorite tree of all time is the peach tree in my parents backyard. It gives the largest, most delicious peaches I have ever tasted!!
My favorite tree was a sycamore tree that was in my parents’ yard growing up. It was my climbing tree and I spent many happy hours climbing its spreading branches and day dreaming. When it became diseased and had to be cut down I cried because it was a little like cutting down my childhood.
My favorite tree growing up was our weeping willow tree in the backyard. It gave the best shade and was a favorite place to go and read a book. With the branches flowing down, it was like my own little world.
I have a favorite tree in my sons backyard. My dad hobby is gardening vegetables and fruit trees. My sons kids love pears. My son moved into a house with a huge backyard. My dad came over with a pear tree for them and planted it so my grands could have their own pears I love knowing that my 90 yr old dad planted that tree
Ginko! I remember how cool I thought they were since the leaves look like a fan.
My favorite tree was a maple in the back yard where I grew up. My dad put a tire swing on it. It was also a fun tree to climb. I miss that tree & those childhood days!
My favorite tree Was the huge pine tree in the lot next door. I used to love to watch it move in the breeze. When I read Lord of the Rings, I realized it reminded me so much of an ent!
I graduated from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, MO. Upon graduation my parents planted a Linden tree in our back yard. Sadly, many years later a tornado took the massive tree down. I replanted a new Linden tree in it’s place. I am again watching it grow. I hope I live long enough to see it reach the heights of the previous one.
My favorite tree is a maple tree.
I remember watching a beautiful maple tree grow as I did when I was little. I wonder if it is still there?
My favorite tree was the one in my yard that grew near near the near that faced the side street near my home. Mom called it the Tree of Heaven. My brothers and I loved to climb it. There were times I didn’t like though too. When Mom would pick a Twig and swipe off all the leaves to make a switch to tan our hides. Lol!
My favorite tree is called Purple Heart, or Peltogyne. It produces a beautifully purple wood.