Science Activity - Planting a Tree

A while back, Recycle Bank offered a tree sapling for a couple hundred points.  (If you are unfamiliar with Recycle Bank, it is a website where you can earn points various ways...from simply taking a little quiz, all the way to recycling (depending on if your area participates)...and can redeem your point for different kinds of things like coupons and gift cards.  I only do the simple types of ways to earn points and I've definitely saved a few dollars on groceries (free produce, etc.)!  It's a great little program to check out if you haven't already.)

I thought that the tree sapling would make a great little project for Trevor and I to do.  Within a week or so, our tree had arrived from Recycle Bank.  We don't have any actual land to plan a tree on, so we grabbed a little pot, a toy shovel, and went out to plan our tree!

We borrowed some dirt from under a nearby tree. (Probably not the expert gardener thing to do, but I couldn't find soil at any of the stores we happened to be at that morning.)

Mackenzie enjoyed getting into the dirt too =)

Filled up the bucket.

Put the sapling in and topped it off with more dirt.

Proud owner of a tree!

Trevor had a great time doing this activity.  It provided (and continues to provide) an opportunity to talk about how things grow and the work that it takes to make things grow.  He gets to fill up a bucket from time to time and go water his tree.  Of course each time he expects it to be fully grown already, "It is already BIIIIIG???"  I guess it also provides an opportunity to talk about patience =)

Happy Learning!