Fall Reading Tree Craft

I am a big advocate of teaching children to love reading instead of forcing them to read or “tracking their minutes.”  I try to find fun activities and crafts that will inspire them to want to read.  This is one craft that I’ve used in my classroom with my students and in my home with my son and goddaughters.  It’s a very simple craft that enhances fine motor skills through cutting and inspires children to want to read. 

Materials

Brown, red, yellow, and orange construction paper

Scissors

Glue

Ruler

Pencil

Marker

Directions

1.       Glue brown construction paper together.  For my tree I glued three pieces lengthwise and then added one piece on either side for branches.  You can make it as big as you want.

2.       Use a pencil to draw the outline of the tree on the construction paper

3.       Cut out the tree

4.       Tape it to your child’s wall

Every time your child reads a book they will:

1.       Trace the outline of a leaf on a red, yellow, or orange piece of construction paper

2.       Cut out the leaf

3.       Use a ruler to draw a straight line to write on

4.       Write the name of the book on the leaf with pencil

5.       Trace the name of the book with marker (optional)

Every child I’ve ever done this with tries to read as many books as they can so they can fill the tree up!

Click here for more great autumn activities and crafts!