This weekend, cure our family will be heading out to the tree farm to choose the perfect Christmas tree. We usually spend an hour or more hiking through the rows of trees looking at the firs, dosage spruces and pine and then come back to the first tree we looked at and grab that one. Like most Christmas events, it’s tradition.
This year, if we are going to be spending all that time looking at trees, we are at least going to learn something. I am turning this Christmas tradition into a tree identification lesson. By the end of our time at the tree farm, our kids will know the difference between a fir and a pine!
Before we go to the farm, we need to choose a guide. We have lots of options.
- Grab our tree guide book. You can pick one up at your local book store or nature center. They are so handy to have around. We use ours in the summertime at parks and in the neighborhood.
- The Arbor Day Foundation has amazing tree identification tools on their website. They have guide books to order, online guides and even an tree ID app!! (geeky swoon!!)
- Education.com has a Christmas tree identification lesson idea with simple printable guide pages.
Take whatever guide you choose and head out to your local Christmas tree farm or stand, Lowes or Home Depot (wherever you get your tree) and ID some trees!! Science is everywhere!
Science guru Marci blogs at Overcoming Busy.
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