Tu B’Shevat Tree Print Craft
The ‘New Year’ for trees, Tu B’Shevat, marks the time when the earliest-blooming trees in Israel start their fruit bearing cycle. To celebrate this Jewish holiday, help the kids make a creative craft that (of course) focuses on trees. Before you get to the art-making, pull in a mini science lesson. Talk about the life cycle, and how a tree grows. Start at a seedling and follow the tree’s growth through its flower or fruit-bearing years. Next, get artsy and craft this pretty finger-print and cotton ball tree!
Materials:
- Brown, green and other colors of tempera paint
- Card stock paper
- Cotton balls
Instructions:
- Pour the paint onto a paper plate or piece of wax paper, making golf ball-sized pools.
- Have your child dip a cotton ball into the brown paint. Press the paint-covered cotton ball onto the paper, making a tree trunk.
- Repeat the dipping and printing process to make green tree leaves, using a fresh cotton ball this time.
- Add fruit or flowers. Ask your child to pick a fruit and a matching color (such as red apples) or a flower color. Dip her finger into the paint and print the fruit or flowers onto the leaves.
