Earth Day Activity with The Lorax

We read The Lorax by Dr. Suess this week, enjoyed an ongoing discussion about the importance of trees, and followed up with this art activity today, making our own "Truffula Trees."

I cut toilet paper rolls in half lengthwise and the kids painted them brown. Then we glued them to a piece of construction paper. Next we put some cotton balls in a plastic container with some green tempera powder, popped the lid on and shook. The result was a variety of shades of green puffs, perfect for truffula trees! (Or thneeds, if you're familiar with the book!)

My 5-year-old son is very intent on realism in his artwork right now, so he needed the book to look at as he painted the Lorax next to his tree. The two 2-year-olds had no such requirements and went to town painting yellow suns and Loraxes all over their pages:

Happy Earth Day!