Little Hands Learning | Tree Box

“A monthly subscription box, inspired by the magic of books.”

I honestly thought I’d already posted April’s Little Hands Learning box as it seems like ages ago that we did the activities together.

I’m getting into a habit of rotating our books too… and I have to say the one included in our tree box is one of our current favourites. Not only was this absolutely stunning picture book in association with Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, but it was signed too (always a winner in our eyes).

What do you see when you look at a tree? – written and illustrated by Emma Carlisle was the perfect book to read with the change in the seasons. We always love the books that are included, as they are central to the theme of the boxes – and they are always ones we wouldn’t ordinarily buy.

We adored the beautiful illustrations and poetic language in this particular book. We’ve read it a few times over the last week or so, and last Sunday, we read it after visiting Epping Forest – so we ended up talking about our day in more detail, in particular, the different trees we saw, as well as their different life stages.

The activities included in this box were:

• Grow your own willow tree
• Under the tree small world
• Tree and leaf rubbings
• Create your own fingerprint trees

Exploring the estate

We are so lucky that on our estate we have plenty of woodland, as well as numerous lakes, so lots of opportunity to find some trees to do our rubbings. We received a packet of pastels and two sheets of paper in our Little Hands Learning box. We were actually walking to the shop to get some bits for baking, so I decided on our way back, we’d go a different route to find some trees.

There’s a little den with plenty of trees, so we ended up going there to get the rubbings, as well as finding a large tree by the lake. Alfie enjoyed using the pastels to get the markings. The second sheet we did in our garden, although the trees are much smaller, so it was definitely more tricky! I’ve already said we’ll have to collect leaves another time to create rubbings in different shapes. I remember doing something similar as a child and it was always fun.

Creating unique art

The fingerprint tree prints were such a clever idea – and so simple to create something beautiful. We received two different colours of finger paint: green and pink. I loved the contrast between the two colours and pictures they created – the pink reminiscent of blossom, while the green, bright like a lush tree.

We also received the templates of the tree trunks and branches to use as a basis for the printing. Alfie loved getting messy, and although he loves painting, he doesn’t usually use his hands and fingers – so it was definitely a novelty! The paint was a different texture so it was difficult getting the right amount – as you can tell from the different pictures. I’ve dated them and will keep them in his art folder.

From little seeds grow mighty trees

Okay, so there may have been no seeds here, but we did receive a willow whip to grow our own willow tree. Ours has been a little slow to get going, but we do finally have some roots and buds – perhaps not enough to put it in the ground just yet, but it’s progress!

We love checking on it every morning, changing the water and making sure it’s in the best position on the windowsill for sunlight. This week has been the most progress, so I’m hoping now the weather gets warmer and the sun is out longer, we’ll be able to plant it soon!

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Sadly, the tree box is no longer available, but you can find all the one-off boxes online. If you’ve been unable to get hold of a box, don’t worry, as you can also buy previous books on the website.

We can’t wait for our next box to arrive, and I think Alfie might be ready for the investigators boxes soon – his reading is fantastic. As always, if you’d like to subscribe to Little Hands Learning, purchase a one-off box, or even consider a box as a gift, my code LUCYLOCKET will get you a small discount.

Follow Little Hands Learning on Instagram for sneak peeks of future boxes, plus lots of educational ideas, fun crafts, and experiments.

Love, Lucy xx