What you will need
- Large den:
- Several sticks that are 1 to 1.5m in length to use as the base of the den.
- A tree with a fork in the branches that’s quite low down or a fence to prop your sticks up with.
- Sticks- a variety of thicknesses and lengths.
- Mini den:
- Toys to build your den for
- A tree or wall to prop your den up on
- Small sticks- a variety of thicknesses and lengths.
- The arborist poster
Duration
- 15 to 20 minutes for the activity
Compare shapes and sizes as you build a den
The arborist activities are designed to be repeated 3 or 4 times across the year, reflecting the different seasons and the progression of the children in your setting.
Early learning goal links
- Mathematics ELG: Numerical Patterns
- Understanding the World ELG: Past and Present
- Understanding the World ELG: People, Culture and Communities
- Understanding the World ELG: The Natural World
- Expressive Arts and Design ELG: Creating with Materials
Characteristics of effective learning
Our EYFS units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
• playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
Taken from Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
© Crown copyright 2023 licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0.
STEM vocabulary to introduce
Stick, bark, build, balance, inside, outside, lumpy, bumpy, knobbly, rough, ridged, bent, straight, smooth, soft, silky, velvety, silky, shiny, glossy, long, short, wide, narrow, thick, thin, green, brown, yellow, dark, light, heavy, light, big, small, next to, in front of, behind, under, on top of
Before you start
If you have lots of big sticks in your outside area, you could make a large den for the children to go into. If you only have small sticks available in your setting you could build a mini den for a toy.
If you are making a large den you will need to set up a frame by propping a long, strong, straight stick in the fork in your tree or against your fence. Make sure this is secure and won’t slip.
Show the children the arborist poster and tell the children that they are going to be arborists for this activity.
Ask the children if they know what an arborist does. Arborists work with lots of different people to make sure their trees are healthy.
Tell the children about the attributes. Arborists are:
Collaborative when they meet with people to plan how to look after their trees. They work in teams so they can keep each other safe.
Observant and notice what they need to do keep trees healthy of if there are part that need to be removed or cut down.
Resilient as their job is very tiring: climbing trees, digging out stumps and clearing away branches.
Tell the children that they will be arborists and will be collaborative, working together to build a den. They will be observant and notice which sticks will be best to build with. They will be resilient as they might find this job difficult, but they will keep trying until they succeed.
What to do – safety instructions
An important part of being an arborist is keeping collaborative and keeping your team safe. You might want to start the session by giving the children their safety instructions and demonstrating the following:
- Never try to pick up a stick that is bigger than yourself.
- Always walk, don’t run, when carrying sticks.
- Never hit anything or anybody with a stick.
- Keep all sticks away from everybody’s faces, eyes and body, including your own.
Building a large den
Ask the children to find sticks to prop up against both sides of the large stick to make the sides of the den. Remember to leave a gap in the sticks for the door. In the spring and summer, sticky weed is excellent at helping to join sticks together.
You could ask:
- Where will you put that stick on the den?
- Is your stick long enough to reach the frame?
- Can you find me a longer/shorter stick?
- Do you think that is a good stick to build a den with? Why?
- Can you tell me what your stick looks like? What does it feel like?
- Have we filled up all of the spaces?
- Can you find a stick to fill this space?
- What shape is the den?
- How do you think your den is staying up?
When your den is complete, you could see how many children (and adults) you can fit inside it.
Tell the children that they will need to be observant when they enter the den, and watch out that they don’t bump into any sticks near their their eyes, faces or bodies.
Remind the children that arborists are resilient. If the den is accidently knocked down, it doesn’t matter. It can be built again easily.
Building a mini den
Ask the children to choose the toy they are building a mini den for. They need to place it next to the base of a tree or a wall. An adult will need to prop a strong, straight stick against the tree or wall to form the base of a den. Ask the children to find sticks to prop up against the large stick to make the sides of the den, the same as for the large den but with smaller sticks. Remember to leave a gap in the sticks for the door. In the spring and summer, sticky weed is excellent at helping to join sticks together.
You could ask:
- Where will you put that stick on the den?
- Is your stick long enough to cover your toy?
- Can your toy move in and out of your den?
- Can you find me a longer/shorter stick?
- Do you think that is a good stick to build a den with? Why?
- Can you tell me what your stick looks like? What does it feel like?
- Have we filled up all of the spaces?
- Can you find a stick to fill this space?
- What shape is your den?
- How do you think your den is staying up?
Tidying away
An important part of being an arborist is tidying up and tree parts they have removed and mess they have created. The sticks and vegetation from around your setting form habitats for wildlife so it would be great to encourage children to always return natural items to the place they found them.
Other things to try
Autumn
Make a carpet of fallen leaves for the inside of your den. You could also use the autumn leaves to cover the outside of your den.
Winter
Chance to discuss what has changed in the outside area since the last time you built dens. Are there any leaves about to make the carpet?
Spring
You could use spring vegetation such as grass and leaves on to cover your den and discuss how the outdoor environment has changed.
Summer
Now you are expert den builders, you may want to try to weave some bendy sticks or long grass through your sticks to make walls.
You could also use the mini den as a provocation for the children in your setting to complete independently.
The children in your setting could use the Woodland trust twig identification sheet to try and identify which trees their sticks came from.
Remember to refer to the children as arborists and praise them for using the attributes. You could say things like:
“You have been collaborative like arborists because you worked together to build your den…”
You could look at the photograph of the arborist (download PDF of more photographs here) and ask the children what they think she is doing.
What equipment is she using?
Why do they think an arborist might need to remove parts of a tree or cut a tree down?
You could talk about what happens to a tree when a branch is removed. You could see if you can find any knots in the trees in your setting where branches have been removed to show the children that the tree can carry on growing.
The science of den building
We have put together some useful information about the science of den building to accompany this activity. Don’t worry, this is for your information only and to help you answer any questions children may have. We don’t expect you to explain this to the children in your setting!
Why is some wood soft and some wood hard?
Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods. If you took two cubes of wood the same size the dense hardwood cube would generally weigh more than the less dense softwood. The denser a wood is, the harder, stronger, and more durable it is. Hardwood comes from flowering trees such as oak, maple and walnut. Softwoods come from evergreen conifers such as pine or spruce. Hardwood is great for making the frame of a den, while softwood is great for weaving the walls.
Why do we make triangle shaped dens?
Triangles are great at providing strength to a structure while using a minimal amount of materials. Triangles are often used in building structures because they ‘spread out’ the effect of the weight of the building. They take force from a single point and spread it across a wide base. In our dens, the central support stick (or wall in the mini dens) takes the weight of the sticks and distributes it though the sticks to the floor.
Why do trees change over a year?
Trees that change over the year are called deciduous trees. Deciduous means “to fall” as the leaves of these trees fall off in the autumn. In the spring the buds start to appear and they produce blossom. By the summer the trees are full of leaves. The leaves are green because they contain a chemical called chlorophyll which helps them to photosynthesise (make food by using sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen).
Once the blossom has been pollinated and fertilised, the trees produce their seeds and fruit. This is generally in late summer or early autumn. During the autumn, days become darker and the trees can’t make as much food. The leaves lose their green chlorophyll and we see them turning yellow, orange or red before falling off the trees.
During the winter, trees become dormant (growth stops but can start again) and protect themselves from the cold weather by producing hormones to combat dehydration and frozen cells.
The video below from the Woodland Trust shows the life cycle of an oak tree over a year.
When would an arborist need to cut down parts of a tree?
Felling a tree may be necessary when it’s location or condition is a risk to safety or is damaging property.
Trees can become damaged and unstable by weather conditions such as storms, drought or flooding. Trees can be dangerous if they are infested by pests or diseases. Tree roots can damage property by causing subsidence and blocking drains.
Tree pruning can remove dangerous hanging branches or reduce the weight or impact of a tree without killing it. Pruning can be used to maintain trees in a safe condition, to promote growth, to improve size and shape or to improve the quality of flowers, fruit or timber.
Why do trees get knots?
Knots in trees are formed when branches are removed and the inside of the trunk is exposed. As the tree continues to grow, the trunk expands and forms a callus over the wound, protecting the exposed wood. This is similar to the way we form scabs over wounds to our skin. Knots can also be formed where there are injuries to a tree or by fungal infections.
