Welcome! This is the third part of a ten-part Video and Blog Post Series, aligned with the songs on “Songs for Tree“. You can find an overview and all of the other posts to date in this series here. Let’s explore together the power of song to connect children with the land!
Music Video & Lyrics
Here is the lyrics video! It features my dear friend, Joy the Robin.
Introduction
If you’ve been following along with this series, you’ll have spent the fall thus far noticing the changing colours of the leaves with “Green Leaf“, and then playing with the leaves as they made their way to the ground with “Catch Me“. No worries if you haven’t been following along! This is a great time to jump in to the fun, for now that the trees are bare, and a whole new world of wonder that awaits! “Sneaky Tree” captures this wonder and invites children to deepen their knowledge of and love for the land they play with.
I have had oodles of fun singing this song with children, and will share in this blog post my experiences of using this song to nurture children’s relationships with the land, while also engaging them in meaningful learning!
Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning means that we centre the curiosity and the questions of the children in our learning experience; rather than the adults deciding what children will learn, we instead focus on how we are going to support children in building knowledge around what they are curious about. At the time of year when the leaves are newly bare, “Sneaky Tree” can support inquiry-based learning in many different ways!
To support sharing about this, first let’s look at the lyrics of “Sneaky Tree”, which are:
The wind it blows, it is so cold, I’ve covered every part of me!
Tree stands tall, their arms reach out, they’ve taken off all their leaves!
And now I see, oh I see, they’ve been hiding something from me!
Oh yes I see, way up high, in the sky, that sneaky tree,
They’ve been hiding ___________ from me!
First, we want to consider how we are going to share the song with children. One possibility is to sing along with them! You can lead children in singing this tune to ‘fill in the blank’ with all sorts of ideas. Be prepared to sing the song over and over again, as kids love sharing ideas! I often add simple actions to make the song more interactive, and sometimes with larger groups, I take many different suggestions all at once, so we don’t sing the song through quite as many times! Another great option is to simply watching the music video and lead a discussion after watching it.
Sparking Wonder: “Sneaky Tree” is fantastic for sparking wonder. The song supports children in making predictions- thinking about what they think they will likely notice in the trees, now that the leaves are gone. It’s a great tune to sing before going for a wander, as it turns their eyes to the trees to notice what those sneaky trees have been hiding from us! In this way, “Sneaky Tree” can be a great spark, pointing our curiosity towards a new learning adventure as we learn about what the trees are revealing to us in late fall!
Sharing Ideas: I find that singing this song throughout the late fall supports children in sharing what they are learning through the late fall. I find that when we revisit the song, children share ideas that come with a story. Sometimes it is a story we all know- like they might suggest ‘a nest’ and remind us of when we saw a nest the last time we were outside together. Sometimes, the story is of what they noticed at another time when we weren’t together- for example, when they were walking to school or out playing with family on the weekend. As children share their stories, I learn that they are turning their eye and attention towards the trees, and many questions and opportunities to learn more come from these observations and stories.
In my experience, every year “Sneaky Tree” supports children in noticing these giant clumps of leaves that are piled in the high branches. Have you noticed them yourself? Ooooodles of questions come- what are these clumps? Why are they there? Who made them? At this point, my role in the inquiry process is to support children in finding the answers to these questions. This has looked like:
🍃 Spending more time outside to make observations: will we see who is making these clumps of leaves and why and how?
🍃 Going to the library and learning about non-fiction texts: can we find books that will answer our questions?
🍃 Looking up information on the internet for information.
🍃 Considering who in our community might have knowledge about this, and writing them a letter to ask for their help.
As we learn that these big clumps of leaves are actually homes for squirrels, our learning can expand in so many different ways. This has looked like:
🍃 Learning about structures, and trying our own hand at building a structure with materials found in nature.
🍃 Learning about the many different ways animals adapt to the seasons
All of these ideas can be connected to supporting children with developing writing skills, as it is great fun to keep a nature journal to write about the learning journey together! Throughout the experience, we return to “Sneaky Tree” because it is fun, and is a common thread that binds a learning journey together!
Literacy: Accompanying Picture Book
A wonderful book that can accompany this learning journey is “Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know”, written by Brittany Luby and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. This picture book beautifully engages children in thinking about what the land teaches us, simply by being outside and observing.
This is a bilingual book with the text offered in both Anishinaabemowin and English. On YouTube, you can listen to an excerpt of the book read by Jeannette McQuabbie. It’s a beautiful opportunity to share Anishinaabemowin with children and hear the words. For the rest of the book, I can’t read the words, and that’s okay. Seeing the words written offers the opportunity to share with children that there are Indigenous languages and knowledge that have been built with this land since time immemorial, and are built from relationships with the land. For me, as a settler, it’s something special to consider how much I can grow and learn alongside children in a few short weeks in the land; it gives me greater appreciation for the wealth and depth of Indigenous Knowledge, knowing that this comes from a millennia of experiences in this land.
Final Thoughts & Support
“Sneaky Tree” is a really fun song, and I hope you’ll join me in having some adventures with it this fall. We would love to hear from you if you do! I invite you to share your ideas and experiences in the comments below or by dropping me a note.
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Alright, friends! Thank you for being here and taking the time to take in this work. I hope it sparks some fun and wonder in your days.
Warmly,
Tiiu
Land Heart Song 