Kindergartners may enjoy making cardboard tree houses, to the scale of a real tree branch of their choice. Children can work in groups of three for this project. Offer children a range of tree branches and cardboard boxes. Crayons should be available in case children want to paint the walls or add signs to the homes. Help groups glue colored paper on the roofs of their houses. Place the cardboard home on the group's chosen tree branch.
Elementary school children and junior high school students may attempt to construct more elaborate tree houses, depending on their grade. The rudimentary tree house design will be the same for both groups of children. Shoebox model houses may be used for this project and placed on a tree branch. Keep instructions to a minimum, but offer children glue, construction paper, and tape to use as room dividers or window shutters as well as scissors and crayons to personalize their tree house.
Give junior high school students extra cardboard pieces to use; these may become room dividers by being glued to the shoebox wall or furniture. Offer children colored paper; they can cut this into squares to use as rugs for different rooms or to color the roofs of their tree houses. Encourage children to add two or three windows. Students can use glue or string to secure the tree house on a branch.
High school students can build wooden models of tree houses to scale in groups of four. These can be placed on tree branches. A fixed platform the house will sit on must first be built around the branch. The children can cut wooden pieces to size using a saw under supervision, then nail the rim and floor joists to four crossbeams and place the floorboards onto the platform. Align and secure the walls, add roof rafters and boards.