To add to their enthusiasm, tell preschoolers they will pretend to be scientists. Provide them with large plastic tweezers or tongs, plastic magnifying glasses, several plastic small bowls or petri dishes and a large container of acorns. Have each child pick up one acorn as you discuss its characteristics such as color, size and texture with the class. Afterwards instruct preschoolers to work together, using the magnifying glass and tweezers to pick up the acorns and examine them. They should then sort them by various characteristics into the bowls or petri dishes.
Discuss the life cycle of trees with preschoolers. Show pictures of acorns, saplings and mature trees. Provide each student with an acorn, three small balls of brown modeling clay, green and brown chenille stems and small bits of green tissue paper. Have preschoolers press the acorn down into the first clay ball to represent a buried acorn. In the next clay ball have preschoolers press one short piece of green chenille stem to represent a sapling. In the final clay ball, assist preschoolers in creating a mature tree shape with the brown chenille stem. Have them glue on small pieces of green tissue paper for leaves.
Read aloud the book "Acorns Everywhere" by Kevin Sherry to preschoolers. The book has simple text with a repeating phrase "gather, dig, bury" that preschoolers can chant together as you read the book. Discuss the words gather, dig and bury as they refer to the story of the squirrel hiding acorns for the winter that later he cannot find. Afterwards, have students imagine they are squirrels and ask where they would hide acorns. Instruct preschoolers to draw a picture of themselves as a squirrel burying acorns for winter.
Assist students in taking the top cap off of several acorns. Demonstrate how the top of the acorn can be used to make circle prints when held by the tip and the bottom dipped in paint then pressed on paper. Provide students with several small containers of tempera or acrylic paint and paper. Have students create designs and patterns on the paper using the acorn cap dipped in paint to create circles.