The Very First Oak Tree

As we say goodbye to fall I want to share a story Teacher Kat wrote and told in both of our classes that the children really enjoyed. In the style of a folk tale, this is the story of the first oak tree ever, why she chose to make acorns, and why some years there are so many more acorns than other years.

Last year the acorns were everywhere, we couldn’t help but incorporate them into every aspect of our play. We cracked acorns, made jewelry, leached them for pancakes and cookies, and more… This year they have been all but absent. We wanted to make sure the children don’t forget about the acorn, and plant some ‘seeds’ of noticing for years to come…

*We encourage you to pass this story on in any way you see fit— please do tell, change, edit, and adapt it for your classroom or family.

California Valley Oak

Long ago, at the beginning of time there were the very first trees: The Very First Willow, The Very First Sycamore, The First Ever Pine.

And of course there was The Very First Oak Tree.

Now, all of these trees wanted to grow their families. They had to decide what type of seeds they would produce to make more trees year after year, and for generations to come.

The First Willow and The First Cottonwood asked Wind for help:

"If we make small light seeds, will you carry and scatter them for us?" and Brother Wind agreed.

“Make them light like a feather, and I will spread your seeds far and wide.”

So this is what those trees did, they made light airy seeds. They spun them in beds of fluffy cotton so they were easily carried on the breeze.

The First Oak Tree had a different idea. Oak trees are big, thick, sturdy trees, often the biggest in the woodland. They needed a sturdy seed for a sturdy tree. So, The Very First Oak Tree made the acorn. She wrapped her tiny oak seedling in acorn meat for the seedling to eat, then she wrapped a tough shell around that for protection.

That fall, when The First Oak Tree had finished making all of her acorns she dropped them to the ground beneath her.

The winter rains came and wet the soil, leaves fell and covered the acorns as they sunk deeper into the mud to grow and sprout. This is wonderful thought The First Oak Tree, I cannot wait to meet all of my baby oak saplings in the spring.

When the dark winter skies cleared and spring had arrived, The first oak tree looked around. She saw little sprouting willow trees, and baby cottonwoods, a sycamore sapling over there--but there were no baby oaks beneath her branches. Her leaves sank in disappointment.

Cottonwood saw her friend’s sadness and whispered to her:

“ Psst. dear Oak Tree, your little acorns need sun. This is why willow and I spread our seeds to the wind. They get out from under our canopies and shade. Your acorn seeds are heavy... you dropped them directly below your branches. They never saw the light of day! you should just make little windy seeds like us!”

But The First Oak Tree was determined. She would not give up on her acorns. Sturdy seeds for a sturdy tree. So that fall she came up with a plan.

Just as she is now, The Very First Oak Tree was home to many creatures, birds, squirrels, and insects. So this fall, as she was preparing her second batch of acorns she sang a little song just loud enough for them to hear:

Acorn meat

delicious to eat

just crack open the shell

store some more outside your door

in seasons come they'll feed you well

The animals perked up, listening to The First Oak Tree sing this song, and when she dropped her acorns, the squirrels and birds took notice.

Ground Squirrel was the first animal to try an acorn.

“This is the perfect food.” he whispered to the other squirrels.

Pretty soon all the squirrels were gathering as many acorns as they could fit in their cheeks. When their cheeks were full they began to bury them all over the woodlands, saving them for later.

Acorn Woodpecker and Scrub Jay plucked the acorns straight from The First Oak Tree's upper branches. They ate some and stored more for later too.

Pretty soon every acorn had been stored or eaten by an animal. The First Oak Tree was pleased. Now my acorns are spread all over the woodlands, surely they will get plenty of sun and there will soon be baby oak saplings everywhere.

Acorn mush leaching in our class last year

Again spring came and The First Oak Tree looked around. And again she saw many little willow and cottonwood and sycamore saplings.. but where were the baby oaks? She longed to finally be a mother like the other trees.

The First Oak Tree hung her branches in sadness. What was she doing wrong? but then Willow whistled to her--

"Oak Tree, look! Over there!" The first oak tree squinted, and there, in the distance she spotted them: three young oak trees in a circle, buried acorns forgotten by a ground squirrel. They had made it, she had her first oak children!

The First Oak Tree was pleased, but still…only three trees? The other trees had hundreds of children by now. The First Oak Tree watched her saplings grow into strong young trees that summer. She was not discouraged. She had one more idea.

That same spring, The Very First Oak Tree, mother to all oak trees, threw her energy into her branches. She sprouted flower after flower, prepping each one to become an acorn. It was busy exhausting work, and she had no time for anything else, except to sing as she worked:

Acorn meat

delicious to eat

just crack open the shell

store some more outside your door

in seasons come they'll feed you well

By fall her branches were loaded and heavy. They slunk and dripped with hundreds and hundreds of acorns. It was 10 times the amount she made the year before. She had lost control of them, and they fell in piles all over the ground around her.

ok, we found a few acorns this year, but nothing like last year!

All of the woodland animals feasted on acorns that year-- even the deer and mice ate acorns that fall. The squirrels and birds and rodents stored them in caches and burrows and trees. Every nook and every cranny of the woodland was overflowing. There were more acorns than animals! Surely they couldn't eat them all! 

And so it was --that spring mother oak looked out at the woodlands. And there before her, dotting the ground were dozens and dozens of oak sprouts and saplings. Carried and scattered all over by the animals, those forgotten and uneaten acorns had sprouted into beautiful new baby trees.

The Very First Oak Tree, the mother of all oak trees was pleased. She hung her branches in a content exhaustion. She smiled to herself. Her plan had worked, but she was so so tired. She knew that she couldn’t do that every year.

And so it was decided, The First Oak Tree would save her energy and produce her abundance of acorns for the animals every few years.

And to this day, this is what all of the oak trees do. They may produce a few acorns each year, but they save their energy for the mighty mast year where they all work together to drop more acorns than the animals could possibly eat, ensuring that there will be many oak trees for generations to come.