10 Creative Ways to Teach Children About the Four Seasons
The changing of the seasons is no surprise for most adults, but for children, it can be a time of wonderment! Whether it’s the falling of snow that excites them most or the birth of their favourite farmyard animals, little ones are often taken aback by the rolling of spring into summer, summer into autumn, autumn into winter and so on. After all, seasons changing can feel like an act of magic! It can also inspire lots of fun, creative and educational activities. Fluctuating weather and daylight hours offer lots of opportunities for learning, whether you’re teaching kids at home, nursery or school. If you’re ready to let nature guide your curriculum, here are lots of creative ways to teach children about the four seasons!
Encourage children to use their senses on your next walk
Getting outside is the most effective way to appreciate the beauty of the changing seasons, so why not take a long walk through the forest or along the coast? Encourage your little ones to use each of their senses to soak up the new sights, smells, tastes and textures of the new season. Ask them to point out what they notice most clearly. Is it the brightness of the summer sun? The chill of the winter air? The crunch of autumn leaves underfoot? This will inspire their curiosity and kick start a conversation about the way the world is changing.
For more sensory play ideas for the under 5s, don’t forget to check out our recent blog!
Whip up delicious meals with seasonal produce
Going for a walk outdoors is a great way to stimulate your senses, as is cooking a delicious seasonal meal! Children love being hands-on (especially when there’s a tasty meal to eat afterwards!) and will love the sense of achievement that comes with cooking or baking something. You can also make this an educational activity by using only seasonal produce. Teach your little ones about the ingredients you’re using and what it means for fruit or vegetables to be seasonal. You could even show them on a map where the ingredients were grown and the environmental benefits of seasonal cooking!
Learn about seasonal holidays and days of celebration
There are lots of fun seasonal holidays and days of celebration throughout the year to teach children about. The holidays you choose to celebrate might depend on your cultural or religious beliefs, but if you work in education, you might decide to teach your pupils about lots of different celebrations! You could delve into the history of each holiday, eat traditional foods, listen to celebratory music or watch films and documentaries about each day and its purpose.
Forage for seasonal foods
Another great way to teach children about the four seasons is to go foraging for seasonal fruits and vegetables. There are lots of farms that offer pick-your-own sessions from spring through until winter, allowing you to handpick delicious produce fresh from the ground. In recent years, picking your own pumpkin has become extremely popular as a fun, autumnal activity - and a great way to prepare for Halloween! However, some farms also allow you to pick strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, apples, carrots and much more. This is a great way to aid the development of children’s fine motor skills, making it a great activity for all ages.
Use the changing seasons to learn about the Earth’s rotation
Older children may begin to recognise how and when the seasons change, but they might not truly understand why. You could use whatever time of year it is as an opportunity to teach them about the rotation of the Earth and how this influences the weather, daylight hours and temperature. Why not create a four seasons project where you delve into the science behind the Earth’s rotation? This could also be a good time to explain how and why countries like Australia experience the seasons at a different time to us in the UK!
Invite questions about the four seasons
Simply encouraging children to ask questions can be a highly effective way to teach them about the four seasons! Whether you’re walking to school or it’s snack time at nursery, spending just a few minutes asking them what they think can be a great way to instigate conversation. Perhaps they have questions about the weather, or maybe they want to know why the leaves change colour as the months go by; either way, answering these questions and encouraging them to share what they’ve learnt with their friends is a fun, quick and easy way to use the power of nature in kids’ education.
Encourage children to draw and paint what they see
Children love being hands-on, so why not let them get a little messy with colouring pens, paints and charcoal? Encouraging them to draw or paint what they see will inspire their creativity and allow you to see the world through their eyes. Pay attention to what they focus on the most. Is it the vivid colours of autumn or the beauty of snow in the winter? Are they fascinated by the bright green of the trees in summer or perhaps the birth of chicks in spring? Figuring out what excites them most will help you plan future activities around this, whether it’s taking them to your local farm or going for a walk in the forest to watch the leaves fall.
Play a seasonal sorting game
Why not inspire young learners by playing a seasonal sorting game? All you need to do is collect belongings from around the house or print pictures depicting items or scenes from each season and sort them into different piles. Create four piles, one for each season, and encourage your children or pupils to put each item on the pile they think it belongs in. For example, a picture of a snowflake or pine tree will go into the winter pile and a pumpkin will be categorised alongside the autumn items. Try to use a selection of real items (like pumpkins) alongside pictures and photographs to involve every sense and aid the development of important motor skills.
Make a year-long timeline
Creating a yearly timeline will be a long-term project, but it’ll also be very fun and educational! You can begin at any time of the year, so you don’t need to wait until January 1st to get started. All you need to do is get a large piece of card or sellotape pieces of paper together until you have enough space to draw a line including each of the twelve months. Once you’ve done this, your little ones can start filling out what changes they notice every four weeks. It could be the fact that the sun goes down earlier, or that they no longer need to walk to nursery or school with a winter coat on. If you’re teaching children who can’t write yet, you could always collect items to stick on the timeline instead (such as a photo of them enjoying an ice cream on the beach or a sprig of holly).
Create a seasonal mobile for your child’s bedroom
One great way to encourage young children to recognise the changing of the seasons is to decorate their bedroom differently for spring, summer, autumn and winter. Don’t worry, we don’t mean repainting! You won’t need to make significant changes for them to be effective. Simply creating a seasonal mobile to hang above their bed could help them associate different items and changing weather patterns with the different times of year. For example, your summer mobile could have pictures of the sun, ice lollies and beaches. Alternatively, your winter mobile could have pictures of snowflakes, hot chocolates and warm coats!
Sandfield Day Nursery: Exceptional childcare situated in the heart of Nottingham
At Sandfield Day Nursery, we’re passionate about helping young children get the very best start in life. We’re dedicated to providing a safe and stimulating educational environment for children from six weeks old to five years. Based in the heart of Nottingham, we’re proud to assist parents and guardians with the highest standard of childcare. With expert nursery staff and high-quality childcare facilities, we at Sandfield Day Nursery are well-equipped to support the development of your little one’s important social and motor skills.
To learn more about Sandfield Day Nursery or to ask any questions you may have, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!
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