Learning about Seasons

With the extreme weather patterns that seem to be hitting all over the country from frigid cold to major droughts it got me thinking about seasons.  In addition to that their are days when it's cold outside and my 3.5 year old will ask if we can go swimming in her pool.  When I try and explain that it's winter and too cold for swimming she doesn't seem to understand and insists that it's ok!!

In an effort to try and teach my daughter about the 4 seasons I came up with an activity that I hope will help her understand a little bit better.  Here's how it works:

I used toilet paper rolls and wrapped them with pictures I printed from the internet.  These pictures were of something that represented the season.  For example, a sun for summer and a snowman for winter.  I also printed different pictures of things that would go along with the seasons.  Again for example, a picture of a beach for summer or a pumpkin for Autumn.  I cut those into circles and glued them to the tips of popsicle sticks.  I had plain and colored popsicle sticks but I chose to use the colored ones just to add some color.   Actually, I tried to use popsicle stick colors that went along with the season; red for winter, purple for spring, yellow for summer and orange for autumn.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how it looked after I glued the paper onto the rolls and popsicle sticks:

Then I randomly placed the popsicle sticks on the table and Tiffany had to pick one and place it into the correct season.

She really enjoyed the activity!

Before, during and after the activity we talked about our 4 seasons.  She had a genuine interest and I am confident the more we do this activity and others like it she will have a clearer understanding of what each season is about.

Here are some other close up shots:

(pictures I used to go along with the season winter were mittens, snowflake, sled, Santa Claus and icicles.)

(pictures I used to go along with the season summer were the beach, a pool, bathing suit and amusement park)

Whatever your weather might be may you enjoy what Mother Nature brings!!

Susen