How can we experience the Seasons, something that cannot (except currently for Fall) be brought into the classroom?

We are learning about them in a variety of ways.

We are exploring how the Earth rotates on its orbital path each year creating each season.

The seasons are a cycle. They repeat each year in the same order.

We know the Earth rotates toward and away from the sun making day and night.

We also know that the earth tilts, and our spot on Earth receives different amounts of sun depending on where the Earth is on its orbital path.

By pretending to be the Earth, we can feel what it's like to rotate, orbit and create a change of season.

We can use art to help us explore the characteristics of the seasons.

Tori: I think Spring would have a sun, and a tree with rain but it needs a rainbow.

Aaron: I'm going to make a rainbow.

While making a seasonal trees, we discussed how trees change during each season.

Morah Katie: What would you expect to see on a tree in Spring?

Levi: Flowers and new leaves.

Morah Katie: Would you see a lot of leaves?

Dena: Not a lot of leaves.

Morah Katie: What would you expect to see on a tree in Summer?

Noah: A lot of leaves.

Morah Katie: What color would you expect to see?

Tori: Green leaves, lots of green leaves.

Morah Katie: And what are the trees looking like right now?

Levi: Orange and red and brown.

Morah Katie: What season do the leaves change colors?

Dena: Fall and the leaves fall off.

Morah Katie: So what would we see on a winter tree?

Levi: Nothing!

This week we are discussing Spring, the season of confused weather and new growth!

We read a book about Spring and discussed what we learned.

The weather during Spring seems to be confused, no longer winter but not yet summer, what types of weather can we expect?

The children helped brainstorm a pencil sketch.

Spring should have rain, storms, rainbows, wind, and high on mountains it can still snow.

Some days it’s chilly and other days its hot; some days its cloudy and other days it's sunny.

The children each chose a piece of the sketch to paint, creating the first panel of our season mural.

With the melting snow and spring rains comes new growth of flowers and trees. And Bugs!

Ladybugs help keep the pesky bugs like aphids from destroying flowers.

Dena created her ladybug, by observing the example, talking about the different aspects of the craft and applying what she thought.

Morah Katie: What do you see?

Dena: A ladybug.

Morah Katie: What was used to create the ladybug?

Dena: Circles and eyes.

Morah Katie: How can you use the circles to create a ladybug?

Dena: Cut them out and glue them together.

Singing is another way we can learn about concepts.

To help us understand the seasonal cycle we can sing;

Here we go round the year again, the year again, the year again

Here we go round the year again to greet the different seasons.

In the springtime days grow warm.

On the plants, the new buds form.

Bees and bugs come out to swarm,

because it is the spring.