This project will teach your child about the four seasons while expanding their vocabulary about science, climate, and weather. You will also use and encounter a lot of time terminology (now, next, soon, then), which will be helpful in future math lessons.
Materials:
- Picture books about the four seasons
- Brown construction paper (four pieces)
- Poster Board in a light color, preferably not white
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Markers, crayons, pom-poms, or other art supplies in:
- Green
- Pink
- White
- Brown
- Orange
- Yellow
Read some picture books about the four seasons together. Look at lots of pictures and talk about what makes each season unique. Talk about the seasons where you live. Do you experience all four seasons or only some of them? Do you know any family members who live in a place with a very different experience of the seasons, like in the tropics or the mountains? What season is it now? What season will it be next?
Using the ruler and pencil, divide the poster board into four equal squares. You will be making a tree diorama to illustrate each of the seasons. Write the name of a season at the top of each square going in chronological order and beginning in the top left-hand corner and traveling clockwise around the poster. You could start with the current season or any season you choose, just make sure to go in order. The clockwise direction of the flowing seasons will reinforce not only the cyclical nature of the seasons but also subconsciously illustrate the concept of “clockwise” for passing time.
On the brown construction paper, trace your child’s outstretched hand and forearm. This will be the trunk of your tree. Cut out four identical copies and have your child glue one in each square. Now, you have four bare trees to decorate according to the seasons. Using your picture books for ideas, decorate each tree in order to show the passing seasons. Pink flowers for spring, green leaves in summer, brown, orange, and yellow leaves falling in autumn, and white snow in winter. (This is why it’s best to use a light background other than white, so that you can see your snow better.)
Make it as fancy as you like! Add birds in their nests for spring or make snowmen for the winter. Do you have seasonal stickers you can add or glitter to make the snow sparkly? Let your child’s creativity flourish! When finished, it makes a wonderful wall calendar to show your child where you are in the year as well as a precious keepsake with their tiny handprints.
Teaching moments
- For added music appreciation, turn on Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons as you make your poster. Tell your child that Vivaldi composed a different song to illustrate each season and ask them what they hear in each one. Is that the wind howling in the winter? Do you think that is what flowers blooming in spring would sound like?