The Seasons Cycle

Time is still an abstract concept for preschool aged children, especially extended periods of time like weeks, months, and years. While I don't expect my students to fully understand the ways that we measure time, I do try to build up their background knowledge and help them to develop a sense for the repetitive way that our measurements of time work.

We focus on concrete aspects of seasons as they come along, but I noticed that some of my students were confused about the order in which they occur. So we did this craft to help us visualize the cycle that seasons go through every year.

We read this book to help us think about each season individually. After every season, we would stop and add a sticker or die cut to represent that season on our paper plate wheel.

I also took the opportunity to practice beginning sounds by supporting the students as they found each season word on their own by matching the sounds and letters.

Then we used the wheels to explore how the cycle goes around and around, and pointed to each season in order as we sang this simple season song:

(Tune: Skip to My Lou)

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

4 seasons in a year!

We will keep talking about other natural cycles and patterns that happen as time goes by, with day and night coming up next.