Teaching your child about spring, summer, fall, and winter helps them understand how the world changes throughout the year. It gives them language to describe what they see, feel, and experience.
Teaching children about the seasons during circle time is a wonderful way to build early science understanding while connecting learning to the world around them.
Children are naturally curious about changes they see outside — flowers blooming, leaves falling, rainy days, and warm sunshine. Exploring the four seasons — spring, summer, autumn, and winter — helps children make sense of these changes in a meaningful and engaging way.
Circle time creates the perfect opportunity for discussion, observation, songs, movement, and hands-on learning. As children learn about spring growth, summer sunshine, autumn leaves, and winter weather, they begin to develop vocabulary, sequencing skills, and an understanding of time and change.
Seasonal learning also supports early science concepts, critical thinking, and descriptive language development.
In this post, we will explore each season — spring, summer, autumn (fall), and winter — along with the key learning that takes place and a selection of great books to use when teaching about the seasons.
And to make learning extra fun, we’ve included FREE Four Seasons Flash Cards at the end of this post!️
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Spring
Spring is the season of new beginnings! Flowers start to bloom, baby animals are born, and the weather gets warmer. You might see rain showers, rainbows, and lots of green grass and trees.
Questions to prompt discussions
- What colours do you see in spring?
- What do animals do in spring?
- Can you name a spring flower?
Summer
Summer is the hottest season. The sun is out, and it’s a great time to play outside, go to the beach, or eat ice cream! Trees are full of leaves, and gardens are blooming with fruits and vegetables.
- What do you wear in summer?
- What are your favorite summer activities?
- How does the sun feel?
Check out this Summer Activity
Fall (Autumn)
Fall is a season of change. Leaves turn orange, red, and yellow before they fall from the trees. The weather gets cooler, and animals start getting ready for winter.
- What colours do you see in fall?
- What happens to the leaves?
- What do animals do to get ready for winter?
Winter
Winter is the coldest season. Sometimes it snows, and we wear coats, mittens, and hats. Trees lose their leaves, and some animals hibernate or sleep through the season.
- What do you wear in winter?
- How does snow feel?
- What holiday happens in winter?
What learning is taking place?
- Building vocabulary and seasonal awareness
- Encourages observation and curiosity
- Opens conversations about nature, weather, and time
Here are three engaging activities you can use to explore the seasons with preschool children:
1. Seasons Sorting Game
Provide pictures of clothing, weather types, and seasonal objects (e.g., snowman, sunglasses, flowers, pumpkins). Invite children to sort them into four groups: spring, summer, autumn (fall), and winter. This activity builds critical thinking, vocabulary, and categorisation skills while reinforcing seasonal characteristics.
2. Seasonal Sensory Trays
Create four small sensory bins, each representing a season. For example, artificial flowers and green shredded paper for spring, sand and shells for summer, leaves and pinecones for autumn, and cotton balls for snow in winter. Children can explore textures while discussing what happens in each season. This supports sensory development and descriptive language.
3. Seasons Movement Game
Call out a season and have children act it out. For summer, pretend to swim; for autumn, fall like leaves; for winter, shiver from the cold; for spring, grow like a flower. This encourages listening skills, body awareness, and helps active learners engage with the concept in a fun, memorable way.
Click here to download your FREE Four Seasons Flash Cards(PDF)
Here are five excellent children’s books that help preschoolers learn about the four seasons:
These books make great read-alouds during a seasons unit and help children connect what they see in nature to what they read.
Flash Cards
Check out our collection of flash cards designed especially for preschool and early years learners. Our flash cards support early literacy, vocabulary building, social-emotional learning, and Islamic studies, making them perfect for both classroom and home use.
Simply print, laminate, and use again and again for circle time, small group work, or independent learning.
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