As the seasons change, it is a good time to take advantage of a natural learning opportunity in an early childhood education setting. While you may not think of it as an important time for your child, it is crucial that you take the time to acknowledge that these phenomena are exciting events for your child. The change in the seasons brings changes in weather, nature, and daylight. Taking advantage of these shifts will help you focus on particular time frames without overwhelming the child.
When weather changes, it is important during circle time that you address it. Typically, during the start of your day, you will discuss the calendar and the weather. These changes will allow the children to see the subtle changes as new seasons slowly come. Once the cold weather has been around for a while, it is the perfect time to have the children brainstorm why the weather is getting chillier. It allows them to create a cause in their terms of how they understand what is happening. It will then give you an opportunity to correct how they view the world and explain the science behind what is going on.
Falling leaves, blooming flowers, and fresh snowflakes provide a great opportunity to have them go on a nature excursion. They can observe the different items that are in the area. Whether they find green leaves or pink flowers, encourage them to find bits of nature that appeal to them in shape and color.
Fall and spring are good times of the year to help them understand cycles. Teach them that the world runs on cycles that change time, the seasons, the weather, and the day and night. Allow them to interpret these sequences in their way at the start. Then, slowly build on what each child interprets to create an understanding of what is going on.
Learning does not need to stop once the kids go home either. Weather shifts are a good time to allow your children to tell you what they learned. Then, they can explore their neighborhood for signs that cool or warm weather will be coming. It enables them to bring their lessons home. Plus, it will help the children remember what they learned that day in their early childhood education center.
