The Earth is always moving. It rotates once every twenty-four hours. This is what causes the sun to appear to come up in the morning and go down, or "set," in the evening. The earth also travels around the sun every 365 days. In summer, the earth is closer to the sun than in winter. That is why the weather is warmer in the summer. In short, all this movement by the earth means change for us.

Children notice these daily and seasonal changes by the way they affect us. We go to sleep when it is dark outside. We wake up with the sun. In spring, we notice the trees start to get leaves, and birds come back from the places they spend the winter. In fall, the leaves on the deciduous trees change color, and eventually fall off as the trees get ready for a long winter's nap. Just like the trees and the birds, people make changes, too. As the seasons change, we change what we wear and how we play outside.

In this interactive, children are asked to look for clues in each picture to choose the season they think is best represented. There is auditory reinforcement for text on the screen to help with word recognition. The question mark with a circle is a clue prompt if a child needs some additional information.

Print Background Essay