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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

What are seasons?

The four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter
Savour the seasons with your primary-school child by reinforcing what they learn about autumn, winter, summer and spring in KS1 with at-home activities.

What are seasons?

Every year our planet experiences four seasons: autumn, winter, spring and summer.

As Earth moves around the Sun it spins in a slightly tilted position (on an axis tilted 23.5 degrees from a straight up, vertical position). This tilt is what causes our seasons because through the year different parts of the planet are angled towards or angled away from the Sun's light. More or less sunlight and heat impact on the length of each day and the average daily temperature in different seasons, as well as the amount of rainfall.

 

There are differences in the weather, length of day light available and plant life during the seasons. Typically:
 

  • In autumn the amount of time it is light for becomes less, the leaves start to change colour and fall off the trees. Autumn is called Fall in the United States of America. 
  • In winter we have colder weather, sometimes snow and frost, the trees have no leaves and the amount of time it is light during the day is at its shortest. 
  • In spring the weather usually turns warmer, trees begin to grow their leaves, plants start to flower and young animals such as chicks and lambs are born. 
  • In summer the weather is usually warm, trees have full green leaves and the amount of time it is light for during the day is longer. 

When do children learn about the seasons in primary school?

In Year 1 children are taught to observe the changes across the four seasons. They will learn to observe the weather and how the length of the day varies.

Children should also learn it is not safe to look directly at the sun, even when wearing dark glasses.

How do children learn about seasons?

  • Children will talk about and observe the changes in the weather and the seasons.
  • They may be given pictures to sort into the different seasons.
  • They may create pictures / paintings or artwork associated with the seasons.
  • Children may collect information over the year, for example photographs of the trees to compare.
  • Children might work scientifically to create charts and tables of the weather.
  • During each season as it occurs throughout the year children may discuss the weather changes and take part in seasonal activities such as exploring the sound of crunching leaves during autumn, watching baby chicks hatch during spring, etc.

Books about seasons for children

         

Learning activities about the seasons to do at home:

  • Watch the weather forecast with your child and discuss the weather.
  • Talk about the seasons as they occur during the year, pointing out key signs such as autumn leaves, cold weather in winter, new life in spring and warm weather in summer.
  • Cut pictures out of holiday brochures, catalogues or old cards and sort into summer and winter scenes.
  • Point out the short days in winter and long evenings in summer.
  • Collect autumn leaves and create a collage or autumn picture.
  • Go for a woodland walk in spring (to look at bluebells) and in autumn (to look at the trees and fallen leaves).
  • Be a weather presenter for the evening and act out the weather forecast.
  • Observe the weather over a week and record the weather in a table, drawing or painting pictures to go with it.
  • Make a rain collector and measure the amount of rain over a period of time.
  • Make ice cubes and construct a winter wonderland in miniature.
  • Use twigs and cotton wool to make a 3D winter sculpture.
  • Make a bird feeder in winter and discuss why the birds might need help to find food.
  • Discuss what clothes to wear during each season.
  • Listen to The Four Seasons violin concerto by Vivaldi and discuss the different sounds. How does the music represent the different seasons?

This fun Sesame Street video asks children to guess what season is associated with what weather.