This traditional Chinese game was used to teach the name of the seasons and their order in the annual cycle.
The Four Seasons game
Aim
The child learns the names and the order of the four seasons.
Objectives
- Honor the changing of the seasons
- Develop the power of observation
- Prepare indirectly for learning about the time
- Prepare for understanding the related science
Age
3+
Materials
A fabric Four Seasons chart
Language
Names of the seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn
Control of Error
None
Presentation
This activity is carried out in a small group of four children.
Invite the children to sit down, making a circle. Once they are all settled, place the Four Seasons chart in the middle of the group. Walking around the Chart, tell the children that they will be learning about the four seasons. Pause and name each season as you step alongside each fraction.
Invite each child to stand one at a time in seasonal order (i.e. spring, summer, autumn, winter). The first child starts by saying: “I am spring. I am leaving.” Then invite the child in the summer to stand up and say: “I am summer. I am coming.” This child will then continue: “I am summer. I am leaving.” The autumn child stands up and continues. The game finishes when the fourth season has been called out.
Ideas
The children may like to hold a photograph of a tree through the four seasons and place it on their seasonal fraction. The pictures of the tree may help them identify, define, compare and contrast characteristics of each season.
This exercise may be carried out as an individual exercise in which the child may use theme cards or real items (i.e. clothing, food) and match each item to each seasonal fraction.
Children learn about the changing of the seasons with hands-on experiences every day. Developing a connection to nature by observing seasonal changes is a year-long activity.
The Four Seasons chart opens up various possibilities. You might like to use it as birthday chart in your classroom; whenever needed for an activity, it can be easily removed from the wall and placed on the floor.