Introducing Preschool Science Activities
How to Make a Preschool Nature Seasonal Calendar
Oct 15, 2009
Parents and teachers often create preschool science activities which are too abstract for a young child. Nature is accessible and fascinating for the young child and it offers endless intricacies and curiosities. By starting with things in nature that can be easily observed over time, preschool science can help nurture inquisitive minds and, as Richard Louv argues in Last Child in the Woods, can help keep children healthy.
The cycle of the seasons is something of which even a preschooler is beginning to be aware. But presenting the year in an adult-style monthly calendar with boxes for each day will be meaningless to most preschoolers. On the other hand a circular pictorial calendar which can be rotated with each passing month will help the preschool child begin to understand the cyclical nature of the seasons and learn the names of the months.
Making a Preschool Science Seasonal Calendar
For the most part the creation of the preschool nature calendar is an adult activity. However, the child can help with gluing and suggesting things to put on the calendar. The child will find it easy to use the seasonal calendar day to day and month to month. The calendar can be made with either felt or bristol board. The instructions that follow are for either material.
Materials required:
- 1 yard by 1 yard (or 1 meter by 1 meter) piece of colored felt or large sheet of bristol board
- 1 yard by 1 yard (or 1 meter by 1 meter) piece of cardboard (if using felt)
- Many smaller pieces of different colors of felt or construction paper
- Fabric paint or colored markers
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Craft glue appropriate for gluing felt or construction paper
- Yarn or colored string
Steps for Making Preschool Nature Calendar
- Start by cutting the large piece of felt or bristol board into a large circle.
- If using felt, lay the felt down on the cardboard and trace the circle with a pencil onto the cardboard. Cut the cardboard along the penciled circle. Glue the circular piece of felt onto the cardboard. If using bristol board, cut it into a large circle.
- Using the fabric paint or markers, divide the circular piece into four equal regions by drawing two lines that form a cross. Consider the four seasons where the child lives and group three months together for each season. For instance, December, January, February for winter, March, April, May for spring.
- Start in one of the four quadrants and using the fabric paint or markers write each of the names of the three months of winter equally spread along the outside rim of the felt.
- Continue clockwise in each of the other three quadrants continuing writing the months of the year. (If the seasons can't be divided neatly into three months for each season for the region in which the child lives, adjust the lines between the seasons such that they are not divided equally. For instance, there may be room for four months in winter, two for spring, etc.)
- Next, make four tree trunks out of colored felt or construction paper.
- Glue one trunk into each of the four quadrants.
- Leave one trunk bare for winter, cut and glue small pieces of light green felt or construction paper onto the spring tree, cut and glue large pieces of overlapping green onto the summer trunk, cut and glue autumn colored pieces onto the fall trunk. (Or modify this theme for the region in which the child lives.)
- Continue to decorate each quadrant with designs appropriate to the child's family and life. For instance, a cut-out of a tent could be placed in the summer quadrant if the family camps. Gift boxes could mark the months of family member birthdays. A toboggan or skis could decorate the winter area.
- Once the seasons are all illustrated with designs, create a hanging loop for each month by threading yarn or string through a large needle and creating a loop above the name of each month. Poke the needle through the circular felt or bristol board on one side of the month name and then poke through on the other side of the month name leaving enough slack in the yarn to create a loop to hang the calendar on the wall. To keep the yarn from sliding, poke back through again right next to the last hole before continuing to the other side of the next month name.
Using the Preschool Nature Calendar
Once complete, hang the seasonal calendar on the wall with the loop of the current month. The child can change the calendar to the next loop each month. Room can be left to continue decorating the calendar. Don't feel like it can't be hung until it is one hundred percent complete!
If desired, the calendar can also have the numbers 1 to 31 running from top to bottom along the lines that form the cross for each quadrant. A marker can be moved daily to show the date. For felt, the marker can be a Velcro backed circle of felt that circles the date number. For bristol board, a circle can be cut out of the sticky backed part of a sticky note page.
References:
Cornell, Joseph. Sharing Nature with Children. Dawn Publications. 1998.
Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books. 2008.
Related articles:
Homeschool Preschool: Creating a Love of Learning Through Fun Preschool Activities
Homeschool Kindergarten: Having Fun While Homeschooling Kindergarten Age Children
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