Any preschool teacher will tell you that sit-down lessons with young children will not last long nor be very effective against their short attention spans. Preschoolers are full of energy and like to be on the move. They learn by tactile interaction and whole body movement. Read or recite short poems about winter, spring, summer or fall activities, weather and the natural cycle of growing things. Make up fingerplays to go along or ask children to pretend to be a blooming flower or falling leaves, for instance. A winter movement activity involves strapping wax paper to the children's feet and letting them pretend to ice skate on the carpet.
Music and rhythm activities satisfy a preschooler's desire for movement while providing a creative outlet for expressing understandings of the seasons. Select simple songs about sunshine and snow, camping and critters, sledding and snowmen or rain and harvest. Involve the children in making up dances or motions to go with each song as they all sing along.
Puppets allow children to transfer their thoughts on the seasons onto an inanimate but personified object making it easier for some shy children to express themselves. Let children make stick or paper bag puppets of snowflakes, clouds, raindrops, flowers, trees, leaves, sunshine, creatures and people in seasonal clothing or provide a selection of seasonal-oriented puppets. Set up a puppet stage as an activity center and give children time each day to rotate through the station for unstructured play using the puppets to make up stories set in the different seasons of the year.
Many young children love to dress up and play pretend. Provide costumes that relate to seasonal events in nature and human activity. Let children use the costumes to enhance movement activities or in free play drama. For instance, children may pretend to be seeds and leaves blown in the wind, a family splashing in the water on a hot summer day or creatures gathering food for winter.