Start the school year off right by exploring the changing landscape. Take your kindergarten students on a nature walk around the school yard or at a nearby park. Discuss the shapes and changing colors of the leaves on the trees. Allow children to collect clean leaves that have fallen onto the ground. In class, have children trace the leaves with pencil and color them in appropriate autumn colors. This is an excellent activity for teaching kindergarten students about colors. Fall is also the perfect time to teach children about planting. Take students on a trip to an apple orchard to pick apples. Discuss the way apples and other fruits grow from seeds. Bring various types of seeds to class and have students plant them in the school yard or in the classroom garden. Kindergarten children will enjoy watching the plants grow over the course of the school year.
As the cool autumn breeze gives way to the bone-chilling winter wind, show kindergarten children the wonders of winter while teaching them basic science principles. Discuss the different types of matter; solid, liquid and gas. Describe the way water takes on each of these different forms especially during the winter. Show children examples of each around the school yard. For example, explain that icicles and snow are solid, raindrops are water and the smokey, white substance the children see when they breathe into the cold winter air is a form of gas. Have children explore the concept further by filling cups with snow from outside, bringing the cups into the classroom and allowing the class to watch the snow melt. Then have the children take the cups, sit them on the window sill and allow them to freeze overnight. Discuss how the changes in temperature causes the matter to change from solid to liquid and back to solid again. Incorporate arts and crafts by having children make snow men out of cotton balls and cut snow flakes out of construction paper.
Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. Flowers begin to bloom, animals come out of hibernation and the temperatures finally begin to warm up. Celebrate the season with your kindergarten class with a host of exciting activities. Visit a botanical garden where the children can learn about different types of flowers, take the class bird watching or check out the newborn animals at the local zoo. An excellent story to read to kindergarten children during this season is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Discuss how the caterpillar changed from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Ask the children to describe the changes that they notice around them such as snow melting, temperatures rising and flowers growing. Have a class party to celebrate the season. Include arts and crafts activities like making colorful tissue paper flowers and butterflies out of construction paper. Decorate your classroom for spring.
As the school year comes to a close, kindergarten children begin looking forward to summer vacation. Teachers may find it increasingly difficult to keep young children on task. Take advantage of the upcoming vacation with a trip to the aquarium where children can explore aquatic life. Discuss the types of life found in the ocean. If your school permits and you are able to find enough chaperones, take the class on a trip to the beach where they can collect sand and seashells. If possible, bring more chaperones than needed for extra safety. For an arts and crafts activity, make sand art using empty plastic bottles and colored sand. End the school year on a positive note by having a class party. Ask parents to supply food, drinks and snacks. Have students make autograph books out of construction paper for their classmates and teacher to sign.