MSU Extension Child & Family Development

BEFORE READING:

• Show the children the front of the book. Ask them to guess what the book is about.
• Point to the bird on the front cover and ask them what it’s sitting on.
• What do they think the bird is doing?

WHILE READING:

• Stop at any time if there is something you or the children would like to talk about.
• Ask them questions so that they can connect what is happening in the book to things they already know about. Try some of these ideas:
  • What does the sky look like now?
  • What time of year do you like best?
  • What do you like about that time of year?

AFTER READING:

• Spend some time talking about the story. Ask the children things like:
  • What were the kids doing on the summer days?
  • What happened to the leaves on the trees during fall?
  • What was on the ground during the winter?

Read this book several times to the children. Hearing the same story again and again helps them learn new words and understand the ideas they hear better. Each day, pick a different activity to do with the children after reading “Tell Me a Season.”

MATH AND SCIENCE

Take a walk together, looking at the different things around you. Put things you see into two groups, such as living and not living, on the ground and in the air, or another way.

THINKING SKILLS

Look at the trees in the book as you read. Ask them to tell you what is different about the tree for each season.

MOTOR SKILLS

Let the children help you during snack time. Ask them to fold napkins for the table, or help you measure something as you are getting the snacks ready.

READING READINESS

Talk about the different things you see in the picture as you read the book together. Have them point to the cat on each page, or find the sailboat as you read.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Have a silly dance contest. Move really fast and then try moving really slow. Move only your arms or only your legs. See who can dance the silliest.

PRETEND PLAY

Pretend to climb a tree. Tell one another how you are climbing as you get to the top. De- scribe what you see once you get to the top.

ART

Make rubbings using leaves. Place a piece of paper over a leaf or blade of grass. Using a crayon or pencil, color on the paper over the leaf or grass. The image of the leaf or grass should show through on the paper. Try this with different sizes and shapes of leaves too.

For more information, visit: MSU Extension Early Childhood Development