Summer comes after spring, and for many children its arrival is not clear from the point of view of the environment. Spring, like summer, brings warm weather; in spring you can see the leaves in bloom on the trees, hear birds and watch insects. However, children must be introduced to the signs of summer, otherwise they can miss this season and the differences between spring and summer will not become clear to children’s understanding.
- The first clear sign of summer for children is a change of clothes. It becomes light, with short sleeves. A T-shirt or light dress will keep your child warm. Shoes are also changed, sneakers and boots are replaced with lighter sandals or slippers.
- The baby will be happy to note the difference that has occurred in nature. This includes stronger foliage on the trees, a variety of herbs and flowers, and the appearance of the first berries and fruits in the garden.
- Summer is a time for vacations and holidays. Trips to nature or on vacation to the sea. Walking outside and attending various outdoor children's activities.
- You can also point out to your child that in summer the daylight hours last longer than at other times of the year. During this time, you can cope with more work than, for example, in winter.
Having shown the main signs of summer, do not forget about the names of the summer months and days of the week. For preschool children, such ideas are also incomprehensible due to the small development of abstract thinking. Therefore, such concepts just need to be learned. A calendar can help solve this problem.
Making an educational calendar
Let's take an ordinary calendar, preferably with large numbers and letters printed on it. Let's show it to the baby and introduce him to the location of the names of the months, days of the week and the number of the day. Now let's suggest making this calendar special and playing with it. There can be different types of games with a calendar:
- Weather calendar. Every day the kid notes what the weather was like today: sunny, rainy, windy. To do this, you can take a felt-tip pen, or you can come up with special stickers for each manifestation of the weather.
- Mood calendar. Encourage your child to note his daily mood. Joy, sadness, resentment, fun, etc. This can be done with a pen or pencil.
- Mathematical calendar. Count with your child how many days are left until vacation or the weekend. Let every day you live be crossed off from the calendar.
It is advisable to play games with a calendar in the child’s free time, making sure to focus the child’s attention on the time of year, the name of the month and day of the week.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is outside, it is important to give the child an idea of the general characteristics of each in order to develop stable memorization and understanding of such abstract concepts. In the future, this will help the child in the educational program of kindergarten and primary school.
By correctly directing your child’s attention to studying the signs of the seasons, you can teach him to distinguish winter from spring, spring from summer. This gives a good leap in the development of abstract thinking and education in general.
