It’s raining cats and dogs!
Have you heard that one before?
It’s not really raining cats and dogs - people just say that if it’s raining a lot.
The weather changes through the year and it’s linked to the seasons.
There are different types of weather like rain, wind, sun, snow and thunder and lightning.
The seasons are linked to the Sun and the Earth spinning around each other - but we’ll get into that another time!
There are four seasons. They run in the same order every year, and each season covers about three months.
In the UK, the months in each season are:
Spring - March, April, May
Summer - June, July, August
Autumn - September, October, November
Winter - December, January, February
Do you have a favourite season?
During each season, the weather and nature (things like plants and animals) all do something a bit different.
In spring, the weather becomes sunnier and a bit warmer. We still get rain showers, but flowers start to bloom and baby animals like chicks and bunnies are born!
In summer, the weather gets warmer and we tend to have less rain. Trees and plants are green and the flowers they had will start to turn to fruit, such as apples and strawberries!
In autumn, the weather gets colder and more rainy again. The trees start to go brown and lose their leaves.They are preparing for the cold winter.
Next comes winter when it’s very cold and can rain a lot. Sometimes we get snow and ice! The trees have no leaves and plants die back, waiting for the warm spring.
Did you know?
Animals like hedgehogs and dormice (that’s a type of mouse) hibernate in the winter - because it is so cold. They spend autumn making a cosy nest and stocking up on food. Then they sleep all through winter and wait until it’s warm in the spring to come out again - lovely!
Winter ends as the weather gets warmer. Nests are made and flowers start to bloom. We get back to spring and the seasons all start again!
In this activity, we will be learning the names of each season and what weather to expect in each one.
Why not try looking out of the window - what season do you think we are in right now?