Nature Net News
Your portal for nature tips
& tricks for exploring nature with kids
September 2010
Seasons
"Spring passes and one remembers
one's innocence. Dear Reader, It's the start of a new season--Autumn has just begun!
Leaves are changing color in response to changes for the cold winter ahead,
animals are preparing for winter, and even humans are wearing warmer
clothes to adapt to seasonal temperature changes. This Nature Net News focuses on the
seasons and the changes one experiences during winter. Do you remember
the wonder you felt when you first witnessed these changes? Enjoy! Kathe & Sarah
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one
remembers one's perseverance."
Yoko Ono
The Folks at Nature Net
In the polar and temperate regions, seasons are determined by the amount of sunlight that is given.
The seasons of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are opposite to each other. For example, when it is winter in Wisconsin, it is summer in Australia.
What to Do This Month:
Take a walk and enjoy the changing of the leaves from green to autumn colors!
Celebrate the Autumn Equinox (the day when night and day have equal times and also the official start of fall) on September 23.
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Discussion Walks
While traipsing through the outdoors and pointing out the signs of fall, chat with your children about other signs of other seasons. If it were the beginning of spring, what would this scene look like?
Instant Outdoor Expert:
Lucky to Live in Wisconsin!
We're lucky to live in Wisconsin where we can experience each of the seasons! This is because Wisconsin is located in the temperate zone between the North Pole (always cold) and the Equator (always warm)! This means that we experience all four seasons--spring, summer, autumn, and winter!
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
Aldo Leopold Nature Center
The mission of the
Aldo Leopold Nature Center is to "...teach the student to see the land, understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands" in the spirit of famed Wisconsin conservationist, Aldo Leopold. Through hands-on, guided experiences, children and adults come to discover and explore the wonders of the natural world! It operates year-round, is governed by a volunteer board of directors and managed by professional staff.
Go and see the seasonal changes in their prairie, marsh, and wooded
areas!
Check out its upcoming Fall Fest and Pipers in the Prairie--two terrific celebrations of the season
Stained Glass Leaves
1 sheet construction paper, small torn squares of tissue paper in fall colors,
1 sheet heavy weight self-stick laminating film (recommended: Con-Tact
paper, scissors, glue stick, toothpick, ribbon, suction cup hanger
1. Peel back half the backing from the laminating film--make sure to leave the other half alone!
2. Place tissue paper squares on sticky side. You can make them overlap or make patterns with them.
3. Take the remaining backing off the half of the laminating film you left alone and carefully place it over the tissue, sealing the tissue in. Be sure to press out any air bubbles you find.
4. Trim off overlapping film and throw away.
5. Taking your piece of construction paper, fold it in half and cut out a leaf shape so you have two leaves.
6. Glue the very tips of the leaves together. Then cut out the center of both leaves, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
7. Using your leaf frame as a guide, trim your laminated tissue paper.
8. Glue laminated tissue paper into frame.
9. Poke hole in the tip of your leaf for a hanger.
10. Insert a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie a knot. Hang on suction cup hanger.
11. Hang your leaf for the world to enjoy!
Kids' Crafts)
Suggested Reading:
"Beverlie Manson's Fairies: A Celebration of the Seasons"
by Beverlie Manson (all ages)
"Four Seasons" by DK Publishing (infant)
"Season Song"
by Mary Barack (infant)
"My First Flip-Flap Book of Seasons"
by Early Start Editors (infant-preschool)
"Ducky's Seasons" by Dick McCue
(infant-preschool)
"The Reasons for Seasons" Gail Gibbons (4-8)
"Four Seasons Make a Year" by Anne Rockwell (4-8)
"Sunshine Makes the Seasons" by Franklyn M. Branley (4-8)
"Silly Lilly and
the Four Seasons" by Agnes Rosenstiehl (4-8)
"Park Beat: Rhymin' Through the Seasons"
by Jonathan London (4-8)
"The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree" by Gail
Gibbons (4-8)
"Watching the Seasons" by Edana Eckart (4-8)
"Our Seasons" by Ranida T. McKneally
(4-8)
"Autumn Moon" by Jean Craighead George (9-12)
