Few things help young children understand the seasons like watching a single tree change. This activity uses our Four Seasons Tree Set, but works with any four seasonal tree drawings.
You’ll need
- The four tree sheets (spring, summer, autumn, winter), one set per child or pair
- Colouring pencils or crayons
- A long strip of wall or a folded card to display the finished set
Step 1 — Look before colouring (5 minutes)
Lay the four sheets side by side. Ask: What’s the same in every picture? What’s different? Children quickly notice the blossom, the apples, the falling leaves and the snow.
Step 2 — Colour one season at a time (20–30 minutes)
Talk about the colours we see in each season before starting. Encourage pale pinks and fresh greens for spring, deep greens and red apples for summer, oranges and browns for autumn, and blues and greys for winter.
Step 3 — Put the year in order
Mix up the finished sheets and ask children to arrange them in order, starting from the current season. Younger children can simply match each sheet to a word card.
Discussion prompts
- Why do some trees lose their leaves in autumn?
- Which season is it now? What can we see outside?
- What happens to animals in winter?
Display idea
Mount the four sheets along a strip of card to create a “year tree” timeline, then add the month names underneath. It makes a lovely wall display for a seasons topic.
Teaching letters and numbers too? Our Trace & Colour Alphabet and Count & Colour 1–10 sets are built for early-years classrooms.