Seasons

The Seasons
In most places in the world there are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Each season has its own kind of weather. Trees and other plants are different in each season.

In spring, there are blossoms on some trees and many flowers grow. Plants that grow from bulbs often flower in spring. Daffodils and tulips grow from bulbs and flower in spring. The weather is warmer, but changes a lot. Birds make nests and lay eggs, and many animals have babies in the spring.

The next season is summer. The weather gets hotter, and people find ways of keeping cool.

Many kinds of fruit are ready to pick in summer, soft fruits like peaches and berries. Baby birds and animals grow bigger. They must be big and strong by the time the weather gets cold.

After summer comes autumn. In some places they call this season 'fall'. The leaves of some trees turn red, yellow or brown. Then they fall off the trees.

The fruit of some trees is ready to be picked, and on farms crops are ready to harvest. The weather slowly gets cooler.

After autumn comes winter. The weather is colder. In some places it is very cold and dark and the ground is covered in snow. People ski and play in the snow. The plants rest now. Some animals sleep through the winter. Some birds fly away to places where it is warm.

The seasons happen at different times in each country. In Australia, summer time is December, January and February. In many places, like England and America, those months are winter. They have summer in June, July and August when it is winter in Australia.

What causes the seasons? The seasons change because the Earth tilts on an angle as it orbits the Sun. This means that during a part of the year, either the northern part or the southern part of the Earth leans more directly towards the Sun. The part closest to the Sun gets more light and heat and has summer. While the part tilting away from the Sun has less light and heat and has winter.

To read more about what causes the seasons go to http://www.scienceu.com/observatory/articles/seasons/seasons.html

To read about seasons and weather in Australia go to http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/weather/

Acknowledge this page in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, Ron. & Sydenham, Shirley. Seasons [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2009)