Seasons
Thanks for joining us!
This episode was written by Jean and voiced by Kara and T.
Episode art was drawn by Jean.
It was originally released in June 2025.
— We love these books about the seasons —
Click on each photo for a link to the book on our Bookshop.org account
— Drawing the seasons —
What would something look like throughout different seasons?
A local tree? Your home?
— Seasons Episode Summary —
Why do we have seasons on planet Earth? —
To understand why we have seasons, we have to think about our planet, Earth. You know that Earth is a sphere, shaped like a ball. And that it is made up of land and water.
Scientists also have drawn an imaginary line around the middle of the sphere, which is called the equator.
The equator divides the earth into two areas, two halves, which are called hemispheres. The top half is the Northern Hemisphere and the bottom half is the Southern Hemisphere.
Scientists also tell us there is an imaginary stick going from the top to the bottom of the sphere, which they call an axis. At the top of the axis is the North pole, and at the bottom is the South pole.
Earth turns around the axis and it takes 24 hours to turn all the way around one time, which is called a rotation. Imagine that you’re standing up and you’re looking at a spot on the wall. If you spun around one time, and then came back to what you were looking at first, that would be one rotation.
And the Earth’s rotation is why we have day and night. When the spot where you live faces towards the sun, it is day time. And when you face away from the sun, it is nighttime.
The earth is not straight up and down on that axis. It is tilted a bit to one side. And so are the North and South poles. And because the earth tilts on its axis, the sun warms its surface in different places. When the earth tilts so that its Northern Hemisphere is facing the sun, that area gets warmer, but the Southern Hemisphere is colder, it’s titled away. Then at other times of the year, the Southern Hemisphere is tilting more towards the sun so it is warmer there, and the north is colder.
We in the United States live in the northern hemisphere. So that means that when we are having winter where we live, the people in, say, Australia, which is in the Southern Hemisphere, are having summer. When we are having summer, the people in Australia are having winter!
Not all areas on Earth have seasons the same way. The weather can be different depending on how far away from the equator the land is. Places far away have more changes in their temperatures. Places closer to the equator stay warmer throughout the whole year. The temperature there doesn’t change so much, although it might rain more at certain times of the year.
The earth has a path that it follows in space to go around the sun. That is called an orbit. And this going around takes a long time, it takes one whole year! Throughout that year, depending on where the Earth is and which part is tilted towards the sun, we get different seasons!
Spring —
On a calendar, scientists mark the first day of spring on either March 20th or 21st. That day is called the vernal equinox. Those words come from an old language called Latin. Vernal starts with ver which means spring. The first part equi means equal and nox means night. So all together it means spring when night is equal to the day. There is the same amount of daylight as darkness.
As the Earth orbits the sun, and the Northern Hemisphere is starting to tilt more towards the sun, the temperatures are slowly getting warmer and daylight is slowly getting longer.
In some places the weather can be rainy. But that is good because plants on Earth need the rain for growing.
Spring brings big changes in nature. Plants that have been brown are starting to turn green and grow again. Some flowers might bloom, such as daffodils and crocus. Trees begin to get leaves on their branches. When trees get green again it is one of my favorite things to see. That means it is getting warmer outside!
And it is the time to plant gardens. Farmers get their fields ready to grow crops, which is the food they grow for other people to eat. They get the soil ready to plant seeds, they feed the plants and make sure they have water. Then the sun works its magic and the plants start to grow. Some folks have gardens in their yards to grow vegetables and herbs or flowers for their own family to use.
Animals become more active as the temperatures warm up. Some animals who had moved to a warm place during the colder weather return North because it is now warmer there. They migrate to find more food or to find a warm place to have their babies. It is easier for babies to grow well in a warm place.
Some animals have been sleeping through the cold weather because there isn’t much to eat. But now they’re starting to wake up and they are hungry! So they search for food to give them energy again.
It is time to put away the heavy jackets and sweaters and wear clothes that are not so warm. Some sports are played such as baseball because the weather is better.
We think of spring as a time when the earth wakes up and comes alive again. In some places people celebrate spring with festivals because it is planting time and food will soon be growing again. Many traditions involve eggs and chicks as we think about animals having babies, some of which start as eggs. T and our family have fun hiding and finding fake eggs in the garden.
Summer —
Summer is the time of year when the earth tilts most directly towards the sun. The sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, so it takes longer for it to set. That makes the daylight last longer and the nights shorter.
In June, usually on either June 20th or 21st, we have a day which is the first official day of summer. It is called the summer solstice. On that day, the earth is tilted at the sun in just the right way to have the most daylight of the whole year.
In some countries, those far north, the sun seems to be in the sky all day and all night. It stays light in the middle of the night when we are trying to sleep.
The word solstice comes from and that language we talked about before called Latin. Sol means sun and stit means to stand still. So the word solstice came to mean “the sun seemed to stand still” on that day.
The warmth of the sun helps flowers grow so the world becomes very colorful. Summer is the time when the food we eat grows. The plant that started out very small will get taller and full of leaves. The fruit or vegetable will get bigger until it is ripe enough to pick and eat.
Animals are happy in the summer too. Babies that were born in the spring are growing and learning to live on their own. There is plenty of food for wild animals in nature.
For people in school in the United States, school year ends at the beginning of the summer. Kids take a break, then you will start in a new class when school starts up again. Big kids graduate from high school or college, which means they are finished with that school forever!
Summer clothing includes shorts, T shirts, and maybe even bathing suits to go swimming.
Another thing that warms up in the summer is water in lakes and rivers and even the oceans. People like to go to the beaches, sometimes called the seashore. People like to sit in the sand, make sand castles, and swim in the water. Or they might go boating on a lake or float in tubes on a river.
Many people take family vacations in the summer. Some people like to go to places where they can play in the water. And I know many people travel to new places to see different things and learn something new.
In some countries, the summer solstice is a time of celebration called Midsummer's Eve. It began many, many years ago when farmers celebrated the summer season because their crops were growing and would soon be ready to harvest.
In a country called Sweden, people have parties with friends and family and dance around a maypole decorated with flowers. They wear flower crowns, sing and dance, and have special food. Sometimes they light up big bonfires near the water and stay up all night.
In our country, the United States, a very big holiday happens on July 4th - Independence Day! There are big celebrations everywhere with picnics, and parades, ending with fireworks lighting up the skies at night.
Fall —
Well the earth is still orbiting the sun, and still tilted on its axis. So six months after the Vernal Equinox, that special in March, the Northern Hemisphere is starting to tilt away from the sun.
The next season is autumn, which we also call fall. On September 23rd, the Northern Hemisphere is getting the same amount of daylight and darkness. That’s the autumnal equinox.
Daylight is getting shorter every day after, and the temperatures are getting cooler, especially at night. This has a big effect on nature.
Plants don’t grow so well in the cold. They need the sun’s light to make their food. Farmers harvest the rest of their crops. Even the vegetables that can grow okay in the colder nights need to be picked, like pumpkins.
Trees will have big changes in the fall. They are getting ready for winter, when they don’t make the food that turns the leaves green. First the leaves change color from green to red, or gold, or brown. Then they fall off of the branches. The best part about that is that we rake them into large piles and jump in them! We like to make rubbings of leaves with different shapes.
Animals that live in nature also need to get ready for the colder weather. Bears eat as much food as they can to put fat onto their body to get them through the cold days. Some animals cannot survive in the cold, so they migrate to other warmer places. We often see large groups of geese flying in a Vee shape as they migrate. Butterflies, whales, and caribou (a large deer) also travel to warmer areas.
As for us people, it’s time to put away those shorts and bathing suits. We need jackets and long pants again.
The new school year is in full swing in autumn. And there are many fun holidays that we celebrate here in the USA, such as Halloween, Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving started because people appreciated all the food they were able to grow and were happy to have it. It is still a day when we stop and think about all the things we are thankful for.
Winter —
And finally, the cold weather arrives in winter.
The winter solstice is on December 21st or 22nd, the day when the “sun seems to stop in the sky”. But this time, the Earth is tilting so much away from the sun that the sun’s rays are not strong. And there are fewer daylight hours than darkness. People call the winter solstice the “shortest day” of the year.
When it’s winter for us in the northern hemisphere, the places closer to the North Pole have very little sun in the winter. In fact, the sun doesn’t rise much above the horizon for several months, so there is very little daylight. In those cold places, plants are asleep, not making food, no longer growing outdoors. Many animals have made a warm home and are asleep for most of the winter. Some animals even hibernate.
Sometimes I feel like hibernating in winter too! On very cold days, we like to have a fire in the fireplace, have hot chocolate and get cozy under a blanket.
But it can be fun to be outdoors in the winter if you have the proper clothing. Now we need really warm coats, hats, mittens, sometimes boots.
Winter can bring snow to many places. If it is super cold, water can freeze and people who live in the North might ice skate on frozen ponds.
And winter brings many special holidays for many people. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Valentine’s Day. President’s Day.
And…… the Earth is still going around the sun until, very slowly, the hours of daylight are getting longer again. And the sun's rays are getting stronger again as we start tilting more towards the sun. And eventually, the vernal equinox arrives again. Nature will be waking up soon, plants will start growing, animals will return, we can get out our lighter clothing.