Why Do We Have Seasons?

We did an experiment today to learn about why we have seasons. First, we read the book Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn Branley. Then we conducted the same experiment they do in the book which involves putting a pencil through an orange and marking the equator as well as the North and South poles. Then we put a push pin around where North America would be. Then we shined a flashlight on the orange and spun the orange, tilting it just like the Earth is tilted on it's axis. When the sun shines on part of the earth, that makes it daytime there, and when it is dark, that makes night. We talked about how while we are sleeping during our nighttime, it is daytime on the other side of the earth! To make the seasons, Mary Beth stood in the middle of the room holding the flashlight and I moved around her with the orange, showing how different parts of the earth get more/less sunlight throughout the year (more sunlight=summer, less sunlight=winter). The book also helps explain why the equator is always warm and why the North and South poles have long periods where the sun doesn't rise and then long periods when it doesn't set, again, due to the tilt of the earth. Mary Beth loved this experiment, and don't worry, we didn't waste the orange!