Spring has Sprung in Australia – for 4KJ and 4KM

To see 4KM and 4KJ's original post...

Spring Is Here and Happy Father's Day

What do I enjoy about spring?

Perhaps one of my favourite activities in Spring, or really any time of year, is hiking in a national park or nature reserve. Spring adds the added pleasure of a burst of colour from flowers and life from the animals growing more active. Spring is the time I like to have a camera in hand. Here are two photo collages made from some of the photos I've taken.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

You can click on a picture to enlarge it.

The Seasons in Australia

For most Australians, the seasons start at the beginning of certain months of the year.

Autumn - March 1st
Winter - June 1st
Spring - September 1st
Summer December 1st

But not all countries judge the start of seasons by a date on the calendar. Many countries, and many cultures in history, judged seasons to start with an equinox or solstice. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres have seasons opposite to each other. When we in Australia have Winter, the north has Summer.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Solstice

A solstice is the time of year with the greatest difference between length of night and day. The Summer Solstice has the longest day and the Winter Solstice the shortest day. For the Southern Hemisphere, the date of the solstices for 2012 are...

Winter Solstice - 21 June

Summer Solstice - 21 December

Equinox

An equinox is the time of year when the length of day and night are the same. There are two each year. For the Southern Hemisphere, the date of the equinoxes for 2012 are...

Autumn Equinox - 20 March

Spring Equinox - 23 September

 

Has Spring Sprung in Australia?

As most Australians take the beginning of Spring at the first day in September, Spring has sprung in Australia but I prefer to believe Spring only truly begins this year on 23 September when day and night are once again the same length.

What do you think?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here are links to other extended comments I have made under the topic of seasons...

Winter Solstice https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/06/22/winter-solstice-for-mrs-ranneys-class/

for Royce on Seasons https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/05/23/for-royce-on-seasons/

13 thoughts on “Spring has Sprung in Australia – for 4KJ and 4KM

  1. Chloe 4KM

    Dear Ross,

    What a great post about spring and I like the photos you put on the blog. :mrgreen:
    I was wondering did you take the photos your self?

    I love spring and I love the flowers how they grow so beautiful and also how the animals have babies! πŸ™‚

    Thanks for commenting on our blog. You always put alot of efort into it.

    From Chloe 4KM

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Dear Chloe,

      Yes, all of the photos are mine. Like you, I would have to show who took the photos had it been someone else. I do at times use other people’s graphics and photos but I make sure I give credit to their creator when it’s known.

      The chart (graph) in this post, for example, was created using Excel to make the chart shape then modified in Photoshop to spread the blue line and add labels. For schools and students, I give them permission to use my graphics and photos when asked. πŸ™‚

      @RossMannell

      Reply
      1. Chloe 4KM

        Dear Ross,

        Thanks for replying to me and thanks for telling me what you do to make the photos stick together. You are very nice and I was wondering again how long it took you? You are one of the best commenter’s I ever have know.

        I know I haven’t really done anything about the reply you sent me but I couldn’t think of anything. πŸ™‚

        From Chloe 4KM

        Reply
  2. Skye

    Dear Ross,

    Thank you so much for making an extended comment for 4KM and 4KJ, it is very much appreciated. You put a lot of effort into it!

    I will answer your question. I can tell that the weather has gotten a bit warmer which is great. So I think that spring starts on September 1st. I guess it could be either though. Everyone has opinions.

    From,
    Skye

    P.S. I have a blog and this is the address: http://skyessuperblog.global2.vic.edu.au

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Dear Skye,

      It’s very true, everyone has opinions regarding many things in life. In ancient societies, seasons were judged by the position of the sun in the sky or perhaps the changes in weather.

      Did you know the Ancient Egyptians had a calendar? At first, their calendar had 12 months of 30 days but, according to the link below, around 4000 BC they added five days to make 365 days (a solar year). The extra five days became a festival.

      http://www.infoplease.com/calendar/egyptian.html

      We, of course, know there is a little bit more than 365 days for our planet to make a complete orbit of the sun. That’s why we have leap years so we can adjust for the little extra.

      I will visit your blog shortly to see your latest post. πŸ™‚

      @RossMannell

      Reply
      1. Skye

        Dear Ross,

        Thanks for the informative reply! You sure do know a lot of facts! πŸ™‚

        I didn’t know that the Ancient Egyptians had a calendar. That’s interesting that each month had 30 days in it.

        I remember how many days are in each month by the song ’30 Day’s Has September’. Have you heard of that song?

        Thanks for the interesting facts,
        Skye (4KJ)

        Reply
  3. Georgia (4KM and 4KJ)

    @RossMannell,

    Thank you for again for leaving 4KM and 4KJ an extended comment! It is very kind of you to do that.

    I think spring starts on the 7th of September. 1 week after the 1st of September. I think Winter starts a week after June. Who knows?

    Your pal,

    Georgia

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Dear Georgia,

      I find it interesting you have chosen a week after the beginning of the month for the start of a season. It gives us a little extra time to be ready for the new season.

      Like a number of things, seasons are judged by what people agree to recognise. In countries such as Australia, the start of the season is at the beginning of the month whereas many countries agree seasons start with equinoxes and solstices.

      It’s like time. Countries agree to the time zones we place them in. We know the International Date Line marks a boundary in time. It’s not a straight line but, if you could, stepping from our side to the eastern side of the line takes us one day into the past. Today at this time (September 4 at 7:45am) is Tuesday but step across the line and it is Monday. Here’s a link…

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line

      This would mean if most people in Australia agreed with you, seasons would start on the 7th of the month. Isn’t it amazing how some things are decided by enough people agreeing?

      @RossMannell

      Reply
  4. Mrs Morris

    Dear Ross,

    Thank you so much for another fabulous extended comment for 4KM and 4KJ. We enjoyed reading it yesterday and learnt a lot about the seasons.

    I’ve also been meaning to thank you again for the wonderful post on natural disasters. The students wrote information reports last week and used your post as a starting point.

    We’re lucky to have you in our learning community.

    Best wishes,
    Mrs Mβ˜€rris

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Dear Mrs Morris,

      Some of the children shared with me they used the Natural Disaster post in class.

      I seem to have been able to keep my curiosity about our world very active throughout my life. I was known for going off at a tangent when a chance for unexpected learning presented itself to my classes.

      One compliment from a parent once went something like this, “I know you do all of the regular lessons but my son always comes home excited about the others thing you share with them.”

      Blog commenting has allowed me to be a small part of class life again so I am grateful when I find a class finds what I share of use. πŸ™‚

      @RossMannell

      Reply
  5. Mrs Morris

    Dear Ross,

    You certainly have kept your curiosity alive! It’s inspiring to practising and retired teachers everywhere.

    That’s a lovely compliment from a parent and moments like that make all the hard work worthwhile.

    Mrs Morris

    Reply
  6. Kathy Lennox

    Hello Ross,
    I am retired from classroom teaching, and very interested in the ways that blogging and social media can be used for learning.
    I enjoyed the discussion about the seasons in Australia and the reminder that as we are coming up to the season of Autumn here in Canada, it’s spring in the Southern Hemisphere. I like to be reminded that things are different in other places. It makes me feel part of the global community sharing this planet.
    I learned about your blog from your response to Mr. Waller’s class’s invitation to share experiences of Harvest Festivals, and was captivated by the descriptions of plants in Australia. Reading some of your explanations on this blog, I am struck by how effectively the use of a simple graphic illustration has clarified your point. Thank you for your work!
    Kathy from Ajax, Canada

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Hi Kathy,

      Thank you for the positive feedback. The blog commenting only started in about the middle of 2011. I saw a tweet from a school teacher inviting comments on their class blog. I enjoyed the response to my comments. It made me feel part of a class again.

      Not long after, I noticed 6D of High Lawn School in England was seeking information on volcanoes. Trying to fit content into a standard comment didn’t work so I created a blog dedicated to writing extended comments. This blog is the second generation as I preferred some of its features.

      The original posts for 6D are included in this blog.

      @RossMannell

      Reply

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