One of my goals for this year is to nurture seasonal rhythms with my family.

My focus for this goal is to increase our awareness of the role that the seasons play in our daily lives. I want to find ways to highlight for the seasonal shifts that occur in in the foods we eat, the activities we do, our celebrations, and even in how we feel.

Today I wanted to share the seasonal focus that we’ve added to our morning routine.

Morning Routine

At a central location in our living room, I’ve set up a very simple “start the day station”. The focal point of this area is the book Sing a Song of Seasons. The book is a collection of 365 nature poems. Some are written by famous authors others are famous nursery rhymes with unknown authors. They all are lovely.

This is a large book, and in addition to the poems, there are beautiful illustrations on each page. We have it propped up on a bamboo bookstand to add some dimension to the table and make it possible to see the illustrations from across the room. Next to the book are two nature-focused page-a-day calendars. Alex has this caterpillar calendar and Luc has this nature scenes calendar.

Nurturing Seasonal Rhythms

This daily reading habit is doing just what I hoped it would, focusing our attention on the larger world outside of our house. The weather, animals, moods, and habits that are part of each season.

Bringing our attention to these shifts helps us to slow down and appreciate the moments rather than letting the days and months fly by. A 2017 study found that when people took time out of their day to notice the natural world, their happiness increases. This was a simple moment, literally just a snapshot, not a long hike, but it was enough to have a positive effect on their well-being. I think that our simple morning routine is having that same effect. Oftentimes we’ll read the poem and it will immediately lead into a reflective conversation about an experience that we had in nature. It’s such a nice way to reconnect with those memories from our outdoor adventures.

If you’re interested in adding nature poetry to your daily routine, another book that I highly recommend for its seasonal approach is When Green Becomes Tomatoes. And if you can find our full list of children’s nature book recommendations here.