For Educators and Parents
May is a month of rapid growth and activity. Where April begins, May builds. Children can now clearly see life cycles progressing — nests are active, flowers are open, and insects are busy.

This is ideal for:

• observing change over time

• understanding life cycles

• building descriptive language

• encouraging patience and attention

👀 This Month’s Nature Watch
Encourage children to look out for:

🌿 Full Green Leaves
Trees now filled out, creating shade and cover

🐦 Birds Feeding Chicks
Regular trips back and forth to nests

🌼 Wildflowers
Daisies, buttercups, and early meadow growth

🐸 Pond Changes
Tadpoles developing legs, froglets appearing

🐝 Bees and Pollinators
Clear, visible movement between flowers

📖 Storytime

This story can be read aloud at home or in the classroom, or you can watch Logan bring it to life in the video below.

Wilee Watches May

Wilee stepped out onto the path and stopped.

April had been quiet… gentle… full of small beginnings.
But May felt different.

It was as if the whole woodland had taken a deep breath… and come alive.

The trees were no longer dotted with blossom.
Now they were full — rich green leaves stretching wide, rustling softly above his head. The light that once danced through bare branches now slipped through a thousand tiny leaves, painting the ground in moving shadows.

Wilee listened.

Not one bird… not two… but many.

A blackbird flew past him, fast and low, something in its beak. Then another followed. Back and forth they went, never still for long.

Wilee tilted his head.

He watched carefully this time.

The bird disappeared into a hedge… then reappeared, empty-beaked, only to dart away again. Somewhere hidden, out of sight, there were hungry chicks waiting.

“Busy, aren’t they?” Andrew said softly behind him.

Wilee didn’t bark.

He just watched.

Further along the path, the woodland floor had changed too. Where April had offered hints of colour, May had made its decision. Daisies pushed through the grass. Buttercups shone in the sunlight. Patches of wildflowers stretched further than Wilee remembered.

He stepped carefully now, slower than before.

A soft hum drifted past his ears.

A bee.

Then another.

They moved with purpose — flower to flower, never stopping long. Wilee leaned forward, curious, but held himself still.

Watching was better.

At the pond, he paused again.

This was the place of tiny wriggles. He remembered it well.

But something had changed.

He peered closer.

The water still shimmered, but now, at the edges, something new clung to the stones. Small shapes, no longer just tails… something more.

One moved.

A tiny leg.

Wilee blinked.

He didn’t understand it fully… but he knew it mattered.

He looked back at Andrew.

“April shows you the beginning,” Andrew said, kneeling beside him.
“May shows you what happens next.”

Wilee sat down.

For a moment, he didn’t move at all.

Not chasing.
Not barking.
Not rushing ahead.

Just watching.

The birds.
The flowers.
The water.
The quiet work of everything growing, changing, becoming something new.

The woodland hadn’t become louder by accident.

It had simply… carried on.

And now, Wilee was beginning to see it.

Not all at once.
Not everything.

But enough to know…

If you come back…
If you look again…
If you take the time to watch…

There is always more waiting to be found.

🧠 Teaching Opportunity

This story supports:

• understanding life cycles

• observing seasonal change

• developing descriptive language

• encouraging patience and attention

Suggested use:

• Read once for enjoyment

• Read again and pause to ask: “What has changed?”

• Follow with a short outdoor walk to spot similar signs

🌿 Take It Outside

After reading, encourage children to:

• watch birds moving back and forth

• look for flowers growing in new places

• listen for different sounds in the same space

• check ponds or water for signs of change

🎒 Field Trip Ideas

• revisit the same April locations → compare changes

• flower spotting and counting

• sit and watch pollinators

• simple life cycle discussion (egg → tadpole → frog)

• sketch what children see

Closing

May rewards those who return.

The more often children look, the more they begin to understand that nature is always moving forward — quietly, steadily, and full of life.

More gentle seasonal adventures from Andrew the Pen Maker are coming soon.

✉️ Stay Connected

A new story, new discoveries, and new ways to explore — every month.

Subscribe to follow along with Andrew, Wilee, and their woodland friends.