I can't produce a real image file, but I can give you a diagram you can sketch on paper in about 2 minutes while you explain it. Here it is.

## The one-sentence answer
The Earth spins on a tilted stick, and as it travels around the Sun, one half leans toward the Sun (summer) while the other leans away (winter).

## Picture 1: Earth's trip around the Sun

```
                     🌍 JUNE
                  (summer where we live)
                    /            \
                   /              \
     🌍 MARCH ----    ☀  SUN   ---- 🌍 SEPTEMBER
                   \              /
                    \            /
                     🌍 DECEMBER
                  (winter where we live)
```

Earth goes around the Sun once a year. The tilt never changes direction — the stick always points the same way, like a spinning top that leans.

## Picture 2: The part that actually explains it

```
   ☀ SUN  → → → → → → → → → → → →

      SUMMER (June)                  WINTER (December)
   North half leans                North half leans
   TOWARD the Sun                  AWAY from the Sun

          \                              /
           \  ← axis                    /  ← axis
            \                          /
        .-''''-.                   .-''''-.
       /         \                /         \
      |   Earth   |              |   Earth   |
       \         /                \         /
        '-.....-'                  '-.....-'
            \                          /
             \                        /
```

In June the top of the Earth leans into the sunshine. In December it leans away.

## The flashlight test (do this with her)

- Shine a flashlight **straight down** on the table → small, bright, hot circle.
- **Tilt it** to the same height → the same light spreads into a big, weak oval.

That's the whole secret. In summer the Sun's light lands on us straight-on and concentrated. In winter it lands at a slant and spreads out. Same Sun, thinner beam.

Two more things that make summer feel like summer:

- **Longer days** — in June the Sun is up way more hours, so there's more time to warm up.
- **Higher Sun** — it climbs higher in the sky, so it shines through less atmosphere.

## Fun facts to blow her mind

1. **It's summer in one half of the world and winter in the other at the same time.** When it's July at your house, kids in Australia are in winter coats. That's the best proof that it's about *tilt*, not distance.
2. **Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January** — right in the middle of northern winter. So "closer to the Sun" is *not* the reason. Kids' books get this wrong all the time.

## How to draw it on paper

Circle for the Sun. Draw a diamond of four Earths around it. Then draw one big Earth off to the side with a stick through it, tilted, and a straight line of arrows from the Sun. Label the two ends "summer" and "winter." That's the whole lesson in one page.