Fundamentally I know that the earth spins on an uneven axis and we orbit the sun but I don’t understand why the sun sets so early in winter and so late in summer when you’re closer to the North Pole.
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Try make a mental picture (or actually do this): Take a ball, draw a dot on the top of it – this is your north pole – now go stand near a lamp.
If you keep the ball upright, the dot is right on the line between light and dark.
Now, because you know the Earth is tilted a bit, tilt the ball a little so that the dot is completely in the light. This, for the fictional people living around the dot, is summer.
Keep the ball exactly how it is and walk past the lamp so it’s now behind you. The dot should now face away from the lamp, and is completely in the dark. This, for the fictional people living around the dot, is winter.
Most countries in the northern hemisphere aren’t very close to the North Pole, so draw a new dot anywhere on the top half of the ball – this is your country.
Place your finger on the North Pole and spin the ball slowly around it. In your winter position, when your country is facing the lamp it’ll be closer to the line of light and dark than it is to where your finger is – if its closer to this line, it’ll cross the line quicker.
Keep your finger on the north pole and rotate the ball until your country is facing away from the lamp – it is now further away from the line of light and dark, so it’ll take a lot longer to cross the line.
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