Friday thoughts - It's raining, it's pouring

There is no doubt that we are in the midst of Winter...

 Over the past week we have experienced some particularly chilly weather. The maximum temperature that we have had is 12C and the temperature gauge has hovered around this mark. We have had quite heavy showers of rain, creating glorious puddles, that seem irresistible for children. I was reading the weather summary for the day and some areas north of where we live even experienced snow in the morning (in our part of Australia, we don't usually receive snow).

The children that I teach have been learning about weather. We have discovered that weather is changeable (it doesn't stay the same) and we have looked at some of the components that make up weather (sky, clouds, sun, rain, wind, air, temperature). Here are some ideas that you can do with your child to help learn about weather:

• Find sources that tell us about what the weather is going to be (newspapers, Internet, news reports, radio). What do they have in common? What do the pictures mean? Compare weather symbols.
• Make up a chart to record the weather. Talk about the days of the week and the dates to place on the chart. Think about when to record the weather - maybe record the weather in the morning and in the afternoon. Does the weather change? 
• Graph what the weather was like during the week or month. What weather did you experience the most/least?
• Read factual books/view factual videos that explain about concepts of weather (eg. the water cycle).
• Sing songs/rhymes that deal with weather.
• Make a kite to fly on a windy day.
• Make up a simple rain gauge to record daily amounts of rain. Add it to a calendar or weather chart. How much rain did you receive in a week, month, year?
• Make up art pieces that deal with weather.
• Paint a sunny/rainy day.
•  Make a picture which involves watery paint (edicol dye/vegetable dye mixed with water)     spooned onto paper and blow it around the page with a straw.
• Draw/paint a picture and glue cotton wool in the 'sky' as clouds.

I hope that you enjoy the weather that you are blessed with today!