Teaching Young Children About Weather
Some of your preschoolers may not understand that rain is important for the Earth. For most, it's just a deterrent to going outside to play. Emily Barrow, contributor to Child Care Answers blog, offers a fun way to teach small children about the significance of weather.
Teaching Through Song
Rhyming and singing are great ways to help young children learn and retain information. Barrow suggests using the song "April Showers", sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" and partnered with hand motions, to share with your students how instrumental rain is to the growth of plants, grass, and trees. Teaching Through Subject Extensions
Sometimes, in order to learn about the effect of rain, the focus of your activity doesn't have to be directly about the weather. Instead, learn about the days of the week by keeping a calendar of weather conditions. Have children put on a weather 'forecast' providing the day, date, and conditions outside. We have a great selection of classroom calendars over on our shopping site!
Do some math by keeping a tally of 'sunny days' and 'rainy days'. Each month, you'll be able to compare the totals to learn about the weather patterns in your area, manipulate the numbers to teach your students about percentages and fractions, as well as, project or estimate what next month's weather will be like.