Spring Weather
Springtime in the UK can give some of the greatest displays of Spring weather. In just the last couple of days we’ve seen glorious sunshine, rainbows and howling winds. It’s a great time to be able to explore weather with little ones as you don’t have to wait long for something different to come along.
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Weather Impact Upon Children
Weather impacts on the lives of children. Often it can dictate what they do or don’t do on a day. It can seem that many decisions are already predetermined for them. One thing we can help them have control over is what to wear for different weather conditions. The weather has an effect on what we need to wear to keep up protected from the elements. Supporting children in making their own choices and being able to give reasons why is an important life skill.
Weather awakens lots of senses in us. For some children this can be enthralling but for others this can be very overwhelming. You may find this blog post on sensory processing helpful if you have children who need support with sensory needs.
Weather Exploring Ideas for Kids
Dressing Teddy
Let your little one dress a teddy depending upon the weather. It can be for how the weather really is outside or you could use weather cards.
Using an actual toy and different outfits or a drawn character with changes of clothes to add. There are also some really lovely sets which have characters that you can dress or change parts of a puzzle to put the correct clothes on for the weather.
This is a great little interactive computer game for dressing a bear with clothes for different types of weathers.
Sensory Weather Bottles
Making mini pots or jars with different weather scenes is a great activity to make with little ones or to make for them ready for songs or stories.
My daughter Floss loved making these with me. We used all sorts of random items we found around the house!
Weather Mobile
Get creative and make a weather mobile. You could draw, paint or collage different weather pictures (sun, wind, rain, snow, rainbows, thunder etc.) to hang from a collected twig.
Raining Pictures
Use a piece of watercolour/ cartridge paper use a thick brush to paint over with water. Even better – let the rain land on your paper. Then using a small brush dip blue dots of watercolour paint onto the paper and observe what happens.
You can also do the reverse. Use watercolour pencils to draw on a piece of watercolour paper and then head out in the rain and observe what happens.
Adding salt to the pictures can add an interesting textural element too. We love these Stockmar liquid watercolours – they last forever!
Puddle Art
Puddles are just so inviting. One of my favourite quote is:
CHILDHOOD IS THAT STATE WHICH ENDS THE MOMENT A PUDDLE IS FIRST VIEWED AS AN OBSTACLE INSTEAD OF AN OPPORTUNITY.
The glint Floss, our daughter, gets in her eye when she sees a puddle is just magical and I’m so grateful to her for letting me see puddles as an opportunity again. Using chalks, draw around a puddle. It can be as simple as just a line around or it can be a more elaborate design. Watch what happens as the puddle dries. A great opportunity for some science chat too.
Rain Making Music
Using a kitchen roll or tin foil tube fill the tube with rice, beans or pulses – or a mixture to experiment with different sounds. Tape the ends closed using masking tape and then decorate your rain maker. Sing songs and rhymes while playing your rain maker.
Song Ideas
Montessori Style Weather Activities
Three Part Weather Cards
Here’s a set of three part Montessori style cards that we’re using for weather exploring. When Floss was little we began with a small selection of four hand drawn cards. You can download both resources below.
You could get children to make their own cards based on what weather they observe.
Rain cloud snips
This is a really simple little idea to practise fine motor cutting skills. Turn your clouds into rain clouds! We love these scissors for the early years.
Playdough and Loose Parts Weather Play
We always enjoy loose parts play and playdough. Both are great for supporting the development of fine motor skills.
Product Spotlight: Learning Resources Explore the Weather Counters
Learning Resources Explore the Weather Counters Review:
- ☀️Lovely set of weather counters that you just want to pick up
- ☀️Perfect for indoor and outdoor play
- ☀️Six different types of weather
- ☀️Six different colours
- ☀️Made from 100% recycled plastic
- ☀️Comes in a sturdy tub with a handle
- ☀️Great to have holes in the top so you can easily drain any water out from messy play
- ☀️Lovely textured surface on several of the counters and others have a tactile smooth feel
- ☀️Ideal for home and school
- ☀️Perfect for maths play and learning
