The first day of spring was March 20th! Have you noticed the weather outside is changing? Just a few days ago the weather was cold, windy, and snowy. Now when we go outside, we can feel the warmth of the sunshine and the snow is beginning to melt.
Where is the snow going? Have you noticed that there are puddles on the roads and sidewalks?
Have you tried splashing in a puddle on the sidewalk? What happened? What sound did you make? Where did the water go? Have you ever looked at a puddle on a spring morning? What is different? Do you think the puddle is hot or cold?
Spring is also a great time to talk to kids about water safety. It can be very fun to explore puddles, but ditches can have very deep, fast-moving water that can be dangerous. Save the swimming for summer!
This take-home kit has activities for you and your child to explore and have conversations about different kinds of weather. We hope you are able to get outside to enjoy ALL kinds of weather!
Creating Clouds
What you need:
- Blue shape paper - Cotton balls - Glue
How to do it:
Have you ever looked up at the clouds and thought it looked like something else? Maybe an animal or a shape?
Using blue paper with shape outlines on it (email and we can send you the template, or you can draw shapes on a plain blue paper), fill in the shapes with glue and create different shaped clouds using cotton balls! Practice saying the different shape names with your child. Ask your child if they see any of the shapes around your home. A plate is a circle, a window is a square or rectangle!
On blank blue paper, try creating your own cloud picture. What will you imagine your clouds to look like?!
Building your own WindSock
What you need:
- Paper – Streamers – Dec orations (Stickers or supplies from home)
How to do it:
Decorate your white paper with stickers, colour with crayons, or anything you choose!
Simple free-style art projects help your child use their imagination and creativity! Use the opportunity to ask your child questions and have conversations about what and how they are creating.
Next, flip your paper over and glue pieces of streamers to the LONG edge of your paper that does not have holes. The pieces of streamer can be as long or short as you like. Roll your paper to create a tube. Using small piece of tape (or glue), fasten the edges together. Tie a string to the punched-out holes to create a handle.
Take your windsock outside and see if it flies in the wind! Try running with your
windsock behind you! Once you are done playing, find a spot outside to hang it that you can see from your house. When you look at it from indoors, you can tell the strength and direction of the wind by the activity of your windsock.
Building your own Rain gauge
What you need:
- Water bottle pieces – Stickers - Ruler
How to do it:
When the weather starts to get warmer, we no longer see snow falling from the clouds, we see RAIN! Many people like to measure the rain when it falls to keep track of how much rain falls in a day, week, month, or year. To do this they use a rain gauge. To build
your own rain gauge, have an adult cut the top off a water bottle (as shown in picture). You can use the recycled bottle from your recycle bin. Turn the top of the bottle upside down so it points into the bottle.
Next, you need to decide how you will measure your rain. Many people use what is called metric (millimeters or centimeters) measurements or standard (inches) measurements. You can also measure things with a non-standard measurement. This is
when you measure with another object. For example, “I am 32 cupcakes tall!”
Create a measurement on your rain gauge using either a ruler, or stickers, or both! While you have your ruler out…check out how “big” things are around your house. For instance, ask your child to measure each member of your households’ shoes…whose are the longest, the shortest, the widest.
