Seemingly the perfect theme for this hot, cold, rainy, yucky & gorgeous “spring-summer” that we’ve had here in Northern Illinois, we decided to learn about the weather!
For this theme, I tried to incorporate colors, counting and a little science of course, through mostly art based activities! Learning about weather might seem trivial, but can actually bring up some great questions and explanations! Take a look at some of the fun stuff the kids were up to!
Cotton/Dot Paint Rain Clouds
We’ve had quite a few days of rain during our summer break so far, so this project seemed appropriate to start things off! For this activity, I drew the outline of a cloud onto construction paper. Then, the boys pulled apart and/or just glued on cotton balls to fill in the space for the cloud. Next, we had to add our rain. We used a blue Dot Paint Marker to add rain under (and inside) the clouds!
Sunshine Counting
I used this as a quick little wake-up activity for right after naps! Sometimes the boys wake up in some iffy-moods, so I try to always have something in mind for them to do right when they come downstairs. In this case, it was practicing our numbers and a little gluing activity to create a sun. All I did was draw the outline of a sun on orange construction paper, then draw and cut out the circle and rays with numbers on yellow construction paper. The boys just had to match the numbers and glue the pieces in.
For this theme, I tried to incorporate colors, counting and a little science of course, through mostly art based activities! Learning about weather might seem trivial, but can actually bring up some great questions and explanations! Take a look at some of the fun stuff the kids were up to!
Cotton/Dot Paint Rain Clouds
We’ve had quite a few days of rain during our summer break so far, so this project seemed appropriate to start things off! For this activity, I drew the outline of a cloud onto construction paper. Then, the boys pulled apart and/or just glued on cotton balls to fill in the space for the cloud. Next, we had to add our rain. We used a blue Dot Paint Marker to add rain under (and inside) the clouds!
Sunshine Counting
I used this as a quick little wake-up activity for right after naps! Sometimes the boys wake up in some iffy-moods, so I try to always have something in mind for them to do right when they come downstairs. In this case, it was practicing our numbers and a little gluing activity to create a sun. All I did was draw the outline of a sun on orange construction paper, then draw and cut out the circle and rays with numbers on yellow construction paper. The boys just had to match the numbers and glue the pieces in.
Rainbow Painting
When the sun shines through the rain, we get a rainbow! Ok, it’s a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea! I really wanted to practice colors with the boys and introduced the idea of ROY G BIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, etc). I drew outlines of each color and wrote the name of the color inside of each space. We practiced identifying the colors and saying the names. I then had the boys make the color dots inside of the space across the arc of the rainbow. Since we only have one set, I had Leo start with red from the outside while Xander started with Violet from the inside. Xander even added a little more pizzazz to his by coloring each letter of the word “rainbow” at the top!
Shaving Cream Rain Cloud
This is a quick and easy visual for young kids to explain rain and clouds! We filled a clear glass jar with water. Then, created our cloud by adding some shaving cream. This floats on top of the water. Next, I explained that when clouds are full of water, that is when we get rain. To illustrate this, I dropped blue food coloring onto the shaving cream until it began going through, and dripping into the water. If you have kids that are a bit older, you can let them spray the shaving cream and drop in the coloring themselves, too!
The kids enjoyed learning about the weather throughout the week, and it even helps us to decide whether or not we can play outside that day! Communicating ideas with toddlers is not always easy, so turning a lesson into a fun activity can really help everyone involved! Look for more themes and activities coming soon! Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!
When the sun shines through the rain, we get a rainbow! Ok, it’s a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea! I really wanted to practice colors with the boys and introduced the idea of ROY G BIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, etc). I drew outlines of each color and wrote the name of the color inside of each space. We practiced identifying the colors and saying the names. I then had the boys make the color dots inside of the space across the arc of the rainbow. Since we only have one set, I had Leo start with red from the outside while Xander started with Violet from the inside. Xander even added a little more pizzazz to his by coloring each letter of the word “rainbow” at the top!
Shaving Cream Rain Cloud
This is a quick and easy visual for young kids to explain rain and clouds! We filled a clear glass jar with water. Then, created our cloud by adding some shaving cream. This floats on top of the water. Next, I explained that when clouds are full of water, that is when we get rain. To illustrate this, I dropped blue food coloring onto the shaving cream until it began going through, and dripping into the water. If you have kids that are a bit older, you can let them spray the shaving cream and drop in the coloring themselves, too!
The kids enjoyed learning about the weather throughout the week, and it even helps us to decide whether or not we can play outside that day! Communicating ideas with toddlers is not always easy, so turning a lesson into a fun activity can really help everyone involved! Look for more themes and activities coming soon! Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!
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