Rain & Umbrellas
Page 4
Theme Ideas
BULLETIN BOARDS
Make a tear shape on a piece of white paper making it using folded paper so when you open it you have 4 tear shapes held together at the point and one whole side... On the back color one blue and on the inside color it a pretty flower color. The title I use is...."April showers (and I have the rain
side up) bring....." and on the first day of May I turn the "raindrops"
open to making flowers. To finish the title I add "May flowers!"
In April, I like to make a bulletin board display that reads, "April
Showers Bring Mud Puddles!" To make, help children step into brown paint,
walk across a strip of butcher paper, and into a pan of soapy water. Have a
chair and towels next to the soapy water to make clean up easier. This can be a messy project, but it's a great tactile experience!
Cover a board with light blue or dark blue paper, cut out raindrops and clouds (clouds need to be done in black and white) this is an interactive board where the children match the number of drops to the number on the cloud or vice versa. The clouds can be numbered as high as you wish. In the
beginning of the year, I put the number and the number of dots on the cloud
and let the children match the raindrops to the clouds, then in the spring
I put up the empty black clouds and put the raindrops below it. then the children find the white cloud with the correct number on it. You can do
this with umbrellas also.
~Submitted by Jessica T.
Making Rain
Boil some water in a pot or a tea kettle, until steam forms above it. Then fill a pie pan with ice cubes and hold it above the pot in the steam "cloud." Have the children observe that when the
steam comes in contact with the cool air from the pie pan, drops of water form and fall back into the pot like rain.
Rain Painting
On a rainy day give each child a paper plate. Let the children sprinkle a few drops of food coloring (or shake a little
powdered tempera) on their plates. Have them put on their raincoats and walk outside, holding their plates in the rain for about a minute. After they bring their plates inside, talk about the designs created by the rain.
Counting Raindrops
Cut five umbrella shapes and 15 raindrop shapes out of felt. Number the umbrella shapes from 1 to 5 and place them on a
flannel board. Let the children take turns identifying the number on each umbrella and placing the corresponding number of raindrops above it.
Puddle Jumping
Place several carpet squares around the room. Have the children pretend that the squares are puddles. Let them practice jumping into and over the puddles.
'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' - Read the book aloud to the children. Ask the children to list what they wish would rain from the sky. Record the children's responses. Have the children draw a picture of their favorite food raining down from the sky. This could be made into a class book.
Flannelboard Raindrops
Cut five umbrella shapes out of felt. Number the umbrella shapes from 1 to 5 and place them on your flannel board. Let the kids take turns identifying the number on each of the umbrellas and placing the corresponding number of raindrops above it.
~Submitted by Andrea
Puddle Jumping
Place several carpet squares around the room. Have the children pretend that the squares are puddles. Let them practice jumping into and over the puddles.
~Submitted by Andrea
Prop Box For A Rainy Day
Fill the box with materials for a warm rainy day. You may want to include rain boots, a rain hat, umbrella, raincoat. This can be set up for children to do some dramatic play or imaginative games.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Rain in a Bag
Get a zip-lock plastic bag, a straw, a handful of dirt, some grass, and a few spoonfuls of water. Put the dirt and grass into the bag. Add the water. Insert the straw into the corner of the bag, and seal the bag shut. Blow air through the straw and into the bag, until it is full. Carefully pull out the straw and seal, locking the air inside the bag. Tape the bag to a sunny window and wait a few minutes. Then, watch it "rain" inside the bag!! (This is a great visual to help children understand the concept of rain and cycles, and how clouds are formed.)
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Falling Raindrops
This is a center for the kids to dance, hop, skip, or jump. To prepare stuffed raindrops, fill 5 or more thin, blue children's socks with cotton balls; then knot them closed. On a length of blue bulletin board paper, draw the outlines of five puddle shapes. Write a different number from 1 to 5 inside the puddles. To use this center a child needs to toss a raindrop into a puddle. He calls out that number on the puddle then the kids clap, jump, or skip, to the corresponding number of times.
~Submitted by Andrea
Stuff the Rain Cloud
Have the children sit in a circle and give them each a pile of newspaper squares. Place a black plastic bag in the middle of the circle. Have the children crumple the newspaper squares and stuff them into the trash bag. When the bag is full, let the children take turns jumping on their big black rain cloud.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Tell the students we are going to create the sounds of a rainstorm in the classroom. Ask the students how they think we could do this. Have the class sit in a semi-circle and then divide them into three sections. Explain that the activity you are going to do will be done in a "round-like" fashion. The teacher will lead the activity by having the first section rub their hands together. Then the second section will join them, and then finally the third section. Next, the teacher goes back to the first section and asks them to start snapping their fingers, while the second and third sections are still rubbing their hands. Then the second snap their fingers, and finally the the third section joins in. During the next round, the first section will begin by patting their legs, and then the second and third sections will join when it is their turn. For the peak of the thunderstorm, the students will stomp their feet, section by section. As the thunderstorm subsides, the students will make all the sounds in reverse order, section by section. That is, pat legs, snap fingers, then rub hands.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Make a Rain Gauge
Build a rain gauge by cutting off the top third of the plastic bottle (2L work well) and inverting the top inside the bottom to form a funnel. Use a permanent marker to record inches on the side of the bottle. Explain that people who report on the weather need to know how much it rains each day. Introduce your rain gauge and have children brainstorm ways they can use the tool to learn about rainfall. Demonstrate how a rain gauge works: Set the gauge in a pan and use a watering can to simulate a rainstorm over the pan. After the "storm", have a child study the rain gauge and report on the rainfall. Ask: Did all the rainfall into the gauge? How will the rain gauge help gather information about the weather? Empty the gauge and vary the demonstration so that the children can report on light rain, heavy rain, and a day with no rain at all. On a rainy day, set out the rain gauge to measure the rainfall. Measure how much rain fell that day. Continue to measure the rain each day, and record for a few weeks. Ask the children to predict how much water will be collected. Ask at the beginning of the day, and ask when it is raining, did their answer change?
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Wind and Rain
Build a rain gauge by cutting off the top third of the plastic bottle and inverting the top inside the bottom to form a funnel. Use a permanent marker to record inches on the side of the bottle. Explain that people who report on the weather need to know how much it rains each day. Introduce your rain gauge and have children brainstorm ways the class can use the tool to learn about rainfall. Demonstrate how a rain gauge works: Set the gauge in a pan and use a watering can to simulate a rainstorm over the pan. After the "storm", have a child study the rain gauge and report on the rainfall. Ask Did all the rainfall into the gauge? How will the rain gauge help gather information about the weather? Empty the gauge and vary the demonstration so that the children can report on light rain, heavy rain, and a day with no rain at all.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Take A Rainy Day Walk
Take advantage of gentle rain to explore water flow, puddles and the sound of rain.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Sing Rain, Rain, Go Away
We made up another version of this song: Rain, rain don't go away, Freddie frog wants to play, He'll play and play in the rain all day, rain, rain don't go away. Think of other animals that like rain.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Water Table
Let the kids use colanders, strainers, sieves, watering cans and sifters at the water table to pretend it's raining. They could also put on raincoats and boots.
~Submitted by Andrea
Sidewalk Art
A couple of hours after it rains take the kids outside and let them draw on the sidewalk or driveway with sidewalk chalk. the colors will be nice and bright from the rainwater.
~Submitted by Andrea
Bulletin Board or Wall Idea - Umbrellas
Cut triangles from colored construction paper. I made mine from the largest construction paper we have because I put it on the wall. With the long sides together, tape them so it makes a circle (or umbrella). I wanted it to be three dimensional so I taped some waded up newspaper on the back. Add a handle and two yellow shiny boots (make it look like someone is on the other side). To complete the scene add some half umbrellas (side-view), gray clouds (I used large white paper and cut a cloud shape. Sponged painted gray paint on it). For rain, staple blue crepe paper streamers on the bottom of the cloud and twist. Secure to the wall with tape. SMILE LINE: The children would come up and peek under the large umbrella to see who was under there.
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Measuring Rainfall
On a rainy day, set out a container to measure the rainfall. Measure how much rain fell that day. Continue to measure the rain each day, and record for a few weeks. Ask your child to predict how much water will be collected. Ask at the beginning of the day, and ask when it is raining, did their answer change?
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
Bean bag Puddle Toss
You need a hula hoop (the puddle) and some bean bags. You can either set up the hula hoop on its side or on the ground. Have your child try to throw the bean bags into the puddle. Yeah!!!
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
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Jump In The Puddle
Set a hula hoop on the floor. Play some music and have your child walk around the hula hoop. When the music stops, have them jump into the hoop (the puddle). ~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare |
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Wet or Dry
Cut some pictures from a magazine, or show some pictures from a book, ask your child if the objects are wet or dry?
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare
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