Snow Catchers

Snow Catchers!

 



I made these snow catchers out of a thick velvet fabric that I wrapped around and glued onto a large cardboard square.

On a nice snowy day they are perfect for catching snowflakes to study and examine more closely.

Once the students catch some snowflakes I have them look at a chart which shows multiple shapes that a snowflake can take. They then compare their findings to the chart to see the name and what elevation their snowflakes may have fallen from.

 It's a fun, hands on science lesson that the children really enjoy!

Afterwards we made shape snowflakes!

We dipped tangrams into paint and used them like a stamp to make these snowflakes. They came out great and it was a nice way to throw in a quick review of the shapes into our day.

Let it snow!!!

Everyday weather

Our weather song

"What's the weather? What's the weather? What's the weather like today? Is it sunny ,is it rainy, is it windy out today? Is it raining, is it snowing, what's the weather like today? Tell me ____(child's name), tell me ____ what's the weather like today?"

Children learn best through interaction and everyday experiences. Weather discussions are one way to bring an everyday science concept into the classroom. The weather is one of those things that children can feel confident in talking about as they can easily go outside or look out a window to observe what is happening. It can lead to deeper outdoor explorations, seasonal discoveries and a thirst for knowledge.

The weather chart for my classroom was starting to look a little battle worn...so I decided to make a new one out of felt.

 

 

Simple, easy, interactive and a great way to discuss the weather.



Rain

We made rain sticks!

First, we poked toothpicks through the paper towel tubes. I then cut the sharp edges off and helped the children tape off the edges to keep them secure.

 

Next we painted them!

Finally, we added beads to the inside of the tube and secured the ends with felt. 

 

I know some people choose to put rice or beans on the inside but I don't like to use food for any activity if they are not going to be eating it.

 

They came out great!!

 

We made rain and cloud patterns!

 

We also used this patterning idea for our calendar this month.

We discussed and illustrated how the rain makes us feel. 

 

U is for Umbrellas! 

We used cupcake liners which we folded in half, then added a pipe cleaner to make these cute umbrellas! : )

 

 

Rainbows

Rainbow Activities!

We made two different types of rainbow collages!

For the first one the children put various tissue paper squares over a piece of white paper and used an eyedropper to drip water onto their paper. They then peeled off the tissue paper and were left with a rainbow of colors. Make sure to use tissue paper that is not run proof! We made that mistake the first time! LoL!

The second collage was simply up to the children to decided how they wanted to glue the tissue paper onto their papers. Many of them created patterns out of the colors all on their own! : )

We made our own textured rainbow mural as a class!

Finally, we made rainbow bread!!! 

We simply added food coloring to milk and had the children paint it straight on their bread! We then toasted it, added a little bit of butter and enjoyed the bread for snack! Yummy!