Weather - MetroFamily Magazine
MetroFamily Magazine

Where OKC parents find fun & resources

Weather

by Jennifer Geary

Reading Time: 2 minutes 

If you’ve lived in Oklahoma for more than a week, you know weather is a big deal here.  We can go from sunny and 80 to rainy and 30 on the same day, and I have seen thunderstorm warnings, flash flood watches, and tornado watches all while there was an earthquake—in November.  It’s a little crazy all the time, it seems, but especially in the spring, which makes this a great time of year to study the weather!

Books:  There are tons of great non-fiction books on weather out there.  I especially like the Let’s Read and Find Out series, which has books on tornadoes, thunderstorms, and wind, along with a few other weather-related titles.  Gail Gibbons also has several really good weather books that do a good job of explaining the concept simply but with enough detail to keep kids interested.

Don’t forget about fiction titles when you’re studying weather!  My daughter is going to be learning about weather with A Rainbow of My Own soon and who doesn’t love Cloudy With a Chance of MeatballsThunder Cake is a wonderful Patricia Polacco book and you can use the free unit study from Homeschool Share with it.  For older elementary students, check out Night of the Twisters—I enjoyed this as much as an adult as I did when I was a kid!

Experiments:  There are many different weather experiments out there for kids of all ages.  When my son was three we did a weather unit and he had a lot of fun putting Vaseline on lids and hanging them in the trees to see what was blowing around in the wind.  If you want something a little more complex, Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk has easy to follow plans to help you kids become wind detectives!  If you can find it at your library, The Kids’ Book of Weather Forecasting has some easy to follow experiments for older kids.  We used it recently to build our own barometers!

Lessons:  There is a great free weather unit at Living Life Intentionally that can be used with a wide age range!  For younger kids, you can combine art with science and learn about tornado safety with a creative lesson from Adventures of an Art Teacher.  For older kids, check out the Weatherman, Weatherman lesson available from Teaching in Room 6.  It isn’t free, but the idea is great and I think it would be well worth the small cost.

Crafts:  I love a good craft, and there are tons out there for weather!  Make a rainy day scene with some glue or break out the tissue paper to make a raining cloudRainbow crafts are always pretty, too!

Other Good Stuff:  There are lots of great weather sites online for kids. Weather Wiz Kids has all kinds of weather information for kids.  Science Kids also has a good weather section that includes projects and lessons.  Check out Clementine’s fabulous weather Pinterest board for tons of awesome ideas!

Weather is a great topic because it’s important to all of us and there are so many different areas to study.  Hopefully there are some good ideas to get you started!

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