Lollyellen
02-11-2009, 09:19 AM
Make a Weather Chart for your preschooler.
(soon to link to photo below)
Teaches weather, along with very basic "charting skills" and, of course, is FUN. Its easy and cheap. :tup: Pre-made weather charts can be purchased and laminated at most teacher's supply stores as well (but making it is so much fun and it's way cuter, if you ask me. ;) )
Materials:
Large size, white poster board
large black permanant marker
Scissors
brads (in the office supply sections of your grocery or Walmart, or office supply stores)
Washable markers and crayons
Laminating machine - not absolutely *necessary*, but surely does make all of your work and your child's work more durable and longlasting. Almost all public libraries have laminating machines and they'll do it on the spot for a very minimal cost - like, pennies. :tup:
Instructions:
1. Use some kind of compass or circle template that will fill the space on most of the posterboard - a large plate, or frozen pizza-cardboard, something like that - and trace a large circle. Cut it out. Use the leftover posterboard to cut out an arrow, big enough to be the centerpiece of your weatherchart. Your child will move the arrow around to point to the type of weather you are having on a given day.
2. Divide the large circle, pielike, into sections. You'll write and illustrate weather typical to your area in each pie-shaped section. Keep it simple, but fun. You can illustrate with stick figures and simple ideas.
For example, here in north Texas, weather ideas typical to our area include, "excrutiatingly hot", "sunny and mild", "windy", "rainy", "cold", "thunderstorms", "cloudy", "tornadoes", and more...Weather on the coasts might be fun to talk about and illustrate "hurricanes", "high tides", "humid", "rainy seasons", etc.
While you're illustrating in markers, give your young child a crayon to either color in your weather illustrations, or let him/her just go to town lightly wherever he/she wants, in crayon.
Don't forget to color the arrow.
Also, for emphasis, I outlined weather illustrations or wrote out the text in large black Sharpie.
3. Before you put the chart together, laminate the weather circle and the arrow separately.
4. Attach the arrow to the circle weather chart with a brad, so that it is "spinnable" or at least "moveable".
5. Teach your child during the day to observe the weather and display his/her findings on the chart daily.
We still have ours from my now-ten-year-old and I just love it. It decorated his bedroom door for years. I'll try to find a picture...
(soon to link to photo below)
Teaches weather, along with very basic "charting skills" and, of course, is FUN. Its easy and cheap. :tup: Pre-made weather charts can be purchased and laminated at most teacher's supply stores as well (but making it is so much fun and it's way cuter, if you ask me. ;) )
Materials:
Large size, white poster board
large black permanant marker
Scissors
brads (in the office supply sections of your grocery or Walmart, or office supply stores)
Washable markers and crayons
Laminating machine - not absolutely *necessary*, but surely does make all of your work and your child's work more durable and longlasting. Almost all public libraries have laminating machines and they'll do it on the spot for a very minimal cost - like, pennies. :tup:
Instructions:
1. Use some kind of compass or circle template that will fill the space on most of the posterboard - a large plate, or frozen pizza-cardboard, something like that - and trace a large circle. Cut it out. Use the leftover posterboard to cut out an arrow, big enough to be the centerpiece of your weatherchart. Your child will move the arrow around to point to the type of weather you are having on a given day.
2. Divide the large circle, pielike, into sections. You'll write and illustrate weather typical to your area in each pie-shaped section. Keep it simple, but fun. You can illustrate with stick figures and simple ideas.
For example, here in north Texas, weather ideas typical to our area include, "excrutiatingly hot", "sunny and mild", "windy", "rainy", "cold", "thunderstorms", "cloudy", "tornadoes", and more...Weather on the coasts might be fun to talk about and illustrate "hurricanes", "high tides", "humid", "rainy seasons", etc.
While you're illustrating in markers, give your young child a crayon to either color in your weather illustrations, or let him/her just go to town lightly wherever he/she wants, in crayon.
Don't forget to color the arrow.
Also, for emphasis, I outlined weather illustrations or wrote out the text in large black Sharpie.
3. Before you put the chart together, laminate the weather circle and the arrow separately.
4. Attach the arrow to the circle weather chart with a brad, so that it is "spinnable" or at least "moveable".
5. Teach your child during the day to observe the weather and display his/her findings on the chart daily.
We still have ours from my now-ten-year-old and I just love it. It decorated his bedroom door for years. I'll try to find a picture...