Learning about the Weather with Kids

Springtime is prime time for learning about the weather where I live, because in the southern United States, spring tends to be the time with the weirdest weather. Kids need to know about storms and tornadoes so they can be safe, but it’s also just a fun thing to talk about as the seasons are changing and you’re moving from one kind of weather to another.

Kids at home or in the classroom can make a DIY weather station with these instructions from Inventors of Tomorrow. All of the components are things you might already have on hand, and the post has instructions for making a weather vane, an anenometer, rain gauge and thermometer for testing if its hotter or colder than it was the last time you made your observations. (Of course you can buy a weather station, too, but making measuring tools adds to the STEM fun.)

I’ve also shared instructions for making a barometer at home, which is also made with simple supplies you might already have. You can also make yourself a cloud spotter to help you predict the weather.

Little kids might enjoy having a felt weather board they can change each day as the weather changes, or check out more weather-related crafts. Printablee has a printable weather wheel you could also use to post the weather each day if you have a weather person in your classroom (or want to track it at home).

Sunshine, Hurricanes, Blizzards and Rainbows by Alix Wood (Windmill Books, 2023, suggested retail $12.75) teaches kids about the weather and includes games and activities like making your own weather chart, how to tell how far away a thunderstorm is and how to make your own frost. It talks about how to forecast the weather with science, why we have seasons, the water cycle, why wind happens and the names for different kinds of winds, why sunsets are colorful and more. It’s a good quick overview of basic concepts in weather and includes a quiz at the back of the book and lots of activities you can make copies of to keep kids entertained.

Willy and Lilly’s Adventures with Weather is a picture book written by a meteorologist (Jennifer Stanonis) that takes two kids through the seasons and all the weather they encounter. It’s a rhyming book that’s a quick read but would be a fun addition to a weather unit study or weather themed day for early elementary. It also includes a glossary of weather words in the back. (Criss Cross Applesauce, 2020, suggested retail $14.95)

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I volunteer at my local library pulling holds for children’s books, and the other day someone was looking for Over and Under the Snow, a lovely picture book about animals that hibernate and those who don’t.

It reminded me that now would be a good time to talk about hibernation in the classroom, and what animals do to survive the winter more generally.

Did you know that technically only warm-blooded animals hibernate? When cold-blooded animals do it, it’s called brumation, and insects experience diapause. Whatever you call it, it’s a slowing down of bodily functions that allows animals to lower their body temperatures and slow their metabolism so much they don’t need to eat.

We Are Teachers has a great page about different animals that hibernate (or brumate, or diapause) and you can enter your email address to get a set of free worksheets perfect for middle grades. Education.com also has a downloadable worksheet about hibernation, and you can find many more (including the migrate or hibernate worksheet above) from Worksheeto.

Little Bins for Little Hands has a great free printable pack about hibernation and hibernating animals. There’s a good list of animals that hibernate in the post, as well as some FAQs about hibernation.

Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds has lots of great ideas for planning a hibernation theme, including making a cave in the classroom, painting on ice, and lots of ideas for dramatic play, writing and other activities (and there are lots of freebies linked there).

Little ones will love these bear hibernation hat printables form Books and Giggles that include facts about hibernation.

STEMHax has collected a bunch of lesson planning resources about animals in winter, based on the book Animals in Winter. You’ll find links to videos about different animals featured in the book that you can use when talking about the book or more broadly in a winter animal unit study.

The Wolfe Pack Den has a free printable unit study and ideas for books to read and other things to do (with a particular emphasis on hedgehogs, if you’re into that).

And to bring in one more book recommendation from when my girl was little, Bear Snores On is another fun one, and you can read that one and bring out all your fun bear activities, like this adorable hibernating bear craft from Krokotak.

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