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)

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?

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