Weather Observation in the Classroom

Whenever the weather would get even a tiny bit warmer in the spring, my daughter and I used to start looking for signs of spring like buds on the trees, grass turning green, the first bugs and little wildflowers.

One great way to bring those kinds of observations into the classroom or homeschool while building anticipation for spring is to take some time to observe the weather.

You can get as formal with this as you like. If you have a room with a window or easy access to outside, you can set up a weather station and observe different markers of the weather each day. You can keep a record of the temperature at a certain time of day (like always after lunch, for example) and what the weather is like so kids can compare over days and weeks.

Learn about clouds from What’s This Cloud, which gets really geeky but is good for older kids or teachers who want to brush up on their knowledge. You can also make cloud spotters and go on a cloud hunt to see what kinds of clouds you find.

These printable weather flash cards would be fun to have in a weather station in the classroom, or you can hang the one that represents the day’s weather on the board each day. This set comes from Easy Peasy Learners.

This is an old post with an explanation of how to make a weather chart but not a whole lot of instruction, but if you’re crafty you can figure out something similar to this one from Rowdy in Room 300 that includes the weather and a temperature gauge kids can use to label the day’s weather. Or use that as a jumping off point for making your own design. You could do it on a magnet board instead and use magnets instead of clips if you want, for example.

You can also use the calendar board weather printables from From ABCs to SATs to make your weather board. These include descriptions of the weather (foggy, rainy, sunny, etc.) as well as words about the temperature (hot, cold) and the season so you can show the correct one for the day (I think you need to sign up for emails to download).

Georgia is a state in the United States, of course, but Georgia is also the name of a country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union and now is considered part of Europe. Let’s learn more about the country of Georgia.

Georgia Basics

Georgia is situated on the Black Sea and bordered by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is home to almost 4 million people, most of whom live in the capital, Tbilisi.

The country is 26,900 square miles, or 69,700 square kilometers.

People have lived in the area now known as Georgia since prehistoric times. It requested support from Russia to defend against hostile neighbors in the early 1800s, which led to Russia slowly annexing their land. Though they were briefly free after the Russian Revolution, the country was part of the Soviet Union until 1991. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and still occupies regions of the country.

The word Georgia referring to the region was first seen on an Italian map in 1320, but there’s a lot of debate as to where the word came from.

The majority of people living in Georgia today are Georgians, and they speak Georgian, an indigenous language that is apparently unrelated to any other language family in the world. Most people there practice Georgian Orthodox Christianity.

Georgia is a representative democracy with a president and prime minister, as well as a parliament.

Georgia National Symbols

The Georgian flag has a white background with a large red cross and a smaller red cross in each quadrant made by the big cross. It’s also known as the Five Cross Flag and was a symbol of the Kingdom of Georgia that was repopularized in the late 20th century, though it didn’t become the official national flag until 2004.

The national anthem is “Tavisupleba” or “Freedom,” which was also approved in 2004. The music was adapted from two Georgian operas.

The coat of arms features a lion on each side of a shield with an image of St. George, with a crown above that. The ribbon includes the national motto, which, translated to English, is “Strength is in unity.”

St George is the patron saint of Georgia. (Check out crafts and activities for St. George’s Day.)

Georgia Learning Activities

Twinkl has more about the history of Georgia and facts about the country.

Learn about the giant head sculptures of Sno in this post form Atlas Obscura. They also have a good post about Prometheus Cave, which locals claim is where Prometheus was chained as punishment for stealing fire from the gods.

Check out the giant plane tree in Telavi, an ancient tree that stands 150 feet (or 46 meters) tall and is the largest tree in Georgia.

This one is for the parents, but you might want to learn more about the history of wine making in Georgia, which is considered the birthplace of wine making. Evidence of grapes and grape seeds in the region dates back to 6000 BCE.

Georgia is so proud of its wine making history the the famous Mother of Georgia statue in Tbilisi holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other.

Check out this tour of Tbilisi from a local.

It’s a little tricky to search for Georgia specific activities and get the nation, not the state, but this list from Teachers Pay Teachers is pretty good after the first one.

Khachapuri, a Georgian cheese bread, is a popular dish that kids should love. Try this recipe from the Kitchn.

Have you read?

Georgia Basics

Georgia National Symbols

Georgia Learning Activities

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