Sometimes we get so caught up in studying plants and animals that we forget that weather is nature, too. Unlike many parts of nature, weather can be studied anytime. It’s always there.
Weather Study Resources
Over the past couple years we have studied weather in various ways. In our first year of homeschooling (3rd grade), we used the Weather book from Usbourne. It is a great book for young readers. It explains weather phenomena in a way they can understand and has good illustrations. We still go back to this book to remember cloud names.
After studying the weather in some detail, we started keeping a weather journal. The kids recorded the temperature, clouds and precipitation at breakfast and dinner time. We just used a notebook, but these free printables look like a lot more fun for primary and elementary students.
Source: talesfromoutsidetheclassroom.blogspot.com via Marci on Pinterest
Source: theinspiredclassroom.blogspot.com via Marci on Pinterest
This fall, we will do another weather study. This one is based on my two new book finds. Everyday Weather and How It Works is a gem I found at a used book sale for 50 cents! It was first published in 1951 and has fabulous, classic pencil sketch illustrations. This book is not a textbook. It is a readable book with analogies and word pictures that kids can relate to. I can’t wait to read it aloud with the kids!
I was drawn to the other weather book on vacation while looking through a display of nature guides in a museum gift shop. (HINT: Museum gift shops often have wonderful guide books you may not have seen anywhere else! I’m kind of addicted.) The Ron Cordes Pocket Guide to Weather Forecasting is a quick guide to using nature to forecast the weather. (I found it interesting that the only retail link I could find for this book was Bass Pro- which by the way has a great selection of guides and kids nature study resources.) By looking at the clouds or how nature behaves, you can often predict the weather over the next 24 hours.
For instance, a halo around the sun or moon in the summer months usually means rain is on the way. Or, if you are camping and your campfire smoke rises straight up, the barometric pressure is high and you can expect good weather. However, if the smoke stays near the ground, the pressure is dropping – watch for rain.
Weather Study Links
Ready to study weather? Here are some links I found to help make your study great!
FREE Weather Unity Study for 3-9 year olds
Fun Weather Unity Study for 1st grade
JetStream, the National Weather Service Online Weather School
Mathbooking Weather Journal – teaching weather and math
Fab sites for kids to learn all things weather
Weather Experiments
- http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-experiments.htm
- http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiments/024
Do you have any favorite weather resources to share?
******************************
Its’ our last day of Nature Week! I hope you enjoyed it and were able to find some resources to help and inspire you and your family to learn more about nature. Don’t forget to enter the Peaceful Ponds Unit Study giveaway. You have until midnight tonight! (August 3, 2012) Please visit our Nature Week sponsor, Discovery Scope. I can honestly say that this scope is changing the way we study and look at nature at our house!
Thanks to Stef Layton and Jimmie Lanley for their fab guest posts this week!
The Minimalist Guide To Nature Journals
