 |
| RAINY DAZE |
| Art: Rain Pictures Start out with white construction paper and water-based markers. Place the papers out in the rain for 1-2 minutes (you could also spritz with a water sprayer if the rain won't cooperate). Bring the papers in and blot them dry with a paper towel, leave them to dry thoroughly. The effect is beautiful. Shadow Boxes Paint the inside of a shoe box with black or dark blue poster or acrylic paint. Alternatively, you can glue black construction paper inside the box. Using white crayons or stickers, make a night scene with stars and the moon on the black background. Get creative, use small plastic toys to create a scene inside your shadowbox, or make your own with construction paper and glue. Cut out small pictures from coloring books and color and adhere to your scene. Hang a spaceship or shooting star with a piece of string and glue. Clouds Cut two cloud shapes out of white fingerpaint paper. Glue around edges except for a small opening. Children stuff with toilet paper. Dry and hang. Puffy white clouds. Decorate Umbrellas Cut a large umbrella shape from posterboard. Decorate with crayons, markers, watercolor paints, and assorted collage materials, such as rickrack, stickers, yarn, ribbon, buttons. or other materials. Cut a handle from construction paper. You may want to hang the umbrella from the ceiling or display it in a window. Kool Aid Art Sprinkle a little dry kool aid mix onto a piece of paper. Have your child spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper. Use different colored kool-aid mix. For added adventure, you may choose to take your children out into the rain with a piece of paper that has kool-aid on it. Umbrella Art Cut out an umbrella shape and have your child decorate it with paint, glitter, fabric, crayons, or whatever you can come up with. Paint with Cloud Supply each child with a piece of blue paper, a cotton ball and white paint. Have the child dip the cotton ball into the white paint and press onto the paper to make cloud prints. Paint with a Cloud 2 Supply the children with a piece of white paper an many cotton balls and many different colors of paint, and have them paint with the cotton ball on the paper. Blue Shaving Cream Art Add a few drops of blue paint to shaving cream. Have the children use this to paint with. Not mixing the paint in will give it a special look. Raindrop Hats Make hats from newsprint and have the child decorate with blue paint or rain and rainbow stickers. Raindrop People Give the children a piece of white paper, and a blue raindrop shape. Have the children glue the raindrop onto the paper, and then draw a body as if the raindrop was a head. Drama Pretend to be wind. Whistle (blow out) lightly, heavier, heavier, softer (or the other way around). Sway (move) you head and body back and forth like the wind. Pretend to be rain. With your fingers, make them move rain falling down: lightly, heavier, heavier, softer (or the other way around). (You can do it on a table or book.) Pretend to be thunder. Make soft, louder, louder thunder. Games: Bean Bag Puddle Toss You need a hula hoop (the puddle) and some bean bags. You can either set up the hula hoop on it's side or on the ground. Have your child try to throw the bean bags into the puddle. Raindrop Fishing Cut out several raindrop shapes from light blue construction paper. Write several numbers or letters on them. Have them laminated. Then place a paper clip on each raindrop. Make a fishing pole out of a dowel or pencil, string and a magnet. Place the raindrops on the floor and have the children sit in chairs around the raindrops. (This may work better with a few fishing poles.) Have the children try to catch a raindrop with the fishing pole. Then, when they catch one.. show it to them and ask what letter or number it is. Variation: For younger children you could make the raindrops different colors and ask what color is the raindrop Variation: Ask the child if they can catch the "a" or the "1" Raindrop Relay Just for Fun! Form two teams. Each team must catch raindrops on their spoon or dish and pour it into the measuring cup-the first team to gather two ounces of raindrops is the winner. (The amount can vary depending upon the rainfall) Jumping Puddles When it is too wet to go outsied, jump over puddles indoors! Place carpet squares of irregular shapes of blue construction paper around the room to respresent puddles, then jump, jump, jump! Which color is missing? Draw several different rainbow on small pieces of paper. Each one, exclude a color that should be in the rainbow.. so the first exclude red, second orange... etc. Then make a rainbow that has all the colors. Show the children the rainbow with all the colors on it. Ask what colors do they see. Then show each card to the children and ask them if they can guess what color is missing Variation: Put the colors in the wrong order. See if the children can see which color is not in the right place. Look at Me! Have your child observe you for a minute. Leave the room .Return to the room, having changed a small detail in your appearance. Remove an earring, put on some lipstick or change your hair. Can they guess? Language: Spring Showers Spring Showers (Move like rain falling to the ground.) Flowers (Move like something growing from the ground.) Trees (Sway in the wind.) Bees (Buzz and fly.) Sun (Make a circle with arms.) Fun (Jump up and down.) Muck (Pretend to be stuck.) YUCK! Spring Showers Rain is falling from the sky. (flutter fingers down) Lightning flashes! Hide your eyes! (cover eyes with hands) Thunder rumbles in the clouds. (drum hands on thighs) Sometimes it is very loud! (cover ears with hands) When the storm is over, and puddles remain, (shape arms into a circle) It's time to take off my shoes again. (pretend to take shoes off) - Marie E. Cecchini An April Shower Mix a little sunshine with an April Shower Put it in a flower bed and up pops a flower! The Rain Rain on the green grass And rain on the tree Rain on the house top But not on me! Raindrops Rain is falling down Rain is falling down (raise arms, flutter fingers to the ground) Pitter-patter Pitter-patter Rain is falling down. April is a rainbow month, Of sudden springtime showers. Bright with golden daffodils And lots of pretty flowers. The sun will shine. The rain will fall. And spring flowers Will grow up tall. Rain, rain, Pitter, Patter (slap hands on thighs) Rain, rain, Slish, Splash (swipe hands together) Rain, rain, rain fallinf, falling (raise hands above head, wiggle fingers and lower hands) On the grass, on the plants. Umbrellas Umbrella can be red Umbrella can be blue Umbrellas can be patterned With lots of colours too. Raining Windshield wiper, windshield wiper, What do you do today? Slip-slap, slip-slap, I wipe the rain away. Ode to Rain Write rainy day poems. Write poems about puddles, mud, raindrops, or grey skies. Reverse Writing Challenge your older child, with a pencil and paper! Can they write a sentence backwards, without looking in the mirror. Sounds easy enough for the letters O, A, and M, but what about J, F, and R ? Can they write you a secret message ? Math: Weather Chart Each day for the month of chart the weather. Was it sunny, rainy, cold, warm. Ask your child for as many descriptive words as they can think of about the day!!! Measuring Rainfall On a rainy day, set out a container to measure the rainfall. Measure how much rain fell that day. Continue to measure the rain each day, and record for a few weeks. Ask your child to predict how much water will be collected. Ask at the beginning of the day and ask when it is raining. Did their answer change? Counting Raindrops Develop number recognition skills and counting skills with this easy-to-make game! Cut several irregualar shapes from dark blue construction paper to represent rain puddles. Print a number on each one. In addition cut large raindrops from light blue construction paper. Encourage your child to identify the number printed on each puddle. Count out the corresponding number of raindrops,, and arrange them on the puddle. Music: It's raining, It's pouring It's raining, it's pouring, The old man is snoring. He went to bed and he Bumped his head And he couldn't get up in the morning. It Ain't Gonna Rain It ain't gonna rain no more, no more It ain't gonna rain no more, How in the heck will we wash the neck If it ain't gonna rain no more? If All the Raindrops If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops Oh, what a rain that would be! Standing outside, with my mouth open wide Singing La la la la, la la la, la la la, If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops Oh, what a rain that would be! Rain, Rain Rain, rain, go away Come again some other day We want to go outside and play Come again some other day * Optional lyrics: change third line to say: (child's name)'s friends all want to play Raindrops Rain is falling down Rain is falling down (raise arms, flutter fingers to the ground) Pitter-patter Pitter-patter Rain is falling down. Recipes: Snack Ideas Recipes: Craft Ideas White Mud Ingredients 3 rolls white toilet paper 1 bar Ivory soap 3/4 cup Borax Directions Unroll 3 rolls of white bathroom tissue paper into a very large container, you will want a lid for it. Generously add water until covered completely. Grate 1 bar of Ivory soap into mixture, and add 3/4 c. of Borax. Mix up well and start making mud pies! Science Playing with Clouds Give each child a large sheet of paper. Put some shaving cream in the middle of the paper. Tell them to imagine that it is a cloud. How does it feel? What color is it? Let them have fun playing with it. It also makes the room smell great! Rain How about some water play? I filled the buckets from our sand and rice table with water. Add some plastic boats and cups, put smocks on the kids and let them have fun! They loved it. Just remember to lay down a plastic sheet under the kids feet (I used an old shower curtain). Sensory Blindfold Wear a blindfold to encourage the use of other senses. Feel, smell, and listen to the weather. |
Prop Box Ideas Include the following collections of objects and materials for children to create, discover, and use for imaginary play. Store collections in boxes or baskets to be accessible at any time (indoors or outdoors) for children to enhance their dramatic play. Dress up clothing (raincoat, rubber boots) Have you Tried... Bulletin Board Ideas ============ April Showers Put your children in small groups (3-5) have them make a flower by using their hand prints around a center core. Then give each child a few raindrop shaped pieces of paper and let them color their raindrop. Finally, give each group a cloud and let them design it together. Put it all together on the board (flowers on bottom, Clouds on top, with rain coming from clouds) with the title "April Showers Bring May Flowers" Muddy Prints Have of your children put their footprints on a piece of paper. Put all of their footprints on a bulletin board with the titles: "Watch for Puddles," "April showers bring great Big Mud Puddles," etc. Use the weather to hone your science skills. Predict how much rain will fall and put a cup outside to measure the rain fall. Blow bubbles indoors! Experiment with the bubbles. Put one out in the rain. Remind children that it rains for lots of good reasons. Make a list of all the good things about rain. List all the different forms of precipitation. Make a rainy day class photo that is bright and wonderful. Have the children line up with their umbrella to create a rainbow of colour. Snap the photo Bring a rainy day story to life when you read it under an umbrella out in the rain. Have children dress appropriately and bring their own umbrella. Collect long grasses or vines. When these are thoroughly soaked in the rain, try weaving a basket. Develop an Idea Box ============ Begin your new "Boredom Cure" with a tissue or shoe box. Which of course, has been decorated by your little one. When you come across an idea that strikes your fancy, write it on a slip of paper and place it in the box. Send them running to the idea box when they say they are bored. c. 2007 -2008 |
 |
"I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it." - Albert Einstein |
 |