Make a Weather Wall

What You Need:

• Weather symbol cutouts for sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, showers, and thunderstorms (make your own)
• Lightweight cardboard such as a file folder
• Glue
• Scissors
• Paint, markers or crayons
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Double-sided tape or magnets (try recycling old advertising magnets)

What You Do:

1. Have your child glue the template to the cardboard. While the glue dries, point out the symbols for sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, showers and thunderstorms. What type of weather are you having today?
2. Now invite your child to color the symbols using crayons, markers, or paint. Let dry, if using paint.
3. Cut the symbols out along the dotted lines.
4. Help your child put double sided tape or magnets on the back of each symbol so they can be hung on the wall, door, or refrigerator.
5. Each morning, encourage your child to take a look outside to check the weather. Is it raining, sunny, or cloudy? Chose the symbol that matches the weather and put it up in your chosen spot.
6. Now challenge your child to predict the weather. What will it be like by lunchtime? Will it change, or stay the same? If your child thinks it will change, place the symbol representing their prediction under the symbol showing the current weather.
7. After lunch, check the weather again. How close was the prediction?

Do this activity over a week or more and keep track of how accurate your child is in making predictions. Does their accuracy improve over time? Who is more accurate, your household meteorologist or the local newscaster? Discuss some of the reasons why it may be difficult to predict the weather. What sort of factors influence how the weather changes?