Measuring Rainfall

Why not add a scientific spin on a rainy day? Yesterday it was raining 'cats and dogs' so we decided to measure how much rain fell in one day.

                               
Who can play?
Children aged three years and above. All activities depend on the age and stage of development of the child.

Safety:
When around water you should always be careful of the risk of drowning.

What do you need?

• Jug, bottle and cup to collect rainwater
• Separate measuring jug to measure the rainwater in all the containers.
• A very rainy day
• Paper and felt tip pens to record the findings

What did we do?
The conditions were perfect for a rainy day experiment, so at 7.30 in the morning, Bee and I placed a jug, cup and bottle outside on the patio. We talked about how much rain they would collect and Bee's answer was "4" I think this was because she will be four next birthday. All that was left to do was wait until 6.00 in the evening to check the results.

Half way through the day, Bee noticed that the bottle had been blown over. This led into a discussion about the powers of the wind and rain and that sometimes it can even blow down trees etc, Bee's reply was "Like the big bad wolf?"... maybe a bit more powerful than that. She enjoyed going back to the window, where she could view the containers, to see if the water level had risen.

                                   

Just after dinnertime, we collected the containers from outside and Bee carefully poured each container of rainwater in the measuring jug. We looked at the numbers along the side of the jug. Whilst running our fingers up the jug we counted the volume.

This was then recorded on the Rainfall chart (a raindrop for each fluid ounce) 

Rainfall chart

                                 

Bee looked so proud that she could count up to 16 and draw the correct amount of raindrops. I asked lots of questions such as "Which container collected the most rainfall" and "why do you think the jug collected more water than the cup?"

Bee recording her findings on the chart

                                    

The chart once it had been completed

                                 
At the end of the activity, she asked if we could do this again tomorrow... so we did. The day after had a lot more rain,which was great as we compared our findings from yesterday. Bee said "It rained lots today"

                       

What did we learn?
Creative: Drawing raindrops.Responding to what they see and feel, providing their ideas and thoughts
Physical: Fine manipulative skills when holding and drawing with the felt tip pen. Hand eye coordination when pouring the liquid from one container to the other.
Mathematical: Measuring and learning about capacity. Counting. Record using a tally chart.
Personal, Social and Emotional: Joining in with an activity and cooperating with someone else. Developing competence and independence when pouring out the liquid from one container to the other. Fun and enjoyment.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Exploring and finding out about weather conditions.
Communication, Language and Literacy: Recording findings. Talking about what they are seeing and doing. Making raindrop marks on the paper (as Bee is not ready to write number forms yet) Listening to and following instructions.

What could be done next?
On a hot day you could do the experiment the other way around and add water to the containers and see how much evaporates.

Racing Leaves

Another day of rain, means another day of wet fun!  Growing up in England, I have been no stranger to rainy days, so today whilst playing outside with my daughter, I remembered a fun game I used to play as a child. Sailing a boat made out of paper along the gutter on the edge of the road. For environmental reasons, we substituted paper boats for an organic version... leaves.

Who can play?

Children aged two and above, depending on their age and stage of development .Due to this activity being close to the edge of the road, I would recommend it only for children who can listen/follow instruction and be safe.

Safety

As mentioned previously, this activity uses the guttering next to the road, so children should only play this on a quiet street and be supervised at all times whilst being reminded of road safety.

What do I need?

• Waterproof clothing and boots.
• Leaves and twigs
• A good downpour of rain

What did we do?

Firstly, Bee pointed out the water running down the street. We had had a big down pour overnight and all morning, causing the water in the guttering to flow really fast. I asked her why the water was running down the street and she told me it was because it was raining, which was true, but I also pointed out that the street was on a hill, making the water run down from the top to the bottom. The next question was what did she think would happen if we dropped a twig in the water, she replied " It will float" Bee picked a twig up from the floor and held it in the water, swishing it around "Look mummy" she said "the twig is making the water go funny and move". Next she dropped it in the flow and surprisingly it did not float away.

I then asked her to look for things she thought were light enough for the water to carry.  Finding a small leaf, she gently placed it on top of the water. her little face was a picture, when she let go and watched it float down the street. She looked so excited and followed it on its path.

After doing this for around five minutes, she invited me to join in with her play and race our leaves together. On the count of three, we let go and followed our leaves on their journey until the end of the block.
                                             
                                                 

Half way through the play, we had a blockage in the path of the water. We talked about why that had happened, for example some bits of tree bark were too big and heavy and were collecting at one point. Bee commented on the water moving around them, but quickly removed them, ensuring that her game could carry on. We also discussed, how the water flows into the drains and then out to sea, so that was why it is important to make sure we do not throw litter in the drains.

We spent twenty minutes playing this game and experimenting with the water. Bee enjoyed her new experience and I enjoyed a trip down memory lane.

What did we learn?
Personal, Social and Emotional: Enjoying trying new experiences. Fun and enjoyment. Independent thinking.
Creative: Creating her own game. Problem solving on her own.
Mathematical: Counting. Learning concepts of weight, such as light and heavy. Knowledge of directions, for example the water flowing down the street.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Becoming interested and curious in the world around her.Exploring nature and its forces. Developing science concepts such as floating and sinking. Learning how to be safe at the roadside.
Communication, Language and Literacy: Making small movements in the water with the stick (developing pre-writing skills) Listening to and answering questions. Talked about what she was seeing and doing.
Physical: Fine manipulative when picking up objects with forefinger and thumb and placing them in the water.

What could be done next?
Due to Bee's high level of involvement in this activity, I am going to invest in some plastic guttering and make our own stream in her water tray. You could also make some boats out of paper or card and sail them in the bath, using either your mouth or a straw to blow them.

A splashing good time

Ever heard the rhyme, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day!" Well living in sunny California, this is not the case...let it pour! 

Coming from an Early Years background in Great Britain, we played out come sun, rain, wind and snow. Playing out in different weather conditions, promotes a knowledge of seasons and provides an opportunity for learning experiences and most importantly FUN! 

My daughter was only 18 months when we explored her first puddle and it was a big hit.

Get on your rain boots and rain coat and head on outside!

Who can play?
Children of all ages... young and old.

Safety
It goes without saying that young children need constant supervision when around water. It has been known for children to drown in just a couple of inches of water.
Watch out for slippy areas and try to avoid them.
Ensure that you and your child wear the appropriate clothing. Even though people say that you cannot catch a cold from getting cold, I would not chance it, plus it is not enjoyable to be wet and cold.

What do we need?

• Waterproof coat
• Rain boots
• Optional umbrella
• Washing up liquid
• Paintbrushes

What did we do?

Bee, was really excited to play in the rain. This was her first experience of a downpour, and as you can see by the photographs she loved it.

Once we had put on our waterproof clothing and boots we explored the water by kicking it. Learning about its properties. Next was the fun part... for both of us. We jumped up and down, trying to create big puddles. Bee found this so funny, especially when the water went on her face.

We then added washing up liquid to the large puddle and watched how when we jumped around it made bubbles. 

The paintbrushes then came out and we began drawing and mark making with the bubbles. pushing it back and forth on the ground, creating small foamy bubbles. Bee enjoyed swishing the paint brush from side to side.

At the time of this activity, we were attending a parent education setting, with an inspirational teacher, Miss Bonnie. She taught us a bubble song that Bee loved, so we sang it whilst popping the bubbles we made.

Bubble Song

One little, two little, three little bubbles.

four little, five little, six little bubbles.

seven little, eight little, nine little bubbles.

ten little bubbles go pop, pop, pop!

Pop them, pop them, pop them bubbles.

Pop them, pop them, pop them bubbles.

Pop them, pop them, pop them bubbles.

Ten little bubbles go pop, pop, pop!

 We had so much fun, with such a simple free resource.

What did we learn?
Physical: Developing large motor skills, such as upper leg muscles, when jumping up and down. Fine manipulative skills when holding the paintbrush.
Creative: Singing the bubble song. Making patterns with the paintbrush in the bubbly puddle.
Mathematical: Counting the bubbles when singing the bubble song or when popping them.
Personal, social and emotional: Fun and enjoyment. Participating in new experiences and activities.
Knowledge and understanding of the world: Learning about weather conditions and experimenting with water, learning about its properties. Developing awareness of change of state when adding washing up liquid to the puddle.
Communication, language and literacy: Talking about what they can see and feel. Learning the words to the bubble song. Description words such as wet, dry, cold etc.

What could be done next?
The possibilities of a rainy day are endless. Below are some other ideas:

• Add paint to the puddles to create swirly patterns
• Supply cups and bottles, so your child can experiment with collecting the water, pouring and filling
• Make boats to sail down guttering
• Collect water in containers to measure rainfall and make a simple chart
• Introduce chalk to a puddle and watch how the chalk dissolves and almost turns into paint.

To finish off a perfect play in the rain, we always favour a nice cup of hot chocolate and a snuggle on the sofa.