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Friday, February 13, 2015

Preschool Weather Science: How can we stay dry?

I'm always looking for really easy ways to help Chuck learn science and math concepts.   We've been fighting colds these past two weeks, so activities that are easy to throw together and take little time to prep have been on the top of my list.  That's probably why I really appreciate good ebooks like STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment  (affiliate link). It's co-authored by one of my blogging buddies, Jamie from Handmade Kids Art and contains over 30+ simple and fun ways you can teach young children about science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics!

I recently received a free copy to review and ear-marked several ideas that I'd like to try out with Chuck.  Inspired by one activity in the book, here's a fun Preschool Science activity that we did to look at how we stay dry during the rain.

Easy Preschool Science:  How can we stay dry during the rain?

Preschool STEM science weather activity
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Here's what the STEAM ebook looks like!

(If you'd like to learn more about this book, check out Jamie's landing page for STEAM: Preschool Activities for Stem Enrichment.  )

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) book for young children


Like I said before, I was inspired by one of the activities in the ebook. We recently got Chuck a kids umbrella and he LOVES it.  So I thought it would be fun for us to talk about why the umbrella protects us from the rain, and to explore other materials that could also do the same thing.  Here's what we did:


Preschool science steps- exploring the weather with kids

1.  First I gathered up a bunch of different materials to use as our makeshift umbrellas.  I purposely chose some paper goods, some plastic goods, some metal items, and some items with holes.

2.  Then, I went around and drew faces in our backyard.  (I should have spread my faces further apart because the water spread pretty quickly.)

3.  Then, I explained to Chuck that we were going to protect these chalk "people" from the rain using the different items.  So we took each item and covered a different face.  (They were essentially acting as our umbrellas.)

4.  Then, we poured 2 cups of water over each item and then lifted up our item to see if our face got wet.  It was pretty fun to pour water over everything and it was neat to hear Chuck explain why the strainer was not a good umbrella.

Once we were finished, we reviewed which items were better at keeping our "people" dry and which items didn't work.


using an umbrella to do kids science activity

5.  And then we tried the same activity with an umbrella.  Chuck just liked pouring water at that point.  But it did it's job and protected our chalk person from the rain.



Looking for more STEM Activities?


Check out this great collection of 40+ STEM Activities or these fun group of 18 Transportation Crafts that you can design and make with your child!  Some my favorites include




Let's keep in Contact!

Like kids crafts and activities?  Then you'll definitely want to check out this awesome craft ebook!
   
And, you can always find  fun ideas on my Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts!  (Or subscribe to my email mailing list by filling out the pink bar at the top of your screen.)


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