Spring brings lots of new opportunities to learn from.  It also brings some rainy days.  My kids like to go outside.  We love to play in the yard, ride bikes and scooters on the road out front of the house, and play at the park.  But we don’t do those things on rainy days and this can result in some grumpy kids.

Rainy day conversation: 
Child: “Mom, its raining! 
Mom: “Yes it is.”
Child: “Can I go out and play?”
Mom: “No, it is too wet.”
Child: :”I don’t want it to rain.   I can’t go outside in the rain.  This day is no fun!”

Later, I usually overhear this song as they sit sadly by the window:
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day!”
or this song:
“It’s raining, its pouring, the old man is snoring….”

So pitiful, just pitiful is their reaction to staying inside!  So many toys and indoor games we could play today, why do they have to feel so sad about the rain? 

What if I change the answer to “Yes, you can go out and play in the rain”?  It’s a crazy thought I know, but we haven’t played in the rain in a long time.  Winter is over, and spring is here.  What new adventure could we have?  What learning could take place?  Would they still be sad?  What if we explore the rain without a raincoat or rain boots?  Could we explore it in our barefeet?  One thing is for sure, they are going to get wet!




Explore The Rain

What is rain?
Where does it come from?
How does it feel?
Is it hot or cold?  Is is dry or wet?
Why does it feel wet?
Why is it so small?


Experiments & Observations:

Observe the rain falling to the ground from the sky:



Observe flowing water and standing water, or puddles, made by the rain:



Feel the rain:



Taste the rain:





Splash in the rain:



Make footprints with rain:



Lots of footprints:



Marching in the rain:





Running in the rain:



Falling down in the slippery rain:



Dancing in the rain:




Conclusions:

The rain falls from the clouds in small drops.
The rain can fall fast or slow, and can have variations of small or very small drops, which creates heavy or light rain.
The rain drops fall down to earth because of gravity.
The rain drops tastes like water. The water is similar to water in the bathroom shower.
The rain feels wet because it is water.
The water from the rain flows downhill until the ground becomes flat, and then the rain can’t move.  Then the rain becomes a water puddle. Eventually the puddle will disappear as the water seeps into the soil and some of it evaporates into the air.
The water makes the dry dirt wet and muddy.
The rain makes the ground slippery as it mixes with dirt.
The rain feels cool.
The rain makes your hair and clothes wet.  
The rain makes your body feel wet and cold.


Conversation:
Child: “Mom, doesn’t the rain just make you want to dance?”
Mom: “Yes, just like the rain drops we saw dancing on the ground as they fell from the sky.”
Child: “Mom, thanks for letting us go outside and dance in the rain.”

New Song: “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feeling, I’m happy again..”


                          You can learn while dancing in the rain!



“I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”  Leviticus 26:4


This post will be linked with:
No Time For Flash Cards
ABC and 123
Sharing Time
Science Sunday
Raising Homemakers