Our classes have had so much fun exploring the science of weather! They learned in many different and creative ways!

First up is our weather-in-a-jar! The children made:

A cloud in a jar
Rain in a jar (we tried 2 different ways!)
A snowstorm in a jar

Making our cloud in a jar, we talked about how clouds form in the sky. When warm air rises, it cools and turns into tiny water droplets, just like the mist we saw forming inside our jar! Watching this happen helped connect what the children see in the sky to something they created themselves!

For the rain in a jar, we explored how clouds hold water. Using our materials to represent clouds, we saw how they can only hold so much. Once they become too full and heavy, the water begins to fall, just like rain!

Our snowstorm in a jar gave us a chance to talk about cold weather. The children learned that when water droplets in clouds get very cold, they freeze into tiny ice crystals. These crystals come together to form snowflakes, which then fall to the ground as snow, just like the snowy effect we created in our jars.

Here are some pictures of the fun (and messy) results!

Next up is our weather art!

We have 5 large art frames we are filling with the amazing art from our classrooms and the children created their own lightning storms. We explored using watercolours to design a variety of different backgrounds some were dark and stormy, while others had pops of colour to represent the sky during a storm.

Once the backgrounds were dry, we added bold lightning bolts on top, bringing the whole project together.

Through this art project the children were able to experiment with colour blending and different painting techniques. They also expressed their own individual creativity with their unique storm designs. This project also helped with fine motor skills through painting with brushes and adding artistic details. All this was done while learning about weather!

We think they turned out pretty amazing, here’s a peek at the process and finished products:

Over the past few weeks, the children have been continuing their interest in the outdoors and exploring our playground environment. While the cold, snowy weather has kept us from playing outside, it hasn’t stopped our curiosity! Instead, the children have been bringing the outdoors in by exploring loose parts and winter-themed materials while looking out the window at our snowy yard.

Utilizing our loose parts snowmen, the children practiced important building skills such as hand-eye coordination, balance, and problem-solving. They carefully stacked and explored the snowman pieces, noticing the materials inside and excitedly sharing that it “looked like snow.” The children also pointed out the silly faces painted on it, sparking laughter and conversation.

This activity offered rich sensory experiences as the children felt the smooth bottles, banged the snowmen together to create sound, and rolled them across the countertop. Many children noticed that the loose-parts snowman looked like the snowman we once had built outside our window, and we look forward to making a new one on the playground.

The children also explored arctic animals, naturally weaving them into their play. Noticing this we explored an activity with the toddlers. Having them each take a picture of an animal and with a hot climate and a cold climate picture in front them, they chose where they think their animal lives. As the children confidently identified animals such as polar bears, deer, penguins, moose, and seals to name a few, discussion started about where they live, the colour of their fur, what they eat, and even the sounds they make. After spending time with these materials, the toddlers became especially interested in the polar bears—practicing their best “roars” and noticing their white fur.

This growing curiosity inspired us to explore different animals that live in snowy climates, leading into group activities focused on animal habitats and the growing interest amongst the children.