Spring Showers and Other Weather Lessons for Kids

After a long winter, spring is a welcome opportunity to take learning outside and let your students explore the world around them! Spring is full of learning possibilities. For example, a conversation about spring showers is the perfect way to start a lesson on the water cycle - the choices are endless

After a long winter, spring is a welcome opportunity to take learning outside and let your students explore the world around them! Spring is full of learning possibilities. For example, a conversation about spring showers is the perfect way to start a lesson on the water cycle - the choices are endless! Exploration is a natural part of development and encourages a wide range of learning processes such as problem solving, critical thinking, social and emotional development, observation skills, fine and gross motor skills, and even creative thinking.

From science activities for preschoolers to weather lessons for kindergarten, Everything for Spring is full of fun activities you can use all season long with your little learners.

Here are a few fun spring science activities that you’ll enjoy too!

Falling Down

This simple activity teaches observations skills.

Ages: 3+

Words to use:

• Fall down
• Fast
• Drop
• Slowly

Materials:

• Tissue
• Feather
• Jar lid
• Block
• Leaves
• Baskets

What to do:

1. Talk about things that fall down, for example, rain, children, snow, leaves, etc.
2. Let the children drop various items into the baskets and observe which ones fall fast and which ones fall slowly.

Puddle Walk

This activity uses the puddle as a teaching tool to help children predict the possible presence of a future puddle. It also checks the “puddleability” of the area so that the next time it rains, the class can take a “puddle walk” to see if puddles form.

Ages: 4+

Words to use:

• Evaporation
• Measure
• Circumference
• Diameter
• Puddles
• Depth
• Rain
• Record

Materials:

• Meter stick or yardstick
• Paper or crayons for recording purposes

What to do:

1. After a rainstorm, take a puddle walk. Ask the children to see how many puddles they can find.
2. Record the characteristics of the puddles. 

   Circumference- How big around are they?
   Depth- How deep are they? (Use a measuring stick)
   Diameter- To measure the puddle’s diameter, walk through it, lay a stick across it or stretch string across it.
   Where do puddles usually form?

3. Return to observe the puddles the next day. What changes are there from the characteristics recorded on the first day? Repeat step 2. Are the puddles bigger or smaller? What do you think causes some puddles to last longer than others?

Want to do more?

Predict where puddles will be formed before the next rainstorm. Fill soda bottles with water so you start with equal amounts of water. Let the children make their own puddles. Then predict which will evaporate first, which will last the longest and which will be the deepest.

I’m Listening to the Rain

This activity encourages children to develop good listening skills.

Ages: 4+

Words to use:

• Recording
• Rain
• Pretend
• Hear
• Listen

Materials:

• Recording of rain

What to do:

1. At circle time talk about rain and explain to the children that you have a recording of the sound of rain that you would like them to listen to.
2. Ask the children to close their eyes and listen to the recording of the rain.
3. After listening to the recording, talk about the sound of rain. Tell the children to pretend that they are outside walking in the rain. What do they hear (thunder, wind)? Do cards sound different in the rain (windshield wipers, tires on wet roads)? Can they hear the splashing when they walk in puddles? Can they hear birds chirping in the rain? Ask the children to tell about an experience they had in the rain.