Rainy Days Experiment

We live in a very rainy part of the country. But just in case there is no rain in the forecast, you can still study rain during R week!

• Rainy Day Coloring Page … sometimes my kids just like to sit and color, especially if I will sit and color with them.
  1. Click the image above to print.
  2. While you color, play some fun music or listen to rain…
• Listen to Rain … RainyMood.com plays the sound of rain, that’s it Click here to listen.

  

• Rainy Day Songs!
  1. Click the links above for music and words.
  2. Don’t forget to do the actions!

 

• Making Rain Experiment … easy to do and a great way to show why it rains!  
  1. Boil some water in a pot until steam forms above it. We talked about how there is water on the earth and it is evaporated into the sky.
  2. Fill a tin pie pan with ice cubes. The kids can help with this! Let them feel how cold it is. This was our “cloud”.
  3. Hold the “cloud” above the pot in the warm steam. My hand got a little warm but I just held it out to the side so it didn’t get very hot.
  4. Let the children observe that when the warm steam comes in contact with the cool air from the pie pan, drops of water form and fall back into the pot like rain!
  5. It was pretty neat to see the drops start small, then get bigger and bigger and finally drop down just like rain!

 

• Read “Who is Tapping at my Window?” by A. G. Deming … you might check your library to see if they have a copy. Mine did not. It looks like you can get it from Amazon.com.
  1. A girl asks all of the farm animals who is tapping at her window and then finds out that it is the rain!
  2. Use rhythm sticks to tap out the rhythm of the text.
  3. To make rhythm sticks, cut a wooden dowel into two 12” sticks or use two empty paper towel tubes or even two pencils!
  4. Hold one end and tap the other end on the floor or hit together.

Rabbits

• Read “Rabbits and Raindrops” by Jim Arnosky. Point out that Jim drew the raindrops perfectly round because that is how raindrops are shaped when they fall. The book has beautiful pictures!! Amazon has it here.

   

• Rabbits & Raindrops Art
  1. Print out a rabbit clipart. I included a few to choose from above. Just click on the image.
  2. Cut out the rabbit and glue it onto a blue paper.
  3. Have the kids stick several white hole reinforcements above the rabbit to resemble the raindrops in the story (I found these at the dollar store). Or you can order them here.
  4. Use a white crayon to draw lines leading down to each raindrop.
  5. Cut out and glue small pieces of pink felt to line the rabbit’s ears.
  6. Add a soft cotton ball to the rabbit’s tail with glue.
  7. Glue pieces of green tissue paper to the top of the paper to make the rabbit's leafy shelter.
• Rabbit rhyme:

Here is a rabbit with ears so funny! (hold up 2 fingers, slightly bent)

And this is her hole in the ground (point to floor)

When a noise she hears (Cup hand around ear)

She perks up her ears (Bend 2 fingers as before, then straighten them)

And hops in her hole with a bound! (Pretend to jump in the hole)

• Rabbit Touch and Feel Book
  1. Print out the page above, cut in quarters and stack.
  2. Make a simple cover with a half sheet of colored paper folded in half. Staple along the edge.
  3. Label your book "All About Rabbits, by __________
  4. On page 1 ... Cut 2 pieces of pink felt to resemble long ears. Glue on.
  5. On page 2 … Cut 2 rectangles from a white plastic lid. Glue on.
  6. On page 3 … Glue on crumbled green tissue paper or an artificial leaf.
  7. On page 4 … Stretch out a soft cotton ball and glue on.
  8. Have your preschooler feel and read through his new book!

NOTE: The Mailbox, 2006-2007 Yearbook, Preschool, pgs 301 and 302 has a great rabbit booklet ready to copy!

Snack Idea: a spoonful of white chocolate pudding topped with a dollop of whipped cream looks just like a fluffy rabbit tail.

Rain

• Grab an umbrella and rain boots and go for a walk in the rain!

 

• Paper Boats!
  1. Fold paper boats and float them down a small stream or rain gutter.
  2. Instructions for folding a paper boat can be found here.
• Rainy Day Romp Obstacle Course
  1. Use clear contact paper to attach rain puddle cutouts to the floor.
  2. Tape a large paper rainbow to the tabletop.
  3. Suspend several cloud cutouts from the ceiling (within jumping height).
  4. Take turns jumping on each puddle, crawling under the rainbow (table) and jumping to touch each of the clouds.
• Play fun rainy day music
  1. "Singing in the Rain" by Gene Kelly
  2. "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" by BJ Thomas.