The weather around here has been absolutely bonkers lately. Between rain, snow, hail, clouds, fog, thundersnow (!!), and yes, even a bit of sun… whew, the weather app has certainly gotten a lot of use! It also makes it the perfect time to enjoy this weather activity from Seasonal Living with Littles!
Before we get into the activity, let me tell you a bit about Seasonal Living with Littles. It is your season-by-season, month-by-month resource for natural living with your little ones.
Every season, you will enjoy beautiful original art and a handwork project created just for you, Mama.
You will also enjoy a poem, nature sensory play, and new seasonal crafts and activities every month.
And at the heart of it all, in the heart of your home, I teach you how to create a Nature Table. A Nature Table is a special place where the outside is welcomed into your home. It is a place for little minds to wonder and for imaginations to soar. It is a space for quiet reflection in increasingly busy worlds.
As you dive into Seasonal Living with Littles, you are going to discover it supports your well-being every bit as much as your little ones.
But instead of telling you, why don’t I show you! Grab a Free Sample of Seasonal Living with Littles and take a peek at the Spring section, including the beautiful artwork and poem that goes along with it. When you enter your email address below, the sample will be sent to you immediately and you’ll be brought to the How Wee Learn shop so you can read a bit more about the resource.
Paper Chain Weather Activity
Materials
The materials for this activity are nice and simple. All you need is (besides love, of course):
- Blue, yellow, grey, and white construction paper
- Scissors
- Tape or stapler
Directions
This weather paper chain is one of the March activities in Seasonal Living with Littles. Usually, our wildest weather happens in the spring, but the way January is going, we can safely start this activity now!
Here’s how it works:
Each day for a month, or a week, or however long you want to keep it going (a year would be EPIC!), add a loop to a paper chain that represents the weather.
So, if it is a rainy day, add a blue paper loop to your chain.
If it is sunny, add a yellow loop.
If it is cloudy, add a grey loop.
And if it is snowy, add a white one!
To do this, simply cut strips of paper in each color and keep them on hand in a little cup. Each day, choose a color to represent the weather and add it to your chain.
For the first day, secure one of the paper strips into a circle with tape or a stapler. On each subsequent day, insert a new paper strip through the middle of the previous day’s loop, then secure it with tape or a stapler as well.
Before you know it, you’ll have a beautiful weather paper chain hanging up in the house so you can say, “SEE! I told you the weather has been bonkers!”
I mean… so you can enjoy some special moments with your little one, notice weather patterns, and strengthen fine motor skills at the same time. You might even notice more yellow loops and less white ones as you progress, giving you hope that summer will, someday, eventually, be here.
Temperature-Tracking Paper Chain
If your weather isn’t quite as dramatic, but the temperature is—I’m looking at you, July!—you could modify activity this to be a temperature-tracking paper chain.
Decide on your temperature ranges, perhaps 15-19°C is blue, 20-24°C is yellow, 25-29°C is orange, and 30°C+ is red (or 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, and 90+ for my American friends). Each day, check the daily high and add a loop to your paper chain.
We decided to pull up the daily temperatures from last July and use those numbers to make a summer chain.
There is a LOT of historical weather data available online. We were able to find the daily highs and lows for last July in our area, but also the wind speed, precipitation, pressure, and so much more. Sorting through the data and coding each day as a color was filled with quite a bit of learning!
I hope you give this weather activity a try with your little ones. I would love to see how yours turns out!
If you would like to incorporate more seasonal living into your lives—sparking your child’s natural curiosity and nurturing their love of nature—be sure to check out Seasonal Living with Littles.
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend!
xo
Sarah
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