Activity Introduction

windQuick summary: This activity has been developed to give children the opportunity to learn more about weather and seasons. Through play and experimentation, children investigate how objects change in colour and texture when wet. Older children explore different types of weather and how different types of weather affect people and our environment.

This activity is designed to help connect children to the wonders of the natural world through sensory and play-based learning.

EYLF Learning Outcome

Elaborations

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world

3. Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment

Outcome 4: Children are involved and confident learners

1. Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity

2. Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating

3. Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another

4. Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials

 

Equipment needed:

  • Ages – 0 to 3: Tub of water and pouring cups. A range of objects to get wet: try to pick some objects that don’t look or feel very different when wet (such as a plastic cup or a metal spoon) and some objects that look and feel quite different when wet (such as a stone that changes colour, or beach glass, or fabric, or soil or sand). Try to include objects such as paper or bread that will be damaged or disintegrate with water. Also consider including an object like soap that will become very slippery when wet. You may want to experiment in advance to see what the changes to objects will be when they are wet.
  • Ages – 3 to 5: Weather and seasons flashcards

Supporting resources:

Other resources:

Cool Australia Presents Climate Change from Cool Australia on Vimeo.

 

Cool Australia would like to acknowledge the support of the Seedlings Early Years Education for Sustainability (EYEfS) program.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

climate-changeBackground information:

Content information: Despite our very modern lives - technology, social media, instant access to just about everything - our lives are still very much connected to the natural world. And there’s nothing like a bit of wild weather to remind us of that.

One of the consequences of climate change is predicted to be increases in both frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as wild storms and long hot spells. While the concepts of climate change and the greenhouse effect will probably be a little complex for your children, understanding weather and its relationship to our environment is a good place to start.

Our lives are still very much dependent on the weather and the seasons, and the opportunities that the changes in weather and season provide. We rely on rain for water and for growing food and we rely on sunshine for growing food. Seasonal changes in temperature and weather are messages to our natural environment to begin pollinating, hibernati

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