I have used a number of hands-on classroom activities in the last few years with Infants regarding weather and the different clothes you would wear for various conditions.
· Geography/ Science: We began the topic by discussing different types of weather. Following this, I showed the children clips of weather forecasts. We brainstormed and highlighted different words the weather forecaster had used to describe the weather on the whiteboard. I split the group into groups and they created their own weather forecasts for the class and acted them out. We discussed our favourite weather and what we would wear for this type of weather.
· Science: Another activity I used before was a cutting activity where the children had to match the correct clothes to the correct picture of a certain type of weather. We discussed as a class why they chose this and what the words we can use to describe the weather in question.
· Aistear: The children loved using the rain-themed sensory table in Aistear. The children love playing with water. I put plastic animals and figurines into the water with strainers and colander’s. The children used the strainers to make rain.
· Visual Arts: The children loved making their own kites using paper plates. With support the children cut the centre of the paper plate out. They designed their own paper plate with paint. Once it was dry they stuck a number of colourful ribbons on one side of the paper plate with sellotape. We then stuck a long dowel to the end of the paper plate with masking tape. The children loved bringing these out to the school yard to see their kite ribbons blowing in the wind as they ran around the playground.