Fish Windsocks - Super Cheap!

This is another great project for a weather unit.  AND it is super economical.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• paper fish windsocks (Click here to order) Under $8 for 24!
• Blotters or watercolors
• Yarn
• Glue sticks

 The windsocks come pre-cut.  All you need to do is decorate them and glue together.

 Color blotters are perfect for this project as well as watercolor paint.

 The children love decorated their fish.

They look so beautiful fluttering in the wind!

Beautiful Pinwheels

As a part of our weather unit, we made watercolor pinwheels.  Pinwheels are so easy to make and so beautiful to see in the wind.  There are several methods of attaching the pinwheel - the method of I am sharing is from my colleague, Mrs. Flynn.  It works!

What you will need:

• copy of the pinwheel pattern on white cardstock
• pencils
• straight pins with round plastic heads
• watercolors
• masking tape or duck tape

Click here to download pattern.

 STEP ONE:  Watercolor your pinwheel pattern.  Watercolor both sides.  Let dry.

STEP TWO: (for teachers) Cut the pinwheel out and cut a long black slits.

 STEP THREE:  Using a straight pin with a plastic ball top, push four alternating corners through the pin.  You do not have to be exact.  I just gather up those corners on the pin.

 Here my corners are gathered!

 STEP FOUR:  With corners still gathered push pin through the silver part of the pencil.  Yup.  It will go through with a nice push!  Leave enough of the pin on the "pinwheel" side for spinning. 

STEP FIVE:  Bend the end of the pin down.

 STEP SIX:  Wrap the silver part of the pencil (with the pin bent) with masking tape or duck tape.

 Look how cute it is!

STEP SEVEN:  Go outside and watch it spin in the wind!

Weather Parade!

I love the beauty of the parade puppets and pageant sticks!  This year, for only the second time in my teaching career, I am bringing pageantry to our weather time.   First, I talked to the children about what weather sticks we might need - and we went to work painting them.  We are not quite finished but I thought I would share what we have done.   I used white poster board and tempera paint for the images.   I used old flag poles that had been tossed that I had saved from the trash.   I used clear packing tape to attach the pole (that way I can recycle it for next year.)   Here is a song we will sing as the special helper tells us the weather for the day and picks out the appropriate weather stick.  

Weather

(to the tune of "Bingo")

Today the sun is in the sky,
And sunny is the weather.
S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y
And sunny is the weather.

Other verses:
Today the rain falls from the sky... R-A-I-N-Y
Today the clouds are in the sky... C-L-OUD-Y
Today the fog hangs in the sky... F-O-G-G-Y
Today the snow falls from the sky... S-N-O-W-Y
Today we have to wear a coat.. C-O-L-D 

Painting thunder and lightning.

Two children painting a tornado.   (Hope we never choose this one. . .)

Stick taped to the back of the image.   I like to add streamers and ribbons for the full fanfare and joyful parade of weather.

Our rain drops.

The sun.