Spring Theme Week ~ Weather ~ Tuesday

JJ made a Tornado in a Jar. You need a clear jar filled 3/4 full of water, a tsp. of vinegar, a tsp. of dish soap and a sprinkle of glitter.

Mix Everything together and put on the top.

Give it a good swirl and watch your tornado.

We talked about Thunderstorms and Lightning and he made this storm picture

He made a Weather Dial. Attach a circle paper to a paper plate with a brad. Separate the paper into 4 sections and color them with different weather patterns. We did a sun, snowman, black clouds and rainy days.

He watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

We made a Rain Stick. You need: paper tube, toothpicks (I used q-tips because I was out) and a screwdriver to prepunch holes.

I clipped the ends of the Q-tips, poked the holes and pushed them through. After I did 2 Qtips, I ran a piece packing tape around the tube to hold them in place. I used package tape, which he can't color. If you use masking tape, you could color designs on the rain stick.

I taped one end with paper. He filled it with a 1/2 cup of rice and I taped up the other end. Now, he has a rain stick.

We have had a lot of crazy weather this year. We live in a state that has four seasons but barely a winter. We have had tornado, hurricane and flash flood warnings. Thunderstorms with hail in March and this year, Spring flowers that have already bloomed and died before Easter. Crazy weather.

Do you have a preschooler that is scared of storms? Here are some tips that will help.

• Stay relaxed and that will help your preschooler relax
• Pray with your child
• Keep your child close and turn it into a story time
• Give your preschooler a flashlight to play with
• Have a Storm Party ~ If you know a storm is coming have the popcorn or hot chocolate ready
• Practice their counting between the lightning and thunder to see how far away the storm is
• Busy Bags to preoccupy them until the storm passes

Do you have ideas that help your preschooler through storms?