Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

March 8th

Happy Blogging Day, Moms! March has come in like a lion and hopefully will leave like a lamb! Since the weather has been crazy all over the country recently, we decided to make this week's blog a celebration of weather. So grab a copy of one of our very favorite children's books, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and get ready for some fun adventures in the town of Chewandswallow!

Theme: Weather

Developmental Skills: Science (weather), cause and effect, vocabulary, creativity (i.e. coloring, cutting, gluing, painting)

Materials Needed: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Activity 1:Windy Painting~ crayons, construction paper, paint, straws, plastic cups and spoons

Have your child draw a picture of an outside scene (their house, park, etc.). Add water to the paint to make it a thinner substance. Drop a couple of drops of paint onto the paper and using a straw, have your child blow the paint across the picture. They will enjoy watching the paint move in different directions. You can add more paint if needed. ( Please watch your child carefully, as they can become lightheaded from blowing through the straw. We experienced this ourselves!) Talk about wind and how it feels, the direction it blows, and how it moves the leaves, trees, etc.

Extension Activity: We had so much fun blowing the paint across the paper that we decided to see what would happen when we mixed different colors of paint. We used only primary colors and when the colors ran together, we observed the secondary colors being made. It was very easy and very fun! These abstract paintings would be cute framed.

Activity 2: Paper Bag Windsock~ small lunch bag, crayons, yarn, streamers or tissue paper

Have your child decorate the outside of a lunch bag with crayons. Cut out the bottom of the lunch bag and tie a piece of yarn through each side. Glue the streamers to the bottom of the bag. We used colorful tissue paper and cut it into thin strips. We liked being able to alternate the patterns. Hang up the windsock outside and discuss which direction the wind is blowing.

Teacher's Tip: It is essential to a child's development of reading skills to focus on vocabulary, prior knowledge and experiences. This will help develop comprehension skills while reading and listening to stories. Talk to your child through out the story and see if they can predict what will happen next before you turn the page.