Sunday, April 26, 2015

IT'S RAINING! IT'S POURING!

April certainly brought "showers" to us this year! Can't wait to see all those May flowers! 

Rain (Traditional Tune)
It’s raining, it’s pouring, (Make rain by wiggling fingers
The old man is snoring. in a downward motion.)
He went to bed,
And he bumped his head, (Pretend to bump hand with palm.)
And he couldn’t get up in the morning. (Shake head “no.”)

Make Rain
Make “rain” as a transition activity to quiet children. Hold up one palm and tap with one finger from the other hand. Next, slowly add another finger and tape with two, then three, four, and five. (At this point you can also stomp your feet to make thunder.) Reverse the process by tapping with five fingers, then four, three, two, one. Quietly place your hands in your lap. It will really sound like a rain storm is coming and then going away. 
Rain in a Jar Experiment
Fill a large glass jar with very hot water. Set a pie pan full of ice cubes on top of the mouth of the jar and observe what happens. Encourage students to draw observations.

The Water Cycle (Tune: “My Darlin’ Clementine”)
Evaporation (Push palms up.)
Condensation (Hands together in air.)
Precipitation all around (Wiggle fingers down.)
Accumulation (Sweep arms in circle.)
Evaporation (Push palms up.)
The water cycle goes
Round and round (Make circles with arms.)

Rain Bracelet
Children will be able to retell the water cycle with this bead bracelet. Have them string on the following beads as they repeat the water cycle:
Evaporation - clear bead
Condensation - white bead
Precipitation - blue bead
Accumulation - brown bead
Evaporation – yellow bead (sun) to evaporate the water