MBC: What’s the Weather?

The weather has offered lots of learning material for children (for all of us) in the last few weeks.

We want to help young children develop into greater awareness and understanding of the world they inhabit - their experiences within it, as well as the experiences of others.

The weather is an important concept to consider because children have concrete, sense-based experiences with the weather every day. They have memories of fog, of varying degrees of rain, or scattered clouds in the sky. Some children have lived experience with extreme weather events, or are going through them now.

And children hear about the weather experiences of friends and loved ones - whether a snowstorm in Dallas or an ice storm in Portland or heavy rains in Vermont. They may have learned of others effected by flooding or forest fires or hurricanes.

When children can acquire experience and attach specific language to an event or concept - like fog or hail or below freezing - they grow in understanding. Even if that experience sometimes comes from a book.

Young children are able to form new connections and become more purposefully curious with a base of knowledge in place, and more secure in navigating their world. When they’ve read about different types of snow, a winter storm becomes a time for discovery as well as special preparation. When they’ve learned about types of cloud, they study the spring sky more carefully. They better understand what a hurricane means, and why their grandparent is concerned about potential outcomes. They come to consider the way the weather impacts others - with your help - when it comes up in family conversation.

Curiosity about physical phenomena is also the basis for scientific exploration.

Instead of purchasing a supposed ‘STEM activity kit’ for your young child, start with a more scientific study of the world around you.

These two weather-based books are wonderful options to have at home.

Find them here.

Weather Words and What They Mean, by Gail Gibbons, is a rewarding, factual resource to have available for your child. This is an excellent book in that it highlights specific vocabulary. The words and simple illustrations will help your child be able to recognize weather phenomena in much greater but still age-accessible detail.

I Am the Storm, by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple, is a book about the impact of extreme weather events on individuals, families, and communities - and the importance of preparing for and supporting one another in these scenarios.

We hope you’ll consider adding these to your next library list or bookshop visit, and remember to have conversations about your child’s weather experiences, and those of others, in daily life.