The weather and changing seasons can provide inspiration for enhancements inside and out. The weather itself can create natural enhancements in the outdoor area that children delight in discovering. These discoveries range from a crisp blanket of snow to layers of shimmering frost, rainwater that collects and forms in inviting puddles on the floor, a variety of shadows and beams of bright sunlight. As well as allowing children to freely explore these natural enhancements with their senses, the staff can add tools and equipment and organise guided activities that can take advantage of the weather and the opportunities for Understanding the World development that can occur.
WINDY DAYS
On a windy day there are noticeable changes in the outdoor area that can bring about a buzz of excitement. The staff can encourage children to explore the force of the wind using all their senses. Ask the children to describe what they can see happening, not only to the objects in the outdoor area, but also in nature as they look out at the grass, plants, and trees. Talk about trying to find out the direction of the wind using these observations.
Adults can comment on how the wind feels on their face, hands and hair, encouraging the awareness of the sense of touch. They can suggest that we close our eyes and listen to the sound of the wind, which can take place indoors too. Adding the enhancement of a ‘windy day box’ can complement the play that a windy day can inspire, adding objects to make the impact of the wind more visible. A windy day box can contain kites, streamers, pinwheels, flags, voiles, windchimes and windsocks.
Our children have been known to become very engaged in the activity of making their own kites to fly. We then let them out on to the big field with their kite, feeling the full force of the wind on their bodies.
RAINY DAYS
On a rainy day the children in our setting happily put on their puddle suits and wellies and head outside. The weather can lead to our continuous provision having new purposes, such as using the large construction planks, crates and tyres to create bridges over puddles. Our den-building equipment is often used to provide shelter from the rain and with a tarpaulin covering can create interesting sound patterns to experience and describe.
A ‘rainy day box’ or large tub with a collection of items can enhance the outdoor area on these days. Child-sized outdoor brooms as well as dustpans and brushes can be used by the children to try to brush away puddles or transport the puddle water from one place to another. Whisks, forks and spoons for puddles can encourage children to look at the patterns and shapes as the water disperses when these items are moved in it. Small umbrellas can lead to hearing new sounds and experimenting with wet and dry.
SNOWY DAYS
As it is so rare in East Anglia where our school is situated for children to experience the snow, when it does happen, we get our coats on and go straight outside.
The children are delighted to dance in the snow and catch the snowflakes with their hands or on their tongue! We give children time to explore the snow freely, but also provide tools such as knives and forks that they can use to poke and make marks. Children will often spend time using large paintbrushes to carefully brush the snow off our vehicles, playhouse roof and other surfaces.
Adding various containers with spoons and scoops encourages the collecting up of this natural malleable material. Different shapes of dough cutters can be fascinating to press into the snow and reveal a print when they are lifted.
We have collected buckets of snow and brought them inside for an arctic habitat tray, adding our arctic animals set. Even when there is no snow, using bags of ice in a tray can lead to some descriptive vocabulary as the ice changes to liquid. Also, putting small-world toys in containers and freezing them – trapping them in the ice – can lead to children experimenting to find out how the toys can be rescued!
- Further reading: Nursery World’s Seasons posters by Annette Rawstrone – Spring: Exploring weather (March 2024); Summer: Exploring weather (June 2024); Autumn: Exploring weather (September 2024); Winter: Exploring weather (December 2024)
