Using Weather Stations for Kids to Learn
No matter what time of year it is, building a weather station for kids is a great way to bond with your child, educate them, and keep them entertained all at the same.
This is an easy way to foster an interest in science at an early age, thereby laying the foundation of knowledge which can be built upon for years to come.
Here are some of the benefits that a parent can expect a child to receive from using a weather station.
Seeding the Interest In Weather Education for Kids
Whether at home or in school, kids love getting in touch with nature. So with that said weather education for kids can be accomplished by having ample opportunity to learn about the weather and weather forecasting for kids.
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To most children of elementary school age, weather consists mainly of rain, snow, and the sun. They do not generally dwell on the intricacies that naturally exist in the weather.
By using weather stations children, they learn all about things such as barometric pressure, temperature fluctuations, and things of this nature. Studying these instruments along with children and more allows them to gain a weather education for these kids.
The children can participate in tracking the weather on a daily basis, which is something that almost all children enjoy and also something they look forward to. Weather Forecasting can be fun for them and weather forecasting for kids can be learned about by watching videos such as this video.
The weather station should be in an outdoor location and should include standard tools such as a thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, and other accessories. This gives the children the opportunity to handle all tools themselves and learn by trial and error when collecting data.
Kids love sharing what they know with other kids and with adults. Imagine how excited they will be when they can share their knowledge with their classmates or with their parents. Teachers can put the kids in small groups and even have contests focusing on weather forecasting for kids.
Nurturing healthy competition between children is a proven method of fostering both a love of the subject and a desire to be precise. Some experts of school-age children believe that not enough science is taught in school.
A weather station for kids is a cost-effective way to ensure they are filling that need to learn about the world around them.
Furthering Their Knowledge
Teachers can take the benefit of being in the classroom environment to increase weather education for kids after they have used the weather station for kids.
This can be done easily by watching the local newscast and observing what the professionals have reported. For instance, if the kids made weather predictions for a certain day, the local weather broadcast can be watched online as a class.
Correct predictions and incorrect assumptions can be discussed as a class to ascertain why some things came true and others did not.
Write It Down
No matter what age the child is, they should keep a journal of their daily weather-related activities and other weather information for kids. The information they collect in the journal and that they glean from the weather station may be used to conduct scientific experiments.
Such things as recreating a tornado’s vortex can help foster an interest in how exactly nature works and the child’s own personal relationship with the world around them. Such things as their own actions affecting the weather can be discussed if it is deemed as age-appropriate.
The best thing about building a weather station for kids is that they are very cost-effective. Weather stations can be purchased pre-made or they can be built from scratch.
By purchasing or making one from scratch, a family or classroom can have quite a bit of fun and even learn many interesting things by making their own weather station for kids.
In fact, even kids that tend to not want to do “educational” activities will find themselves engrossed for hours when they wander around the outdoors, not only getting fresh air but “flexing” their brain as well.