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8 Measuring Rainfall wix E.png

Age

⚙ 3 years and up

Time and Place

⚙ Any time of day

⚙ During a rainy day

⚙ Outdoors (measuring rainfall)

Materials 

⚙ Measuring cups (standard units) or other types of containers (non-standard units) to  measure how much rain fell

                      

Safety 

⚙ Supervise children at all times 
⚙ Dress children appropriately for rainy weather

Instructions 

Play-based Context

During a rainy day, encourage the children to make predictions about the amount of rain that will fall. Give children measuring cups or containers to place outside, in an open area so that rain will collect in the container. Come back later to check how much rainwater was collected. 

A group of preschoolers were playing in the yard and one of the girls asked the educator, “How much rain will fall today?” When the educator gave the child a bucket to collect rain, other children asked for buckets, too. The next day, the children checked their buckets to see how much rain was in them.

Questions You May Ask 

⚙ How could you collect more water? 
⚙ What happens to the water that falls from the sky?        

⚙ What could you do with the water you collect?
⚙ What else sometimes falls from the sky?

Related Children's Books

⚙ It’s Raining! by Gail Gibbons
⚙ Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison

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