5/4/12

10 Ways to Utilize the Wind & Enrich Your Home Education

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"Weather" you are a full-time home educator, after-school educator or just a mom looking for enrichment, the wind is your friend!  You know that I adore any method that helps a child learn, grow and find contentment in their own environment.  Many time few experiences will beat the joy of learning found just outside your own backdoor.  It is for this reason that studying nature has become an essential portion of our schooling at home and at cooperative.  There is an amazing connection to our Creator while observing all the blessings He has set before our eyes daily.  Simple joys. 


"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse . . . "  Romans 1:20 (NKJV)

Studying the wind can open up great discussions between teacher and student.  Here in our part of Texas, the wind has been in no short supply.  You can us the wind to help you instruct in the subject of Nature, naturally ; ) , but there are a wide variety of learning opportunities that our friend the wind can teach beyond the call of science.  Here our some lessons for covering a unit about the wind - My Friend the Wind:

windy 5
1.  Construct a Weather vane and observe how the direction of the wind makes it move. Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

2.  Give your students packages of wildflower seed and allow them to use the wind to spread them on a windy day.  It will be fun for you and your students to reap the rewards of those flowers at a later date.  
Psalm 107:37 "And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest."

3.  Have students write a narrative paragraph about the wind: The Day the Wind Caused Plenty of Problems

4.  Enjoy the outdoors on a wind swept day.  Use a pinwheel or wind streamers to observe the wind.  Bubble blowing and wind chimes are also lots of fun.  Have your student take turns using adjectives to describe the wind on that day. Psalm 18:10 "And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind." 

5.  Build little sailboats from sticks and make sails to use on a windy day.

6.  Have cotton ball races across the table.  Using straws to propel the cotton across the table to demonstrate the force of the wind.

7.  Read these living books to discover more about the wind: Miss Rumphius, The Wind in the Willows, Feel the Wind, Curious George Flies a Kite, Gilberto and the Wind - Have your students act out their favorite parts of the story.

8.  Discuss the differences in types of wind, hard or gentle, and what are their effects on nature.  Observe pictures of damage that has been sustained during strong winds. (I do not recommend this activity with children under 3rd Grade)

9.  Wind direction and strength, how hard or soft is it blowing and how can you observe the direction of the wind.

10.  Have your students observe the wind in motion.  Have them use different words to describe how the wind looks and feels.  Take a basket with different objects from the house, outdoors with you (paper cup, rock, pencil, cotton, paper, etc.)  What objects move because of the force of the wind?



Ready for a set of Notebooking pages to bring these lessons all together?  Okay, don't twist my are, here they are:

My Friend the Wind Notebooking pages - FREE printables.

Hoping you, my dear readers, will find some time for reveling in God's great creation with your kids today.

Happy Homeschooling!
The Joyful Socks Mom     



1 comment:

  1. I could see that your ways are really effective in teaching your child at home. I might also try this out! Giving your child Children Books is helpful too.

    ReplyDelete

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