Wednesday, April 8 - Weather
What is our theme?
Weather/tools that Meteorologists use to learn about the weather
What is the lesson? Pine Cone Weather Station
MA Guidelines:
-Sel 8: The child will engage socially and build relationships with adults (and other children in their family)
-KMD3: Classify objects into given categories from nature
-KG1: Describe objects in the environment. Describe relative position: above/below, in front of, behind, next to.
Learning Outcomes:
This activity teaches children about how you can observe pinecones to learn about the weather. When the weather is dry, the pinecone will open, but when the weather is going to rain or be wet. the pinecone will close up.
This is a fun project for children to think about the future and what the weather will be like.
Songs, Books & Videos:
Fun Fact: Pinecones open and close depending on the humidity to help seeds dispersal. Inside the pinecones, there are lots of feather light seeds. When the weather is dry, the pinecone opens up and any wind will catch the seeds and allow them to disperse in the air, far away from the “parent” tree. It is good for trees to grow away from one another, so that they can grow fully (not being shaded by another tree or their roots may grow too close together, which is not good for the tree).
When the humidity rises and rain is likely, then the pinecones close up to prevent the seeds from escaping as being so light, the seeds will become waterlogged and then they will only travel a short distance from the original source, which would be shaded and that tree would have to fight the “parent” tree for resources.
What is our theme?
Weather/tools that Meteorologists use to learn about the weather
What is the lesson? Pine Cone Weather Station
MA Guidelines:
-Sel 8: The child will engage socially and build relationships with adults (and other children in their family)
-KMD3: Classify objects into given categories from nature
-KG1: Describe objects in the environment. Describe relative position: above/below, in front of, behind, next to.
Learning Outcomes:
This activity teaches children about how you can observe pinecones to learn about the weather. When the weather is dry, the pinecone will open, but when the weather is going to rain or be wet. the pinecone will close up.
This is a fun project for children to think about the future and what the weather will be like.
Songs, Books & Videos:
Fun Fact: Pinecones open and close depending on the humidity to help seeds dispersal. Inside the pinecones, there are lots of feather light seeds. When the weather is dry, the pinecone opens up and any wind will catch the seeds and allow them to disperse in the air, far away from the “parent” tree. It is good for trees to grow away from one another, so that they can grow fully (not being shaded by another tree or their roots may grow too close together, which is not good for the tree).
When the humidity rises and rain is likely, then the pinecones close up to prevent the seeds from escaping as being so light, the seeds will become waterlogged and then they will only travel a short distance from the original source, which would be shaded and that tree would have to fight the “parent” tree for resources.