Our summer here has been unusually hot and very dry so rain was welcome! Kids can go wild for nature with some rainy day fun.
It’s been so long since it rained, we almost didn’t know what to do. We went for a walk just so we could hear and feel the drops. With muddy buddies kids stay more or less dry. There wasn’t enough rain to need boots for walking on the city sidewalks. Instead of holding umbrellas, the kids held hands.
Later, when we did find a puddle at the park, Little Sister ventured into it a little. Big Sister stretched her foot out and tried to step over it. She managed, more or less. With a stick, they stirred the puddle around and around, and then splashed in it some more.
We take the weather for granted, but it is the way we encounter nature everyday, even when it’s so bad we stay indoors. Because the last few months have been dry, we talked about the plants and animals that need water. With the help from the kids, we brought the pots of flowers around the yard to sit on the deck where they could get the most rain. There was a place with a drip, so we put a pail underneath to collect rain water.
When we were very quiet we could hear sounds from outside as the rain dripped on the deck. We checked the water in the pail and the kids were interested in seeing how the level of the water got higher. Although it was not even half fill after half a day, it still helps.
The plants inside got a drink of rain water too. Instead of singing Rain, Rain, Go Away, we changed the words to Rain, rain, we’re glad you came. Come and play another day. Experiences with nature are like rain. Though the nature times might be small like raindrops, when collected all together, it makes quite an amount. Will you and your child have a chance for some rainy day fun and connecting to nature?
(You can come play on FB with me, Mrs. A, any day, no matter the weather.)
