This is a post out of the31 Days of Morning Circles. You can find the main page for this series here.
Weather is a universal connector. Everyone talks about the weather which is why I include it in the morning circle. Unlike a calendar, the weather is concrete. We can see it, hear it, feel it, smell it (think of the scent of the air when it rains) and, sometimes, we can even taste it (snowflakes!).
People rarely say, “What a great Tuesday this is”—but they will comment on the weather: “What a beautiful, sunny day,” “It’s cold,” “Yuck! This rainy weather is bringing me down today!”
Since everyone has something to say about the weather, I know that it’s something that can connect people to my son, and him to them.
Ideas for including weather in the morning circle
- Talk about the weather daily to reinforce vocabulary (hot, cold, bright, sunny, dark, cloudy, etc.)
- Use ASL or AAC for weather words
- Connect the words to the ASL to the actual weather outdoors. (I like to stand at the same window when we sing questioning what weather it is today.)
- Reinforce weather words with songs and chants
- Practice asking and answering (e.g.: Is it sunny? “NO!”, Is it rainy? “NO!” Is it snowing? “YES!”) – even if you do all of the asking and answering at first
Weather Song (tune of “Oh, My Darlin'”)
What’s the weather, what’s the weather, what’s the weather like today?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain, or is there sun?
What’s the weather, what’s the weather, what’s the weather like today?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain, or is there sun?
These cards are from Rachel and the TreeSchoolers. After signing up for their newsletter, I received 3 printable activity guides for teachers for FREE. They have a unit that accompanies each of their videos: Rainy Day, Plants and Flowers, and Incredible Insects. I printed their signing cards and this is how we’ve been using them: in a folder, I added Velcro to the back of each laminated card and we match the weather card to the ASL card. We work through the weather cards each morning (along with a related weather song).
Weather Song: (tune of “Bingo”)
Today the sun is in the sky,
And sunny is the weather.
S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y, S-U-N-N-Y
And sunny is the weather.
Other verses:
Today the rain falls from the sky… R-A-I-N-Y
Today the clouds are in the sky… C-L-OUD-Y
Today the fog hangs in the sky… F-O-G-G-Y
Today the snow falls from the sky… S-N-O-W-Y
Today we have to wear a coat… C-O-L-D
I took the Rachel and the TreeSchoolers cards, (ABC sign cards set found in the “Incredible Insects” activity guide) laminated them and added a magnet to the back. I created an ABC set to go with the song above. In addition to S-U-N-N-Y, I cut up cards to spell R-A-I-N-Y, C-L-O-U-D-Y, and W-I-N-D-Y.
How do you incorporate weather into the morning circle?
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