How Can We Teach Children About the Weather?
Weather is one of the easiest ways to begin outdoor learning with young children.
They experience it every day.
They can feel wind, watch clouds move, hear rain, notice frost, experience sunshine and see how the environment changes from one day to the next.
Yet weather can sometimes become reduced to a symbol on the classroom calendar.
Sunny.
Rainy.
Cloudy.
Done.
There is so much more children can investigate.
In this episode of The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast, six-year-old Florence Seaman takes over the microphone to interview award-winning children’s author Caryl Hart.
The conversation connects beautifully with Caryl’s book Meet the Weather, a colourful introduction to the weather for young children.
For teachers, Early Years practitioners and parents, this episode provides a lovely starting point for exploring weather through stories, conversation, science, outdoor observation and play.
This guide gives you simple ways to help children become little meteorologists using the outdoor space you already have.
Listen to Caryl Hart and Florence Seaman Talk About the Weather
About the Caryl Hart Weather Podcast
Episode 27 of The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast is called Let’s Talk About the Weather with Caryl Hart.
The episode was released on 15 March 2023 and runs for approximately 35 minutes.
In a lovely twist, Sarah Seaman’s six-year-old daughter Florence interviews one of her favourite authors, Caryl Hart.
Caryl is an award-winning children’s author based in Sheffield who writes picture books and young fiction. She also delivers creative literacy workshops for schools, libraries, festivals and communities.
The episode gives children and adults an opportunity to hear directly from an author while exploring books, weather, curiosity and creativity.
Listen to Episode 27: Let’s Talk About the Weather With Caryl Hart
What Is Meet the Weather?
Meet the Weather is written by Caryl Hart and illustrated by Bethan Woollvin.
The book takes young children on an energetic journey through different kinds of weather, from sunshine and rain to snow, storms and changing atmospheric conditions.
It combines rhyme, bright illustrations and early STEM learning.
This makes it particularly useful for nursery, Reception and KS1.
The book encourages children to become curious about what happens above and around them.
Rather than simply learning weather vocabulary, children can begin noticing patterns, comparing conditions and asking questions.
What makes the wind move things?
Why do puddles disappear?
Why can we sometimes see our breath?
What happens to shadows when the sun moves?
A good weather book gives children knowledge.
The outdoors gives them somewhere to investigate it.
Explore our Early Years Outdoor Learning Hub for further practical ideas.
Why Is Weather Such a Good Topic for Outdoor Learning?
Weather is immediate.
Children do not need to imagine it.
They are standing in it.
That makes weather an excellent bridge between classroom learning and real experience.
Children can observe changes over time, collect data, make predictions and develop vocabulary.
Weather also naturally connects several curriculum areas.
Science can involve seasonal change, observation and measurement.
Maths can involve temperature, rainfall, charts and comparisons.
English can explore descriptive vocabulary, poetry and storytelling.
Geography can introduce climate, environments and location.
Art can respond to colour, light, clouds and movement.
Physical development can explore how bodies move in different conditions.
One simple weather observation can therefore lead into a surprisingly rich learning journey.
Explore our Outdoor Curriculum Specialism: Primary Science for more curriculum-based outdoor science.
Weather Activities for EYFS
Early Years weather learning should begin with experience.
Young children do not necessarily need complicated explanations about atmospheric pressure.
They need opportunities to notice what the weather feels, sounds and looks like.
Take children outside and ask simple questions.
What can you feel on your face?
What is moving?
What can you hear?
What does the sky look like?
Is the ground wet or dry?
Does the weather feel different from yesterday?
These conversations help children develop observation and language.
You can revisit the same questions regularly.
Over time, children begin noticing patterns.
This repeated observation is more powerful than completing one isolated weather worksheet.
Try This Tomorrow: Weather Detectives
Take children outside for five minutes.
Tell them they are weather detectives.
Instead of telling them what the weather is, ask them to find the evidence.
They might notice leaves moving.
They may see water on the ground.
They might feel warmth on their skin.
They may notice dark clouds.
Ask:
What clues tell us what the weather is doing?
This simple question encourages children to use evidence.
Time: 5–10 minutes.
Preparation: None.
Best for: EYFS, Reception and Year 1 science, speaking and listening and observational skills.
Teaching Weather in KS1
KS1 children can begin moving from noticing weather towards recording and comparing it.
They can observe weather across several days or weeks.
Children might record temperature, cloud cover, rainfall or wind.
The important part is not creating an elaborate chart.
It is asking what the information tells us.
Was every Monday rainy?
Which day was warmest?
Did the weather change during the day?
Were our predictions accurate?
What patterns can we see?
Children begin learning that science involves evidence collected over time.
This also creates meaningful reasons to use maths.
Numbers are no longer isolated.
They represent something children have actually experienced.
Visit our KS1 Outdoor Learning Hub for further curriculum ideas.
Create a Simple Weather Station
Schools do not need expensive equipment to begin observing weather.
A simple outdoor weather station might include a rain gauge, thermometer and wind indicator.
Children can also observe clouds and sunlight.
Keep the equipment in the same place where possible.
Consistency makes comparisons more meaningful.
Children can collect one or two measurements at a regular time.
For younger children, avoid gathering so much data that the process becomes confusing.
Start with one question.
For example:
How much rain falls this week?
Or:
Which day is warmest?
The purpose is not to create the most sophisticated weather station.
It is to help children understand how observations answer questions.
Make a Weather Vane
A weather vane provides a brilliant connection between science, design and outdoor learning.
Children can create a simple wind indicator and observe which direction the wind is travelling.
Younger children may begin simply by noticing whether air is moving strongly or gently.
Older pupils can introduce compass directions.
Caryl Hart also offers a Meet the Weather activity pack containing weather-related activities including creating a weather vane.
Use the activity as a starting point for investigation.
Ask:
Does the wind always come from the same direction?
Does it change during the day?
Does the wind feel stronger in one part of the playground?
This turns craft into enquiry.
Explore our Teaching STEM Outdoors in Primary Schools course for more cross-curricular investigations.
Learning Weather Vocabulary Outdoors
Weather provides wonderful opportunities for rich vocabulary.
Instead of teaching weather words only from cards, allow children to experience them.
Words might include:
drizzle,
gust,
breeze,
damp,
misty,
blustery,
gloomy,
bright,
chilly,
soaking,
frosty,
sweltering.
Children can match language to real experiences.
A word like “blustery” becomes easier to remember when children feel their coats and hair moving in strong wind.
“Drizzle” becomes distinct from “pouring”.
“Damp” feels different from “soaking wet”.
This is one of the great strengths of outdoor literacy.
Experience gives words meaning.
Explore our Teaching English Outdoors Guide for more ways to develop vocabulary through real experiences.
Weather and Children’s Books
Picture books can make science feel exciting and accessible.
A book such as Meet the Weather can introduce new language and ideas before children investigate them outdoors.
Read part of the book.
Then go outside.
What can children find that connects with the story?
Do they see the same kind of clouds?
Can they feel the wind?
Does today’s weather match anything they encountered in the book?
Then return to the story.
This creates a cycle:
read,
experience,
talk,
read again.
Children begin making connections between language, illustration and reality.
That is far more powerful than treating the book as a one-off storytime experience.
Two Simple Weather Activities
Make a Wind Trail
Give children a few lightweight, reusable materials such as ribbon or strips of fabric.
Place them in different areas outdoors.
Which move most?
Which hardly move at all?
What might explain the difference?
Children may notice buildings, fences or sheltered areas affecting the wind.
Younger children can simply compare movement.
Older children can begin discussing variables and fair comparison.
Hunt for Microclimates
Choose two or three areas around your setting.
One might be sunny.
Another may be shaded.
Another may be sheltered.
Ask children whether each place feels the same.
Measure temperature if appropriate.
Notice moisture, wind and sunlight.
This introduces the idea that weather conditions can feel different even within a small area.
Weather and Maths Outdoors
Weather data gives children real information to use mathematically.
Children can tally sunny and rainy days.
They can compare temperatures.
They might measure rainfall.
They can create simple block graphs or pictograms.
Older pupils can compare values and calculate differences.
For example:
Monday was 12°C.
Tuesday was 8°C.
How much warmer was Monday?
The mathematics now represents something children remember experiencing.
This makes data handling more meaningful.
Explore our Teaching Maths Outdoors resources for more practical maths ideas.
Using Weather for Creative Writing
Weather can completely change the atmosphere of a story.
A bright sunny playground feels different from the same place during fog, rain or strong wind.
Take children outside and ask them to collect words that describe the conditions.
Then introduce a character.
Who might appear here?
What problem could the weather cause?
Where are they trying to go?
Children can orally rehearse their ideas outdoors before returning to formal writing.
This is particularly useful for pupils who find it difficult to generate imaginative descriptions from a blank page.
They now have something real to describe.
Weather and Emotional Literacy
Weather metaphors can also help children talk about emotions.
We frequently use weather language emotionally.
A person can feel gloomy.
Someone may have a sunny personality.
Difficult feelings can feel stormy.
Caryl Hart’s book Thank You for the Little Things also uses changing weather as a metaphor for emotions.
Teachers can explore this gently.
Ask children:
If your mood were weather today, what would it be?
Children might choose sunshine, fog, drizzle or a storm.
There is no correct answer.
This gives children another way to express how they feel.
Avoid forcing children to explain their choice if they do not want to.
Explore our Outdoor Emotional Literacy and Wellbeing Resources for further support.
Weather Activities and SEND
Weather activities can be highly sensory.
That can be enjoyable for some children and challenging for others.
Wind, rain, temperature, bright sunlight and wet clothing can create discomfort.
Outdoor weather learning therefore needs flexibility.
A child might observe from a sheltered area.
They might use photographs.
They may wear gloves or ear defenders.
Some children may prefer to participate briefly and then return inside.
Do not assume that experiencing unpleasant weather directly is necessary for learning.
The objective is understanding, not endurance.
Explore our SEND Outdoor Learning Hub for further inclusive guidance.
Can We Learn Outside in Bad Weather?
Outdoor learning does not need to stop whenever the weather is imperfect.
Light rain, cold conditions or wind can create valuable experiences when children have suitable clothing and the activity is safe.
However, there is no educational prize for staying outside in unsafe or extremely uncomfortable conditions.
Strong winds, thunderstorms, extreme heat, ice or other hazardous conditions may require sessions to be adapted or moved.
Outdoor learning should involve thoughtful risk management.
The weather is part of the learning environment.
Staff should use professional judgement and follow their setting’s policies.
Observe Weather Across the Seasons
One of the most valuable things children can do is return to the same outdoor space throughout the year.
Take a photograph of one tree or area.
Return in autumn.
Visit again in winter.
Repeat in spring and summer.
Ask children what changes.
What has happened to the leaves?
What does the ground feel like?
How does the light change?
What animals can we see?
How does the temperature feel?
Repeated experience helps children understand seasonal change as something real rather than a collection of pictures on a worksheet.
Get to Know the Guest: Caryl Hart
Caryl Hart is an award-winning and bestselling children’s author based in Sheffield.
She writes picture books and young fiction and delivers creative literacy workshops for schools, libraries, festivals and communities.
Her books explore a wide range of themes, including nature, feelings, science, adventure and childhood experiences.
For Meet the Weather, Caryl worked with illustrator Bethan Woollvin to create a colourful and energetic introduction to weather for young children.
The book was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in 2023.
It was selected for BookTrust’s Great Books Guide for four- to five-year-olds and Books for Topics’ recommended Reception reading list.
Find Caryl Hart Online
Official website:
www.carylhart.com
Books and signed copies:
Caryl Hart Bookshop
Free children’s activities:
Caryl Hart Activity Packs
Instagram:
@carylhart
Facebook:
@CarylHartAuthor
X:
@carylhart1
Teachers can also find Meet the Weather and Caryl’s related activity resources through her website.
Why Have a Child Interview an Author?
One of the lovely things about this podcast episode is that the questions come from a child.
Children often ask authors things adults would never think to ask.
Their questions are direct, curious and genuine.
Listening to a child interview an author can also encourage pupils to create their own questions.
After listening to part of the episode, ask children:
What would you ask Caryl?
How does she think of her books?
What does an author do when they get stuck?
What weather does she like most?
Children could create questions for another author, scientist or local expert.
This develops speaking, listening and questioning skills.
Listen to Caryl Hart on The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast
In Let’s Talk About the Weather with Caryl Hart, six-year-old Florence Seaman interviews Caryl about her work and books.
The episode is a fun and accessible listen for teachers, children, Early Years practitioners and families.
Use it as part of a weather topic, science lesson, author focus or simply as an opportunity to help children hear what a real author sounds like.
Listen to Episode 27: Caryl Hart
Then take one simple idea outdoors.
Look at the sky.
Feel the wind.
Notice the temperature.
Ask children:
What’s happening with our weather today, and what evidence can we find?
That single question can begin an entire investigation.
Explore More Outdoor Learning
Continue your learning through our Early Years Outdoor Learning Hub, KS1 Outdoor Learning Hub, Primary Science Outdoors Resources, Outdoor STEM Course and Teaching English Outdoors Guide.
You can also access hundreds of teacher-created resources through our 60-Day Free Trial and join our Free Outdoor Learning Magazine.
Listen to the Caryl Hart Weather Podcast
Explore Primary Science Outdoors
Discover Early Years Outdoor Learning
Explore Weather and Seasonal Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some simple weather activities for EYFS?
Young children can observe the sky, feel the wind, compare wet and dry surfaces, watch clouds, collect weather vocabulary and revisit the same outdoor location throughout the seasons.
How do you teach weather in KS1?
Begin with direct observation, then introduce simple recording and comparison. Children can collect information about temperature, rainfall, wind and cloud conditions and use the results in science and maths.
What equipment do I need to teach weather?
You can begin with very little equipment. A thermometer, simple rain gauge, wind indicator and clipboard are enough for many investigations.
Is weather part of science in primary school?
Weather and seasonal observation connect naturally with primary science, including observing changes across seasons, collecting data and developing enquiry skills.
Is Meet the Weather suitable for Reception?
Yes. Meet the Weather has been recognised as a recommended Reception title and was selected for BookTrust’s Great Books Guide for four- to five-year-olds.
Who wrote Meet the Weather?
Meet the Weather was written by Caryl Hart and illustrated by Bethan Woollvin.
Who is Caryl Hart?
Caryl Hart is an award-winning Sheffield-based children’s author who writes picture books and young fiction and delivers creative literacy workshops.
How long is the Caryl Hart weather podcast?
The episode runs for approximately 35 minutes.
Author
Written by Sarah Seaman PGCE MA
Founder of The Muddy Puddle Teacher®
Teacher for over 19 years
Bloomsbury author
Trainer of thousands of teachers across the UK
