As part of our preschool W is for Weather lesson, we made a tornado in a bottle. Tornadoes are fascinating storms, aren’t they! Simply put, for our little students sake, they are very strong, rotating winds that form a funnel cloud. They happen when there are thunderstorms but not all thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

kids activities, kids science, kindergarten lesson, preschool

There is more than one way to reproduce the funnel action of a tornado for your kiddos to see. We used the “soda bottle method.”

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How to Make A Tornado In A Bottle

Supplies

Empty, clear 2-litre soda bottle*

Water

Dishwashing liquid

Glitter

*A glass jar with straight sides works really well, too. In fact, now that I tried it that is my preferred container.

Directions

Remove the label from the bottle and rinse it out.

Fill it 3/4 full of water.

Add several drops dishwashing liquid.

Add glitter.

Put the cap securely on the bottle and invert.

Holding the bottle neck, swish it around several times in a circular motion.

Stop and watch it whirl!

Make a tornado in a bottle to teach your #kids about the weather! #STEM #ece #preschool Share on X

A second way to demonstrate the funnel cloud of a tornado is to use a tornado tube connector to connect 2 bottles. The funnel it makes will be very vivid!

kids activities, preschool, kindergarten

W is for Weather Lesson: includes W is for Weather lesson plan with a “cloud and rain” experiment and weather craft with 3-D marshmallow clouds for kindergarten and preschool.

Enjoy!

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Recently I shared with you just how enthused I was over our U is for Under The Sea preschool ocean lesson. It was a super fun day just packed full of learning.

Well, let me tell you that I am just as thrilled about our W is for Weather day this year. We had so much fun and learned a whole bunch about the weather!

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If nothing else, my kiddos went home that day knowing “Lightning you SEE, thunder you HEAR!” But they learned more than that, you can be certain.

Yes, our weather lesson included a homemade tornado, a scientific reenactment of rain clouds and a craft that I am going to share with you today: sunshine and rain. What I love about this craft is the 3-D effect the little mini-marshmallows give to the clouds in the picture. We displayed these pictures at our year-end open house. I am so proud of my little artists!

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Weather science lab kit for kids

W is for Weather Craft

EXPERIMENT #1: We made a tornado in a bottle!

EXPERIMENT #2: We also illustrated what happens when the water droplets in clouds get too heavy, they fall to the earth as rain. This preschool shaving cream “science experiment” from Debbie Chapman’s blog “One Little Project” is a perfect example: Shaving Cream Rain Clouds.

Letter W is for Weather #preschool craft and lesson with science experiment! >> Share on X

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W is for Weather Preschool Craft

Supplies
Template(s)
Light blue cardstock
Colored paper: yellow, green, blue
Mini-marshmallows (13 per child)
Crayons
Scissors (child safe)
White school glue
Glue-stick

Directions
If you are making this project with several children, you may want to prepare some of the parts in advance.
Using a spoon, flatten the marshmallows a bit.
Print the weather scene on light blue paper.

Note: sunshine side is left side of the picture, rain/storm side is right.
Color the flowers using crayons or markers.
Print the sun circles and lightning bolts on yellow paper.*
Cut long strips of green paper for the grass. Have your little one(s) fringe the green strip using scissors.
Glue-stick the sun & lightning bolts on the page.
Do the same for the green “grass” fringe at the bottom of the page.
*Use the scraps from the yellow paper to cut out sun beams and glue them on, too.
Using white school glue, glue 13 squished mini-marshmallows onto the cloud.
Done!