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The weather isn鈥檛 just a hot topic of conversation for adults.

As well as it being a huge amount of hands-on fun (who doesn鈥檛 love jumping in puddles and building snowpeople?) chatting about the weather can also help boost your child鈥檚 communication skills, says Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Alys Mathers鈥淲eather is part of our everyday world. It also uses three of our senses 鈥 you see it, hear it and feel it 鈥 and because we learn language by using our senses to understand the world, it鈥檚 a great focus for chat with children.鈥

Start exploring weather sounds

鈥淥ne of the ways that children learn language is through the noises of what鈥檚 around them. That鈥檚 why children tend to learn transport noises like 鈥榖rum, brum鈥 for car or 鈥榳oof, woof鈥 for dog quite early on,鈥 explains Alys.

鈥淭here are loads of noises that are linked to weather like 鈥榮plash鈥, 鈥榙rip鈥 and 鈥榖rrrrr鈥. So, a great activity with babies is to use lots of noises to represent the weather 鈥 have fun playing with them to help them understand the weather and learn to talk. Use lots of noises when you鈥檙e out and about, like 鈥榳hoosh鈥 when you go through a puddle with the buggy or 鈥榙rip, drip鈥 when it rains on their buggy cover.鈥

You could also try taking an umbrella out with you on a walk. Babies are endlessly fascinated by umbrellas, so next time you鈥檙e out on a rainy day, talk to them about the pit-a-pat of the rain on the fabric. Or take it out on a sunny day and watch the shadows it casts together.

Make a simple weather station

A dad and a little girl observing a weather station on their balcony.

Weather stations are great to set up on balconies and windowsills if you don鈥檛 have access to a garden. Just remember to keep it simple, recommends Alys. 鈥淚t could just be a plastic container that you watch to see how much water it collects. Or hang out ribbon or strips of a plastic bag to watch the wind. Chat about what鈥檚 going on in the station and encourage your little one to describe the weather: for example, 鈥業t鈥檚 windy, I can see the ribbon moving鈥 or 鈥業t鈥檚 rainy, I can see the splashes鈥,鈥 says Alys. For extra talking opportunities, keep a weather chart to log what鈥檚 happened as the days go on.

Make a rainstick

If you鈥檙e feeling crafty, you could create your own rain and wave sounds with a DIY rainstick. Chat about the weather sounds as you play with your little one and try taking turns to turn or shake the tube.

Dress for the weather

Weather learning can start even before you鈥檝e left home. Asking your child to check what鈥檚 going on with the weather and decide what they will wear will help them expand their communication and understand past, present and future. Help them by asking lots of questions such as 鈥業s it rainy enough for wellies?鈥 or 鈥榃hat did you wear the last time it was sunny?鈥.

Try shadow drawing

A little boy drawing around the shadow cast by a stuffed monkey.

A fantastic activity for sunny days. 鈥淒raw around shadows using chalk and encourage your child to guess what the drawings are,鈥 says Alys. 鈥淥r you could draw around your own shadow or your child鈥檚 and talk about different parts of the body.鈥

Make a rainbow

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very topical during the coronavirus pandemic 鈥 but that aside, every child loves a rainbow, so why not make your own?鈥 says Alys. Try hand or finger prints or simply grab some objects around the house and build one. As you make your rainbow, talk about colours and ask your child to describe what they are doing.

Spot clouds together

A dad with daughter on shoulders pointing at a cloud shaped like a duck.

Clouds are a great way to spark children鈥檚 imagination and you can alter the activity according to their age. 鈥淔or older children, talk about what they look like and about their different parts to help your little one build a richer vocabulary,鈥 explains Alys. 鈥淪o, for example 鈥業 think this looks like an elephant, it has a long nose and it鈥檚 called a trunk鈥. Or 鈥業 think that looks like a car, because those two bits could be wheels鈥.鈥 You could recreate what you saw by making textured cloud pictures at home, adds Alys. 鈥淎sk them what their picture is going to look like 鈥 it鈥檒l give you another chance to talk about shapes and the different parts of things.鈥

Crafty fun

A mum and her son with a homemade wind chime made of tin cans and old cutlery.

The weather offers endless arty opportunities for your little one and you can easily incorporate sounds to turn your crafty time into a true sensory experience, says Alys. 鈥淯se weather noises, for example 鈥榙rip, drip, drip鈥 and 鈥榮platter鈥 the paint like rain. Or blow paint and watch it run.鈥 You could try making a wind chime using empty food tins and old cutlery strung up at a high point like a tree branch, then talk about the sounds it makes when the wind blows.

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