This is an easy idea to help children learn about the weather, seasons, temperature and numeracy. Put a large indoor/outdoor thermometer at the child's height, near your entryway.
We had a large outdoor thermometer in our children's garden area but as we aren't out there every day, I moved it to our front porch. This is an area we pass through many times a day. Sometimes the children are waiting here while I lock the door or look for keys, making it a great place to put the thermometer.
To begin I tried to ignite interest in the thermometer by asking my child to check the temperature with me "I wonder what the temperature is today, let's go check!". And when he later comments on the weather "It's cold" or "It's hot today" I encourage him to take a look at the thermometer.
With regular and repeated use the child learns how to read the thermometer. I suggest using a large, easy to read thermometer. When you look front-on, you can easily see the red line on this thermometer.
Later we moved our thermometer to our inside entryway. Thermometers can be attached to the wall with a hook, nail, or command strips. It's also important to teach children to handle the thermometer carefully.
Child friendly/classroom thermometers include:
- Jumbo Thermometer at Montessori Services
- Classroom Thermometer by Learning Resources (US)
- Wall Thermometer at TTS (UK)
- Wall Mountable Large Thermometer at Modern Teaching Aids (AU)
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