Teaching children about climate and weather (along with natural disasters) is important for two reasons. First, the knowledge can help keep kids safe! Understanding weather patterns and the corresponding issues that can cause harm such as: heat, cold, wind and storms (to name a few) empowers children to recognize potentially dangerous conditions and to take appropriate measures when necessary. Second, teaching about climate opens the door to discussing the important topic of climate change.
So, how does one approach teaching climate change? First, by providing accessible (easy to understand) information that will allow children to comprehend and digest the information. Making the learning as “hands-on” as possible will engage your learners and often makes difficult to comprehend subjects a little more concrete. We want children to learn that they can make a difference and that their actions can contribute to a healthier planet Earth, yet at the same time not making them feel overwhelmed by the weight of this important topic.
Teaching Children About Climate Change
And it’s made even easier when you break it down with resources and climate change STEM activities and learning kits that let them delve into weather-related projects that engage young minds.
Nature Watch offers a number of climate change activities for kids to help you teach the larger-scale issues, as well as the science of weather and meteorology including:
Top Climate Change Activities for Kids & Students:
The Climate and Weather Kit:
This affordable kit provides a great global-level overview of weather and how it works. Through 23 experiments, children can explore weather effects on both micro- and macro- levels.
Explore Weather and Climate Book:
Developed for younger children, this weather and climate book is a great introduction to the basic concepts behind weather and climate – and the differences between the two.
Weather Window: Cloud Identification and Weather Prediction Activity Kit:
In this climate change activity for kids, help them get familiar with the different types of cloud formations. Kids will better understand the weather accompanied by the clouds they see in the sky.
Weather Pocket Naturalist Guide
Take it with you everywhere. This go-to resource for children can help them understand the weather no matter where they are. This folding guide discusses clouds, storms, and weather patterns with detailed visual aids to get better acquainted with weather patterns. Every budding meteorologist will want to carry one!
KidzLabs Weather Lab:
Weather monitoring can begin at home! This kit allows students to set up their own local weather monitoring stations. Track your own local weather and try to draw predictions from those observations.
Human Activity and the Environment Kit:
This new addition to our collection of activity kits is a goldmine of experiments all aimed at exploring the ways humans interact with the environment around us.
Most children are fascinated by weather and climate activities. Plus, they are taught about humanity’s fragile relationship with our ecosystem and doing so, they are more likely to grow up looking for ways to make a positive change in the world.
Nature Watch: The Online Superstore for Climate Change Activites for Kids & Students
Nature Watch encourages children of all ages to get in touch with their natural surroundings. With activities that foster a love of the outdoors and environmental sciences that can be initiated indoors and out, educators trust Nature Watch to provide the most engaging crafts and accessories to make learning fun. Click here to see our full range of climate change activities, nature education materials, books, and other teaching tools for kids.
