Kitchen Counter Chronicles

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Simple Kid Made Rain Gauge

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I used to think my grandfather was some kind of weather man. He wasn't. On my grandparent's rural property was a rain gauge, that my grandfather checked everyday (well, that's what it seemed like to me). He would record the volume of rain in a log book, that was kept on the dining room table. The information he recorded would then be passed along to the Ministry of the Environment for their records. Now, as a young child I assumed this meant he was somehow helping to predict the weather. I suppose he was just taking part in the research arm of the MoE, collecting data about precipitation. Whatever, I thought it was pretty cool.

For a little while now I have been wanting to make a rain gauge and start tracking the info in our own log. When I presented this idea to my girls they got pretty excited...here's what we did.

Make Your Own Weather Station

Rain Gauge Observation Chart
large mouth jar (pickle jar, jam jar, etc)
pencil
clipboard
ruler
glass measuring cup

Every good weather station needs a chart to track your observations. Print off our Rain Gauge Observation Chart to record the amount of precipitation and the type of precipitation (rain/snow). We put ours on a clipboard, with a pencil, stored near the back door.

Next find a safe location to place the jar. Walk around your house and let your child determine where the jar should be placed. Keep in mind a few different questions. Is this a safe location? Will the jar be broken? Will the jar be in the way of people walking? Is the spot you chose too sunny? The rain or snow might simply evaporate too quickly. Also, is the jar being placed under an overhang? What other questions should you consider when selecting a spot to place your jar? We chose to place ours in our backyard garden.

 Now use the hand trowel dig a hole that is about one third of the height of your jar, place the jar in the hole - it is now secure and won't tip over.

Finally it is time to be patient and wait for the rain or snow. Head outside to the jar every day and bring along your recording chart.

There are two ways to record the amount of rain. The first is to place a ruler along the side of the jar and record in centimeters how much precipitation there is. Alternately you can pour the precipitation in a large glass measuring cup and record in millilitres how much precipitation has fallen. Remember, you are not actually reporting your findings to the Ministry of the Environment. It is not about being 100% accurate...just have fun.
 

Have fun making estimates after a big rainfall. The kids might be surprise what they discover inside the jar. I can already hear the conversations around estimation.."How much rain do you think fell?" The kids are learning about the environment, science and math while having fun! My daughter was so excited when she heard rain in the forecast. If you make a rain gauge, please come back and share your findings with us.

More Green life

About Jen

Jen Farr is a mother living in Toronto, Canada. She has been sharing her DIY crafts, recipes, activities and parenting advice for over 15 years on her blog Kitchen Counter Chronicle. Jen is the mom of 2 lovely daughters. She believes in the power of taking small steps that can make big impacts on the world.

Comments

  1. RedTedArt says

    A weather station is definitely on our "to do list" of projects!

    Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

  2. Brooke @ Let Kids Create says

    What a fun learning tool with something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness.

  3. Joyce says

    I love this! We love recording the weather here. We also have an outdoor thermometer that we check. Thank you for sharing 🙂

  4. Laura @Art For Little Hands says

    That is a fun idea. It would be neat to see in my area because we get so much rain. Your grandpa sounds like a great guy. Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Madness.

  5. Today at Play says

    My father in law had one of these rain gauges. Thanks for sharing this unique idea at Today At Play year long link party. I appreciate it as it is the first time I tried a link up.

  6. KitchenCounterChronicles says

    Thanks everyone! We are really enjoying keeping track of precipitation...who knew so many people are out there tracking rain! Have fun!

  7. andie jaye says

    what a fun way to incorporate science and math! thanks for linking this up to last week's tip-toe thru tuesday party! i hope to see you again this week!

    andie @ crayonfreckles

  8. Emma @sciencesparks says

    That looks like lots of fun! Thank you for linking to Science Sparks x