Literature Based Kindergarten: On the Same Day in March

Primary Literature:

• On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer. This book uses poetic prose and bright illustrations to not only highlight different places around the world, but to also showcase different types of weather. A short author's note in the back of the book explains, in kid friendly terms, the scientific reasons why different parts of the earth could have such drastically different weather on the same day. 

• Vocabulary words to review
• stalking - watching intently, following
• boulevards - a wide street in a city, usually with trees or plants on the side
• crouched - low to the ground
• vanish - to disappear from sight

Complementary Literature:

• At this Very Moment by Jim Arnosky. Rhyming text and vivid paintings invite young readers to imagine what animals around world are doing through-out the day. 

• A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw Mckinney. This book also has rhyming prose and leads children in a tour of the world. This time they are following a drop of water as the water cycle carries it around the world. My children especially enjoyed searching for the drop on every page. The back of the book also explains, in kid friendly scientific terms, how/why the drop traveled/changed.

• The kids also memorized, March Winds,  from The Real Mother Goose,

March winds and April showers

Bring forth May flowers.

Learning Activities/Games:

• Counting raindrops - I cut clouds out of paper plates and then drew number & dots on them. The children placed the correct number of jewels/raindrops on each cloud. 

• Clipping the correct beginning letter for each type of weather. Click here to print your own set of cards. 

• Weather station, we actually do this every day with our calendar but I thought I'd share it because I think Mr. Printables weather station is one of best free educational printable on the web. It's definitely not as cool, but I made the sky graph...click here to print your own copy.

Art

• We used a variety of materials to create our own weather map, inspired by the one shown in the back the book. 

Supplies: two paper plates, blue tempera paint, paint brush, green construction paper, 

scissors, glue, stickers, and markers.

Step 1: cover both plates with blue tempera paint.

Step 2: Cut land shapes from green construction paper.

Step 3: Once paint is dry glue paper plates together.

Step 4: Glue green land shapes on to blue paper plates.

Step 4: Use stickers and markers to add weather scenes to your earth.

In addition, to these activities I also pulled out some activities from our weather unit. 

PS - you can find more educational activities on our homeschooling page.