Wind Spinners

We've been thinking and talking about the wind today, from gentle breeze to strong gales/storms, we've enjoyed reading the Usborne book The Windy Day and Percy the Park Keeper After The Storm. I read through Christina Rossetti's poem Who Has Seen The Wind?

Who Has Seen The Wind?

by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

I love the poem and I asked the children if they can see the wind? If they were inside how would they know if the wind was blowing and how would they know if it was a gentle wind or a strong wind?

We made some paper plate wind spinners, they were given the choice of pencils, felt pens or paints, they chose pens and pencils. Looking at them later and fact that some of my artists are very young, bright paints would of been more effective but that's just my personal opinion.

So they set about decorating their plates.

When they had finished, I cut them out and attached a bit of string to the middle to hang it up with.

When they were finished, I pegged them out onto the washing line and we watched them gently spin in the wind, luckily the wind was only a gentle breeze. They kept coming back to them and if they weren't spinning, trying to make them move by making a breeze themselves, either by blowing on them or waving their arms.

I remembered watching and enjoying Come Outside, with my other two children, do have video but no longer have a working video player but thanks to you tube found this episode, Come Outside - A Windy Day. The children really enjoyed it, the episode starts with the poem I had already read to them and she tells the story of The North Wind and The Sun, one to add to my weather planning, had completely forgotten about this story.