Rain Lesson Plan and Theme Unit for Preschool and Homeschool

A rain storm is a magical event to children of all ages. Preschool and homeschool students will enjoy learning about rain, hands on with these engaging activities to help them learn about the rain.

Note: If it's not a rainy day when you are doing these activities, play a rainy themed weather CD while your students work on these activities.

Umbrella Pictures

Cut out colorful umbrella shapes from construction paper. Have students glue them onto white or gray paper and draw a person holding the umbrella. Let them glue on confetti for raindrops or dye white rice with blue paint and alcohol the beforehand to create raindrops with.

Five Senses Rain Observation

Ask students to observe the rain using all five of their senses using questions like the following:

Sight: What does the rain look like when it falls? What does it look like on the ground? What do rain clouds look like?

Sound: What does the rain sound like on the roof? On the ground?

Touch: What does rain feel like?

Taste: What does the rain taste like when you catch a drop on your tongue?

Smell: What does it smell like outside when it rains?

Rain Cloud Painting

Give students a piece of large white paper and add a dab each of white, gray, and black paint. Let them blend the paint colors together to create a rain cloud.

Singing About Rain

There are plenty of songs celebrating rain that young children will enjoy. For an age appropriate collection of rain songs see this article: Songs About Rain for Preschool.

Measuring Rain

During a time when rain is forecasted for most of a week, put out a bucket where it will catch the rain. The next day bring in the bucket and measure the rain using a ruler. Keep a chart or graph near the weather station showing how much rain fell each day during the week.

Rainy Day Clothing Sort

Go through a clothing catalogue and cut out pictures of rain gear (rain jackets, rain hats, ponchos, scarves, galoshes, umbrellas, etc...) and warm weather clothing (t-shirts, shorts, swimsuits, sandals, sunglasses, etc...). Glue the pictures onto index cards. Invite students to sort the cards into piles that are appropriate for rainy days and sunny days. You can also bring in actual rain clothes and warm weather clothes for kids to sort.

More Preschool Weather Articles by This Author:

Songs About Rain for Preschool

Songs About Snow for Preschool

Wind Lesson Plan

Snow and Ice Lesson Plan

Cloud Lesson Plan

Preschool Activities by Learning Style:

Alphabet Activities for Visual Learners

Alphabet Activities for Kinesthetic Learners

Alphabet Activities for Auditory Learners