The wonders of wind

FAMILY CORNER

The wonders of wind

Alliance quality and standards manager Melanie Pilcher shares ideas for making the most of windy days with little ones during spring

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From a gentle summer breeze to a raging winter gale, the wind is a natural occurrence that can be heard but not seen, felt but not touched.

The wind has the power to destroy a building or to gently float a feather.

It can shape the landscape, forming sand dunes and changing the shape of trees as they grow. It can disperse a puddle of water and fill a rock pool on the beach.

An opportunity for learning

While young children may not be ready to grasp the complexities of high and low air pressure, you only have to observe them playing on a windy day to see how they explore different concepts.

When a child throws a ball at a target and a gust of wind knocks it off-course, they will adjust the next throw to allow for cause and effect.

A child who sets out to catch a leaf falling from a tree sees it twist and turn randomly as they watch how it moves

and will try to predict where it will go next as they attempt to catch it. This is where the concept of gravity can be introduced.

Let’s go fly a kite

Make the most of the windy weather by making your own kites. Look out for any overhead cables, particularly if you are in a built-up area, and limit the string length if necessary. Experiment with different materials and shapes to see which will work the best. Look online to find video clips of expert kite fliers. Ask friends and neighbours for tips on the best places to fly kites.

Streamers

A great way to learn about direction is to make streamers. Attach pieces of brightly-coloured ribbon or other thin strips of fabric to a post outside. Ask children: are the streamers moving?

Which direction are they moving in? How fast are they moving?

Are they always going in the same direction? This is a good time to introduce north, south, east and west too.

Follow that cloud

When the weather is blustery but dry, take children outdoors to observe the clouds moving across the sky. This is a great activity to promote mindfulness where children really concentrate on one thing, paying attention to details that normally go unnoticed – the speed, shape and diversity of the clouds as they move across the sky.

Dandelions and clever seeds

If you have been doing some gardening with your child or children, you can extend the activity further by thinking about how plants move their seeds around. Many plants spread their seeds by using the breeze to transport them. Dandelion clocks are always fun and a good way to introduce this concept. Look for other seeds, such as sycamore and maple trees, which have wings.

Ask the children to observe how the different seeds move and travel, some are designed simply to flutter towards the ground, while others such as dandelion seeds and willow herb (which looks like puffs of cotton wool) will travel far and wide.

Windmills and wind meters

It is likely that most children will have seen a wind farm. The huge structures are a fascinating variation of the traditional windmill and looking at them with children may start a discussion about power and energy. It’s easy to make your own windmills with children and there are plenty of templates to be found online.

Another ‘easy make’ is a wind meter or anemometer. You’ll need some paper cups, straws, a thin piece of doweling and a drawing pin. There are plenty of examples online explaining how to make and use the device, and your young scientists will learn to see how fast the wind is moving!

Whatever activities you try out by following the interests your children show in the wind, one thing is for sure – you’ll be blown away by the possibilities!

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Home is where the start is: communication counts

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