Make You Own Weathervane


child testing out her finished weathervane

 Make Your Own Weathervane


This week, Little M. And I are studying wind. Studying the wind is a great excuse to get outside and start paying attention to the little aspects of nature that we all take for granted.  The first activity we decided to do was the create a weathervane to discern the direction that the wind is moving.

You will need:
  • 2 paper plates
  • a black marker
  • crayons
  • weights (rice, sand, beans, etc)
  • tape
  • pencil
  • paperclip
  • cardstock
  • straw
child coloring the paper plate for her weathervane


If you want your weathervane to show the four directions, draw two intersecting lines, dividing the plate into four equal sections. Write N at the top for north, S at the bottom for south, E at the right for east, and W at the left for west. Let your little student decorate this plate with the crayons.

On the card stock, draw a triangle for the tip of the weathervane and a trapezoid for the tail. Allow your child to color this as well. When they are finished help them cut out the shapes.

Straighten out the paperclip and skewer it through the straw (you may need to make a hole with scissors first). Push the bottom end of the paperclip into the pencil's eraser.

Cut a vertical slit in both sides of the straw, about an inch long. Slide the card stock pieces into the slits. Tape into place.

Fill the blank plate with your weights and tape the decorated plate on top. Poke the pencil into the top plate (you may need to tape the pencil in place).

We had so much fun once it was assembled, blowing at the weathervane and making it change direction. You could also put it in front of a fan. This is useful since, because you already know what direction the wind is moving, you can see for yourself what happens.

using the weathervane to test the direction of the wind


Take the weathervane outside. Feel the wind. Try to guess what direction the wind is blowing. Try to identify north with a compass or using the sun (east in the morning, west in the evening). Line up the paper plate with the directions. See which way the wind is blowing!

Make Your Own Weathervane


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