Dress for the Weather
Personal, Social and Emotional DevelopmentPhysical DevelopmentUnderstanding the WorldCommunication and Language
What you need
- their clothes for the day, with a coat or a sun hat
- a window to look out of
How to do it
- Open the curtains together and ask your child to look out: is it sunny, rainy, cold or windy?
- Lay out two choices for each thing, like shorts or trousers, and ask which one suits the weather and why.
- Let them dress themselves, with help to start any zip.
- Hang the coat or the hat by the door if it's needed later.
Why it matters
Looking out first gives every choice a reason, and the outfit becomes a decision of their own.
What they're learning
- Getting dressed
- Arms into sleeves and feet into trouser legs, with help only where it's needed.
- Weather words
- Sunny, cold, windy: looking and naming what's outside.
- Because
- Shorts because it's hot, a coat because it's raining.
What to look for
Notice them giving a reason for a choice, like "a coat, because it's raining".
A tip
Offer two choices you're happy with, so either answer works for the day.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: choose the top and trousers yourself and let them pick the socks
Harder: ask them to get the whole outfit out of the drawer on their own, then check it against the weather
