Whether it is a winter storm or an April shower, kids get restless if they are cooped up inside too long on a rainy day. Don’t let their restlessness turn into boredom and grumpiness. Instead make a rainy day a fascinating learning experience by teaching them some special rainy day songs that will help boost their vocabulary, fine motor skills, large motor skills, and knowledge of weather.
The first rainy day song that many children learn is the classic Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme “Rain, Rain Go Away” is loved by all children since is concisely expresses their feelings about the weather and can be personalized by using their name.
Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Little (insert child’s name here) wants to play
Another classic rhyme about rain that is especially appropriate when walking under the umbrella is “Rain on the grass.” Show children how to imitate rain falling by wiggling their fingers as they bring their hands downward for the first three lines of each stanza. When they say the last line “But not on me” have them interlock their fingers and hold them over their head, imitating an umbrella. As you sing this song with your child look out the window of your home or car and point out the grass, trees, and rooftops.
Rain on the grass
Rain on the trees
Rain on the rooftops
But not on me!
Rain on the grass
Rain on the trees
Rain on the windows
But not on me!
One of my favorite rainy day songs comes from my childhood days when I watched Sesame Street. The question at the end is a good introduction to a discussion about why the world needs rain. Talk about how plants. trees, crops, and flowers need rain to grow and animals need rain to drink.
It’s a rainy day, it’s a rainy day
It’s raining outside and I can’t go out and play
Why does it have to rain, anyway?
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a short poem about the rain that all kids enjoy hearing and reciting. This poem reinforces the idea that it rains everywhere.
The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.
The itsy bitsy spider is beloved by all children who know it. Just in case you don’t remember the lyrics or actions, here they are:
The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout
(Use fingers to imitate a spider crawling up)
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
(Use finger to imitate rain falling and washing the spider out)
Up came the sun and dried up all the rain
(Hold hands and form arms into a circle, slowly raise them up like the sun rising)
And the isty bitsy spider went up the spout again
(Use fingers to imitate a spider crawling up)
The following rhyme is sung to the tune of “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and is a great song to reinforce a lesson on the fact that rain helps things to grow and is a great reminder that rain doesn’t last forever, soon the sun will come out and playtime will begin again. Encourage children to act out the poem as they sing it by creating rain falling with their hands, an umbrella over their head with their arms, the sun rising with their arms encircles and raised over their head, then flowers budding by outstretching their arms.
Pitter patter raindrops
falling from the sky.
Here is my umbrella
to keep me safe and dry.
When the rain is over
the sun begins to glow.
Little flowers start to bud
and grow and grow and grow.
