Week Three - Weather - Movies and Shows

Another week has come to a close. I wasn't sure how this one was going to go over - Little Man is already a fan of space and anything summer but weather, not so much - but our family really enjoyed it. I hope you did too!

For the weekend (if you are not in the lines to see Brave [please take me, mine are not interested]) here are some movies and a show that will continue the theme. Movies about weather that are appropriate for kids, are a little hard to come by - I could give you a million options for adults and all involve weather/the end of the world - so some of these are a little bit of a stretch. Work with me.

Also, something I found while trying to find some decent weather movies was a website called CommonSenseMedia.org. They allow you to search movies and provide suggested age, ranking of different "appropriate" levels (sexual content, violence, language, positive message, etc.) and ideas of what families can talk about after they watch the movie. Check this site out - I think it is a winner, especially when trying to decide if a movie is right for your child.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - blustery days, rain, floods - Pooh has it all. This is a lovely movie with all of the classic stories and characters. There are a couple scenes of heffalumps and woozles that can be a little scary, so use caution there. Also, if you have not watched the new Winnie the Pooh, check it out - so sweet. Again, there is a "scary" Backson but Little Man was fine once it was explained.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - this may be a little higher level (this is rated a "know your child" for 4 years olds at CommonSenseMedia) but it was by far the closest kid weather movie I could find. We have not seen this in our house, so I am not speaking from experience - but according to what I read there is a lot of rain of the food variety. If you watch it write a comment and let me know if it was any good.

The Wizard of Oz - As they say in Modern Family, "gay cinema's most famous tornado." I kid, but seriously this is one of the best family films of all time and it includes a very famous tornado - on the list! Once again, this may be a little old for the preschool set, but it is a great time to talk about friendships, strengths and weaknesses in all of us and how we keep trying to find what we need to grow. As a note if you haven't seen this (gasp) there are some scary scenes.

Show:

Sid the Science Kid - (learning games for kids if you follow the link) This is a great show about a curious boy and his classmates learning about science. It teaches basic science methodology and shows great adult/child roles in the learning process. They dedicated a whole cycle to weather including the episodes: Sid's Rainy Play Date (activity - Rain, Rain Don't Go Away), Sid's Special Dad Day (activity - Sunblock Investigation), Sid's Holiday Adventure (activity - Temperature Investigation), The Wind Did It (activity - Wind Power). The links provided take you to an activity suggested to reinforce the theme of the episode. In case you get hooked, this page gives you a list of all of the episodes with activities for each.

Next week we are going to focus on the beach. This should be fun and get the family ready for any upcoming vacations. Have a great weekend.