Free templateFamily Engagement

Family Connection: Water, Weather & Wonder at Home

A two-page handout to send home during a water and weather theme. It describes five simple activities families can do together — Water Painting, Float or Sink, Cloud Watch, Ice Investigation and Water Builders — and ends with four ways families can support learning.

Format: Printable PDF · A4
Pages: 2
Best for: Educators · families
Updated: Oct 2026

Download free template See what’s inside

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Preview of the Family Connection: Water, Weather & Wonder at Home

What’s inside

Five at-home activities and a short note on supporting learning

Water Painting and Float or SinkPainting a fence, sidewalk or deck with a brush and a bucket of water and watching the pictures disappear as they dry; then predicting whether household objects will float or sink before testing them.
Cloud WatchLying on a blanket outside and talking about three questions: what shapes do you see, which clouds are moving faster, and what weather might come next.
Ice Investigation and Water BuildersFreezing water in different containers and comparing which melts first; then making a simple water pathway from cups, funnels, spoons or recycled materials, with questions such as “Can we make it go farther?”
Families Can Support Learning ByFour points: asking open-ended questions, allowing children to experiment, celebrating effort instead of perfect results, and talking together about observations and discoveries.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Check it fits your monthThe handout opens with “This month we are exploring water, weather, creativity, engineering and early science through hands-on play.” Send it when that is true for your room.
2
Print or attach itPrint double-sided for cubbies, or attach the PDF to a message or newsletter. It has no space for a centre name, so add your own cover note if you want one.
3
Point families to one activitySuggest a starting point in your message — Water Painting needs only a brush and a bucket — so the handout does not feel like homework.
4
Ask what they triedFollow up at pick-up or in your next update. Children’s reports of what happened at home make good conversation starters in the room.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Time it with the weather

Water Painting and Cloud Watch need a dry day outdoors. Float or Sink and Ice Investigation work indoors at any time of year.

Add a supervision line

The handout does not include safety notes. When you send it, remind families to stay with young children around buckets and containers of water.

Do the same activities in the room

Children talk more about an activity at home when they have already tried it with you. The matching activity pack covers water painting, floating and sinking, ice and water pathways.

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