Singing in the Rain

We are four weeks into the spring semester and it has been a wild ride thus far...strange weather and illness abound.  I am a little late posting...crazy days...but I began thinking about something from last week.

I live in Missouri and work in Kansas...in this part of the country one cannot think for a second that our weather can be...well normal.  Last week we started off a little warmer than normal for January but it was pleasant.  On Tuesday the craziness began...we started the day under a tornado watch...with some wind, rain and dark clouds.  When it was time for morning preschool to dismiss it was pouring...a real gully washer which prompted some children and adults to begin singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away."  This got me thinking...we as adults typically have a love/hate relationship with rain...we know that we need it but it is an inconvenience at times...I for one hate to get my hair wet in the rain or push a full grocery cart to the car in the rain.  But little kids...do they really hate the rain?  I think not...and I can list some reasons...

1.  Singing to the rain to go away is fun...therefore...rain is needed for a little fun.
2. If it rains you get to wear a shiny slick raincoat that might resemble a fireman's coat and green galoshes complete with bugged out frog eyes.
3. Umbrellas are cool!  Holding an umbrella as a child is such a thrill...even if you don't hold it over your head the whole time...you have to look to check if it is still raining every now and then.
4. Rain makes puddles and puddles make splashes.  Moms and teachers typically try to make children avoid puddles but it is just water after all...pants will dry.
5. Worms venture out after a rain.  Who doesn't like worms?  Well, I actually have a strong aversion to worms but I can contain my hatred of wiggly squiggly pink and brown non-arthropod invertebrate animals in the presence of a wide eyed child. 
6. Ever notice the sounds the rain makes?  To a child it sounds better...remember the song in Bambi..."drip, drip, drop little April showers" that is rain to the ears of a child.
7. Playing in the rain is a sacred forbidden activity...typically children will continue to play in the rain because it is fascinating...until an adult realizes they are out in the rain and calls them in to dry off, "before they catch a cold"...ruining all the enjoyment.
8. Children notice things about the rain that as adults we tend to overlook...the streams of rain in a gutter...the washing away of dirt...the smell of the rain.  
9. A rainy day in preschool means a different schedule...if we cannot go outside we do inside activities that are sometimes forgotten favorites that only come out on rainy days.  We don't pop in a video or turn on the tv...we use icky weather as a chance to get out activities and games for the children to enjoy...while learning.
10. MUD...no need to say more!

There is one aspect of rain that children and adults both seem to enjoy...the need to curl up and get cozy on a rainy day.

P.S. Our preschool week ended with blowing swirling snow.

Worms do not like snow.