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Rain Gauge
Here is a simple way to measure how much rain falls in your own backyard.
Claire, age 3, shows off her rain chart.
What you need:
- a ruler
- a permanent marker
- a straight-sided glass jar (olive jars work well)
What you do:
- Using a ruler, make inch marks on the outside of the jar with the permanent marker. Remember to start at the bottom of the jar and work your way up.
- Now set the jar outdoors in a place where the wind won't knock it over.
- After the next rain, estimate how much water has fallen by checking on your new rain gauge.
- During rainy months, you may want to help your child make a bar graph of the rainfall. On grid paper, number the left side of the page from 1–10 in 1-inch increments. Label the bottom of the graph with the days of the moth. Have your child track the rain with the rain gauge and help him/her to graph the results by coloring in the appropriate number of squares for each rainy day.
Photo submitted by reader