Wind Kit

I'm always looking for materials that will fascinate the children and spark their interest in things new. When I saw this wind kit from Kaplan for $35 I thought this would be perfect. And it is! It has also sparked the teacher's interest and there are plans in making a whole weather station in the part of the yard we put this up in. I chose to put it up in out quiet area outside. It has really brought the area to a whole new dimension. Children discuss with each other what they are seeing; teachers are talking about the wind and how it makes the items move around. Some children just sit in our reading pool (more on that tomorrow) and relax while watching the pinwheel or listening to the wind chime, watching the middle piece twirl around.
We placed these items close enough to the ground that they could touch them and instructed them in how to use the items the first time they were introduced to them With strong teacher supervision for the first outdoor time, the children quickly learned to be gentle with the items and remind their friends. This has really become a great thing in our yard!
I never went out and priced how much it would cost to get each item individually, but I figure that it works out even, or just less than even. You may be able to find individual wind chimes and wind socks and pinwheels on clearance at the end of gardening season, but this was worth it. It has definitely weathered rain and wind and sun very well. The material has faded a bit after 4 months, but that is really to be expected of any windsock material. The pin wheel has not torn. The windsock did tear, but that was after a child pulled on it pretty hard (she wasn't there for the initial use talk). We have also had to "re knot" the wind chimes middle piece once or twice which can be frustrating. It would have been better to have the items made with fishing wire. However, with the joy it has brought the children, it was worth it!