Preschool Rain Theme

This Preschool Rain Theme page includes preschool lesson plans, activities and Interest Learning Center ideas for your Preschool Classroom and links to specific weather activities!

Let the Theme planning begin!

You can either scroll down through this page to see all of the preschool activities for your theme or click the link below to go to specific preschool activity types you are looking for.

You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.

Preschool Rain Theme
RAIN Art Activities Block Area

Circle Time Activities

Cooking Recipes

Dramatic Play Ideas

Easel Ideas

Gross Motor Games

Library and Literacy

Math And Manipulatives Activities

Music and Movement

Sand and Water Table

Science Activities

Writing Activities

Miscellaneous Ideas



Looking for other weather types themes? Click the link below for the Main Weather Theme Page for more ideas!  


Weather Theme Main Page

Art Activities

Preschool Rain Theme Art

Preschool Rain Theme Art Activity

Rainbow Colored Rain Drops

Materials needed:  coffee filters, pipettes, many cups with water colored with food coloring.

The children squeeze drops of colored rain onto the filters for a great effect!

Encourage them to count the drops as the squeeze!

Coffee Filter Umbrellas  Thank you Kyra S for this suggestion!

Materials needed:  coffee filters, colored markers, small spray bottles with water or pipettes and cups of water.

Cut the coffee filters into umbrella shapes.

The children color on the coffee filters.

They then spray or drop water on them to spread the colors.


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Block Area

Preschool Rain Theme Block Center Ideas

Rainbow Blocks      Thanks Danielle B. for this suggestion!

Add rainbow colored blocks to your block area. 

The children can use the blocks to build many rainbows.  Discuss rainbows and when they see them, sing the Rainbow song (Red and orange, green and blue!).


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Circle Time Activities

Preschool Rain Theme Circle Time Ideas

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!

Rain Rhymes        Thank you Kyra K. for this suggestion

Materials needed:  A large piece of paper and a marker 

Say the word rain with them several times.  Ask them if they can think of any words that SOUND like the word "Rain".  List all the ideas on the chart with the children's names.

Preschool additional note:  List words even if they do not rhyme. For example, the child may not understand the activity.  They may say thunder.  Write that on the side of the chart paper and comment, something like:

"Well, that is something that happens sometimes when it rains!  The word "thunder" does not sound like "rain".  Let's say them:  Thunder. Rain.  So we'll put that word over here, because we DO hear thunder when it rains sometimes.

This results of this type of activity can help you in many ways:

1.  Are you using words or descriptions of activities that are understood by the children?

2.  Is the child understanding what is being asked?

3.  Are there processing delays happening?

Rain Sticks

Look for a rain stick to bring to circle.  Talk about the rain.  Encourage children to discuss what the rain sounds like when it is sprinkling, misty, pouring!

Demonstrate the rain stick.  Let each child have a turn using it.  

You could also make rain sticks together!  

Poke holes into paper towel tubes.  

Paint the tube.

Cover one end with sturdy tape.

Pour some uncooked rice in it.

Place toothpicks in the holes.

Cover the top with tape.


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Cooking Recipes

Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Preschool Rain Theme!

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!

Thank you Kaitlin for submitting these Rain Themed cooking ideas!

Rain Shaped sugar cookies the children can decorate with blue (rain) frosting.

Mud- Chocolate pudding and gummy worms 


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Dramatic Play Ideas

Preschool Rain Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Get on Your Rain Gear!

Provide rain coats, hats, rubber boots and small, safe umbrellas!

Also, provide large pieces of brown and blue felt to use as puddles! 

They children dress to "go outside" and then count and jump the puddles!

EXTENSION:  There are CD's available that have nature sounds.....see if you can find one with rain and thunder!


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Easel Ideas

Preschool Rain Theme Ideas for your Easel--

More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Rain Painting

Provide small water bottles filled with water and some paint mixed in.

The children spray their designs at the easel today!

Preschool Rain Theme Painting Activity

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Gross Motor Games

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Join NOW and I'll also send you the theme planning forms I use!
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Preschool Rain Theme Large Group Games 

that help build their muscles while they have fun together

Puddle Jumping

Make a large puddle shape out of paper!  Or, we have used a jump rope to make a large circle.

Tell the children they have to figure out how to get over the puddle without "getting wet"...aka jumping in the puddle.

Every once in a while, yell "FREEZE!  PUDDLE JUMPING TIME" And let them jump in the puddle!  You KNOW they want to!

VARIATION:  C'mon.....be brave......actually jump in puddles outside!  No rain?  Make puddles!  Ask parents to bring in a change of clothing for Puddle Jumping Day!!  ;)

Puddle Tossing

Materials needed:  A hula hoop or a large bin, basket or box and bean bags.

The hoop, bin, basket or box is the puddle.  The children practice tossing the beans into the puddle!

EXTENSION:  Add packing peanuts into the "puddle" for a big splash when the bean bag hits them!


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Library and Literacy

Preschool Rain Theme Ideas for Your Library and Literacy Activities for your Preschool Classroom

Book Suggestions for the Library

(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website.  If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )

Bumpa Rumpus and the Rainy Day by Joanne Reay

Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn Mansfield Branley

Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll by Franklyn Mansfield Branley

Just a Thunderstorm by Mercer Mayer

Listen To The Rain by Bill Martin and John Archambault

The Puddle by David McPhail

Rain by Manya Stojic

The Rain Came Down by David Shannon

A Rainy Day by Sandra Markle

Water by Emily Neye


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Math And Manipulatives Activities

Preschool Rain Theme Activities to help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands!

How Many Raindrops      Thanks Danielle B for this suggestion!

Materials needed: laminated umbrella shapes, small blue glass beads, large dice

The children roll the die and count how many dots come up.  They place that number of raindrops (glass beads) on the umbrella.


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Music and Movement

Preschool Rain Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

The Rainstorm

Have the children act out a rainstorm from beginning to end!

Oh Look!  It's getting cloudy (put hands up and sway like clouds).

What's that?  Was it a drip of rain?  (squat down, pause, then up pause, repeat)

Oh, now it's very misty!  (rub hands together to make a misting noise as you move around together....listen to the mist!)

Oh No!  It's pouring out!  (Slap your hands against your legs as you move around to make rain noise!)

Is that thunder I hear?  (Stomp around in the circle).

The storm is leaving.... (now do the actions in reverse).

Phew, it's nice out again!  Now we can play outside!  (Jump up and down!!)


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Sand and Water Table

Preschool Rain Theme Activities for the Senses!

Rain Table

In your water table this week, add water wheels, colanders and/or sand sifters, small plastic bottles, salt and pepper shakers--anything with holes to create rain!!


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Science Activities

Preschool Rain Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Rain in a Bag

Materials needed:  Ziploc baggies, soil, spoon, grass (pulled from outside), water, clear tape, masking tape, marker

Preschool Rain Theme Science Activity

Have the child tear a piece of masking tape off the roll and stick it on the baggie.  

The child then prints their name on the tape.

The child scoops a few spoonfuls of soil into the baggie.

They add a small handful of grass.

They pour one spoonful of water over the grass.

Place a straw in the bag.  (Most of the straw will be out of the baggie!)

Seal the bag around the straw.

Fill the bag with air by having the child (or you can do this part!) blow into the straw.

Pull the straw out of the baggie and seal all the way, keeping the air inside.

Tape the bag to a window that is sunny.

They should see condensation begin to form and eventually it will drip/roll down the baggie into the soil, causing "rain" to water the plant.


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Writing Activities

Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Rain Theme!

Once Upon A Time...

Most children (and adults...like ME!) are afraid of thunder.  Let them take control by writing a story about a storm!

Have them draw a picture of a big storm.  Discuss a recent storm if there was one or ask the child to tell them about a thunder storm.

Start it with, "Once upon a time, there was a storm."  Now, let the child add the details about what is in the storm, just go with their flow. Write down all of their words as they describe their picture.


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Miscellaneous Ideas

Miscellaneous Activities for Your Preschool Rain Theme!

Rain Makes.....MUD!

Of course, you just HAVE to add some mud activities!  Click the link below for the Mud Theme Page for ideas!


Mud Theme Page

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