Wendi’s Weather Station
Wendi learns how to become a weathergirl... but what will she do when she doesn't make the right predictions?
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“Not fair.” Wendi was cross. “You promised we could go to the climbing park.”
“But, it is going to rain, and the climbing park is outdoors.” Mum shook her head.
Wendi looked out of the window. “But it isn’t raining, just clouds, it isn’t raining at all…”
“The weather lady says so, and she knows, rain in the afternoon.” Mum looked out of the window.
“I expect that weather lady got it wrong.” Wendi went to her bedroom.
She stared out of her bedroom window. “Silly weather lady,” she whispered – and then the rain started.
“Oh.” Wendi looked up at the sky. “Not so silly weather lady.”
“We’ll go to the climbing park another day.” Mum watched as the rain splashed.
“How does the weather lady know about the weather.” Wendi asked.
“Well, she has got a weather station, I think.” Mum was not sure.
“Grandpa might know; we’ll ask him tomorrow.”
And that’s what Wendi did, she asked her Grandpa.
“We can build a little weather station in the garden if you like, Wendi,” Grandpa explained.” You’ll need a wind vane to see how the wind is blowing, we can make that”
“We can make a rain gauge, to measure how much rain has fallen.”
“And, I’ve got a good thermometer for outdoors.”
“A thermometer, what is that? Wendi was puzzled.
Grandpa laughed “A thermometer measures the temperature, how warm or cold it is.”
“Thermometer.” Wendi was pleased with her new word.
“And last of all, we need a Barometer, that’s a big word too, Wendi.” Grandpa explained “A barometer tells us what the air pressure is, I’ve got one, too.”
“But what’s air pressure?” Wendi asked.
“Well, if the air pressure changes, the weather will change.”
Grandpa laughed and promised to help Wendi build a little garden weather station.
Grandpa and Wendi worked hard.
Wendi made the wind vane with paper cups on a stick. “Like a pinwheel.” Wendi laughed.
They put up a bright ‘Windsock’, silly name, with red, yellow and blue ribbons too. “It isn’t a sock at all.” Wendi stuck the ribbons on. “But we can see how windy the wind is.”
The rain gauge was easy, a glass jar with the measures written on the side. They put it into the grass, so it couldn’t get knocked over.
The Barometer and the Thermometer were easy too, and they found a good place near Wendi’s playhouse. And Grandpa made a stand, so Wendi could check every day.
“And now the most important thing, Wendi…”
Grandpa fixed a chart on the wall of her playhouse. “You have to keep a chart, a list of all the wind, rain and temperature changes. That’s when you’ll see how the weather is changing. Then you really will be a weathergirl.”
All Wendi’s friends visited her garden weather station.
“Rain, Windy, Sun, Snow, Hot, Cold, Cloudy, Stormy, Very Windy – Wendi had painted a picture for all the things a weathergirl has to say.
She held up two pictures – “Rain and very windy tomorrow.” And she put on her yellow rain hat and all her friends laughed.
The next morning the wind started and later the rain poured down.
“Wendi is a weather girl” Wendi’s friends laughed.
With Grandpa’s help, Wendi looked at the sky and checked her weather station.
Wendi was a very good weathergirl – until one icy cold winter day.
“When will it snow? Wendi, we want know…”
That was the big question. It was very cold, Wendi put up her Freeze card.
“Tomorrow, it will snow tomorrow…” Wendi was sure.
But it didn’t snow, not even one tiny snowflake.
“Wendi, you aren’t a weathergirl at all. You promised snow and snowmen.”
Wendi asked Grandpa. “My weather station says snow, but there is no snow.”
. “No weathergirl is always right, but it will snow soon, I am sure…”
And two days later, the snow fell and covered up Wendi’s weather station. So that you could hardly see it.
Wendi’s friends were happy now, they got out their sledges and they made a big snowman.
“Thank you, Wendi Weathergirl, we got our snow….”
“I am a weathergirl, but it isn’t my snow, the snow clouds are the secret.” Wendi smiled
But Wendi had a big problem. She didn’t tell her friends – they were all so happy having fun in the snow.
Wendi whispered the problem to Grandpa “The weather is changing, in a day or two it will get warmer, then the snow will go.”
“Aah.” Grandpa smiled “Let your friends play in the snow today, tell them tomorrow…”
© Andrea Kaczmarek / Storyberries 2020
LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE STORY ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS
Co-operation
1. How did Wendi and her grandfather work together to create the weather station in this story?
2. Do you think Wendi could have done it on her own? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Wendi’s grandfather was happy to show Wendi about weather stations?
Nature, Conversation
1. What is the weather like where you live?
2. How might you make your own weather station?
Short Story for Kids written by Andrea Kaczmarek
Illustrations purchased on license.
Music Video: “Hep Cats” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Golly Gee” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Happy Boy Theme” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Happy Boy End Theme” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Holiday Weasel” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), “Frost Waltz (Alternate)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.comby/4.0/, “Enchanted Valley” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/