Before I moved to Arizona, I associated the monsoon season with India, but the Sonoran Desert also has a monsoon season. In case you don’t know, monsoon season is when there’s a seasonal shift in the wind, bringing a rainy season or a dry season. Last week we started learning about the monsoon, which of course means lots of picture books about the monsoon season. Since I am a transplant, I have been learning with my kids. Lots of insects and amphibians come out once the humidity increases. That is why you see those nasty five-inch long cockroaches outside (I have already seen two this summer!).
In Arizona, the monsoon season begins in mid-June and lasts till the end of September. If you are in Phoenix, it’s been a while since they have even had a monsoon season. Typically, we get three or four storms for the whole summer. Whereas Tuscan tends to get more rain during monsoon season. Learning about the monsoon season without a storm to observe is likely here in Phoenix, but fortunately, there was a small storm that passed through. My kids, who become VERY excited about rain, were thrilled. Yes, I am aware I am turning them into nerdy nature study homeschoolers, but life is more fun that way.
The Water Cycle & Storms
Learning about the water cycle and storms makes a lot of sense while learning about the monsoon season. Our book basket for this unit includes a few picture books about water cycle. We made flash cards to help us learn the stages of the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and condensation).
Picture Books about the Monsoon Season (plus some books about the water cycle & storms)
I will admit here that I am picky about picture books. There are more picture books about the monsoon season, but they contain references to thanking Mother Nature and father sun. If you google “picture books about the monsoon season,” you’ll come across It Rained in the Desert Today. I wasn’t crazy about it because they it includes references to thanking Mother Earth as the one sending the rain. I just want a book about the monsoon season without references to Mother Earth. Storm on the Desert is another picture book about the monsoon season, but I didn’t enjoy the free verse style it’s written in. Neither did my kids, and if my kids and I both don’t enjoy a book, then I can’t really recommend it. So I didn’t include those book here in this list. Here’s what we did enjoy.
My kids really liked this story because it’s a monsoon version of The Mitten by Jan Brett.
The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi
A grandfather explains to her granddaughter how he became to look so old due to being stuck in gullywasher (intense storm). It will make your kids laugh!
Hip, Hip Hooray, It’s Monsoon Day by Toni Capin Rivera-Ashford
This is a funny story about an ice cube that wants to live the freezer. He experiences the water cycle.
Water is Water by Miranda Paul
Shows the different stages of the water cycle as kids play around on a summer day.
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll by Franklyn Branley
Explains how thunderstorms begin and grow.
A little girl and her mom wait for rain to cool down their city.
Observation
Like I said earlier, we did have a storm roll through. We recorded the temperature and the humidity during the week. My kids noticed that the humidity in the air increases before a storm. We talked about that icky sweaty feeling they get when they walk outside before it rains (humidity) As it rained, we went outside and smelled the air. Then we checked the temperature and noticed that it cooled down quite a bit thanks to the rain. We also left our empty water table on the grass to collect rain. We got two inches of rain over the night. That’s pretty good for us!
Handicraft
Making a rainstick seemed like a fitting handicraft to do after beginning to learn about the monsoon season. There were some more complicated versions of a rainstick, but I picked a simpler version so that my kids could actually do it. We used paper towel rolls, aluminum foil, construction paper, duct tape, an and rice and bean mix. First we decorated the rolls and coiled the aluminum foil. Then we covered one end of the paper towel roll with a square piece of paper and taped it with duct tape. Next we stuffed the foil into the roll and poured 1/4 cup of couscous, wild rise, and lentils (It’s what I had in my pantry). Then we covered the other end with paper and duct taped it to keep the paper secure.
Closing
Next we are on to insects that come out during monsoon season – ants, beetles, cicadas, millipedes, centipedes, and a bunch of other critters. Kind of gross, but also ind of interesting. Stick around for more ideas about learning about the monsoon season with your kids.
Carly from DesertHomeSchoolDays
