ABSTRACT

The everyday outside world is part of children’s own actual experiences. They notice the sky, the weather and hear adults discussing the weather, which affects what they do and what they wear. They notice the ground and its different coverings, stones, soils and vegetation, as well as living things, wild plants and animals. The different kinds of weather have particular names. Wind and rain are particularly noticeable, ranging from light drizzly rain to storms, hurricanes and typhoons. The sky is blue when not full of cloud but sometimes has other colours, such as red, at certain times. Winds are air currents. The top covering of the earth is ice, water or soil. Soils are formed from the wearing down of a variety of rocks, which have been made many years ago in geological time. Different soils have different characteristics depending on the kind of rocks from which they were formed. Certain plants will only grow in particular soils and some animals will only live in certain places, called habitats, with different coverings such as deserts of sand or ice. Organisms exist in these coverings. In soil, some of them help break up the soil and create air pockets, which help with water drainage. Conversely, vegetation on soils helps stop soil being washed away.