June 5th, 2015

Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children 

Post Number 16

Weathervanes 

 
Hello Everyone 

 

 

Every morning after my alarm goes off, the first thing l do is go over to the window, draw back the curtains and look out of the window to see what the weather is like.

 

Sometimes l like to try and predict the weather and l have taught my nephews Bill and Bob to do it too. Would you like to become a weather watcher as well?

 

ln some parts of the world the weather is just about the same every day. There is a mountain in Hawaii where it rains almost every day. ln fact there are only about 11 days in a year when it doesn’t rain. On the other hand there are parts of a desert in Chile called Atacama where it didn’t rain for about 400 years (before 1971)!

 

ln my part of the world we have lots of different kinds of weather.

 

There are three things that children can use to predict the weather. Wind direction, how much moisture there is in the air and the type of clouds you can see in the sky.

 

Let’s start with wind direction and l will continue telling you about the other two ways to predict weather in my next blog post.

 

l can use the weathervane that is at the top of my lighthouse to see which direction the wind is coming from.

 

Did you know that people have been using weathervanes since 48BC?

 

Traditionally weather vanes have a cockerel on them like the one mentioned in the Bible, but nowadays you can have all sorts of different designs. l have seen ships, cats, dogs, pumpkins, whales and even witches on broomsticks.

 

They can be seen on churches and high buildings everywhere but some people even have them on their houses or sheds. See how many different ones you can spot when you are out and about!

 

But if you can’t see any weathervanes where you live, then you can stand out in the open with a handkerchief or scarf and a compass and see which way the wind is blowing in that way; or you could put a little flag in a bottle and see which way it blows round. You can make your own flag by taping a piece of paper (¼ of an A4 sheet) to a stick.

 

Where my lighthouse is situated l know that a west wind brings rain from the Atlantic, an east wind brings cold from Russia, a south wind brings heat from the Sahara Desert and a north wind brings snow from the Antarctic.

 

What do winds bring you where you live?

 

Have you ever seen an unusual weathervane?

 

l’ll speak to you soon.

 

 

Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

 

Love and kisses

 

 

Salty Sam

www.christina-sinclair.com 

 

 

Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week

 

Bob: What do owls sing when it’s raining?

 

Bill: l don’t know. What do owls sing when it’s raining?

 

Bob: Too wet to woo!

 

 

Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.

Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com

 

 Picture Gallery

 

Which direction is the wind coming from today?

 

The Atacama Desert in Chile

 

 Hawaii

 

 A whale weather vane

 

 A lighthouse weathervane

 

 A mermaid weathervane

 

 I think he put himself there

 

 Weather vanes don’t always have to have animals on them

 

 Weather vanes are often attractive adornments on buildings

 

 A traditional golden cockerel

 

 The cockerel is on a very tall church spire

 

 
 

      THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK

 

 
Miss Pringle, Bill and Bob’s teacher at the Rocky Bay Primary School, set a test in their English class this week. Would you be able to answer these questions?

 

What do the following sayings mean?

 

1. to go like the clappers
2. to have bats in the belfry
3. to be as poor as a church mouse
4. to walk down the aisle
5. to take a pew

  

 

 

If you would like to see some dramatic weather pictures, then check out my Wild Weather Pinboard at:

https://www.pinterest.com/TheSaltySamBlog/wild-weather/

 

 

It is obvious that all you readers out there have been spreading the word about my blog because readership numbers have gone up since the launch in February.

 

 

If anyone would like to subscribe to my blog, all you have to do is put your e-mail address in the box on the side bar and press the submit button.

When you receive the e-mail that will be sent to you, just click on the relevant link and new blog posts will be sent to you automatically each Fun Friday. 

You will not be sent piles of spam or newsletters, only the posts.

 

 

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Crafty Tip

 
Here is a pattern to make a hot-water bottle to go with the nightshirt pattern on blog post 2. lt is a really easy pattern for a beginner to follow. 

 

 

A SALTY SAM HOT-WATER BOTTLE (KNlT TWO)

 

Using 4mm knitting needles and dark blue double knitting yarn cast on 13 stitches 

Knit 1 row, purl 1 row 

 

(lncrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows)

Stocking stitch 24 rows (26 rows) 

 

(Cast off 4 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows)

Knit 1 row, purl 1 row

(7 stitches) (28 rows) 

 

On these 7 stitches – Knit 1 row, purl 1 row (30 rows) 

 

(lncrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows)

 

Knit 1 row, purl 1 row (32 rows) 

 

On these 9 stitches – Purl 1 row, knit 1 row (34 rows)

Cast off 

 

Knit another side in exactly the same way to match 

 

Embroider an anchor motif onto one of the sides (you can find the motif at www.christina-sinclair.com) 

Sew right sides together along bottom and side seams up to bottom of neck using running stitch.

 

Turn right sides out and slip a 6cm/2 ½ inch by 10cm/4inch flat shampoo bottle or a piece of foam or thick cardboard of that size into the cover. 

Using over-sew stitches sew up the sides of the neck to the top. 

 

Crochet 60 chains into a length of white dk yarn. 

Weave this cord evenly through the knitting around the neck of the cover bringing the ends through to the front – you can do this by threading one end onto a yarn needle. 

Neaten the ends of the crocheted cord by pushing the ends of the yarn through the chain using a yarn needle and tie a knot in each end of the cord. Then tie the cord in a knot at the front of the neck of the bottle cover.

 

lt is then ready to go to bed with your Salty Sam toy! 

 

(Don’t try actually filling it with hot water though.) 

 

  

BLOW MY FOGHORN!!!

 

PLUS

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lt’s the Weekend!

 HOW TO MAKE A WEATHER VANE

 
Mark the points of the compass around the outside of a plastic bottle using thick felt-tip pen. Then put a few small stones or some shingle into the bottom to weigh it down.

 

Tape a square of card or stiff plastic about 10cm/4inches square in size or a quarter of an A4 piece of paper to the top of a long drinking straw or very thin indoor plant cane.

 

Making sure that the ‘sail’ is above the neck of the bottle so that it can move freely, place your weather vane outside in quite an exposed place.

 

You will need a compass to check that the bottle is positioned correctly. Whichever way the flag is pointing is the opposite direction from where the wind is coming from. So if your flag is pointing east, it is showing you that there is a west wind blowing.

 

Don’t leave your flag outside in the rain though, it will get soggy.

 

If you get confused with east and west, then remember that across they spell ‘we’. 

 

 
                                  
N

 

W        +         E

 

S

 
You can try to predict the weather if you like. Draw a chart on a piece of paper with boxes to represent each day of the week. You could subdivide each box into four and write a note in each of them. You will need to read next week’s blog post to get more information in order to complete your chart.

 

1. Wind direction
2. Amount of moisture in the air (low, medium, high)
3. Type of clouds in the sky
4. Prediction for tomorrow 

 

Then see whether your weather predictions come true!

 

 

This instrument tells you about wind direction and wind speed

 

Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use or for use in classrooms only.

It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.

Use of the toys and projects on all of these blogs is at your own risk.

©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015 

  

  

Answers to the News Desk Quiz

 

1. to go like the clappers – to go very fast
2. to have bats in the belfry – to be a bit mad
3. to be as poor as a church mouse – to be really poor (people don’t eat in church and so don’t drop crumbs for mice to find)
4. to walk down the aisle – to get married
5. to take a pew – to sit down (a pew is a bench in a church) 

 

A clapper inside a bell

 

 A belfry is a tower that houses bells

 

 Church pews each side of an aisle

 

 A felt mouse