Place a mirror in a freezer and boil a kettle. Once the kettle is boiling, bring the mirror out of the freezer and hold it in the steam, placing a piece of construction paper underneath the mirror. The steam will condense on the mirror fall onto the paper. This activity demonstrates how rain forms, showing how water evaporates from the earth into the atmosphere, then condenses and forms into clouds. When there is too much water in the clouds, the clouds break up into raindrops and fall back to the earth.
This experiment uses sunshine to mimic the water cycle in a bowl. Place a margarine container in a larger glass bowl and weight it down with a small stone. Pour room-temperature water into the larger bowl without getting any in the small container. Cover the larger bowl with plastic wrap and secure it with a piece of elastic. Place another small stone on the plastic wrap over the container. Place the bowl in a sunny spot and wait. As the water evaporates and condenses on the plastic wrap, it will fall into the small container.
Wait for warmer weather, then place different items in the sun and predict which ones will melt first. Use identical containers for each item such as small plastic cups. Place a few drops of water in one cup to mimic raindrops, a small piece of chocolate in another cup, a crayon in another cup and cheese in the final cup. Use metal or foil tins instead of plastic and see if the results are different.
Teach children about the colors of the rainbow by holding up a magnifying glass where the sun is shining through a window. The glass breaks up the light into spectrum, and the children can note the various colors. This experiment can also be done using a glass of water instead of a magnifying glass or by spraying a hose outside in the sunshine. Have the children draw the colors in the order they see them in each scenario to teach them that the colors are always the same and appear in the same order.