New Victory Arts Break: Grand Soft Day

Whether it’s a wet, wintry Wednesday or a sunny, springtime Saturday, exploring all the different types of weather can be a lot of fun, especially if you’re a kid experiencing them for the first time! In Grand Soft Day from Branar Theatre and New International Encounter, a group of friends navigates the changing weather together in an all-seasons adventure. In the Arts Break activities below, designed for you and your kid to do together, we’ll get creative and learn more about weather in all its many incarnations. Let’s dive in!

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Some of the videos in this Arts Break were filmed at the New Victory Theater. We acknowledge that New Victory resides on the seized homeland of the Lenape people and the intertribal territory of many First Nations. We celebrate and pay deep respect to all Indigenous peoples, past, present and future, and we encourage you to learn more about these vibrant communities.

In Norway, they say that there is no bad weather, only bad clothes! But preparing for different types of weather is a tricky business. As temperatures and weather conditions change throughout the day, keeping you and your kid dressed for weather success can be a challenge. Luckily, New Victory Teaching Artist Rebecca Gerrard has a trick up her (coat) sleeve to make this challenge fun—a dress-up game she calls Guess the Weather!

Materials: Weather cards, clothing and objects for all types of weather, a timer (optional)

Step One: Print and cut out our weather cards or design your own! If you are printing, make sure to print multiples so you have plenty of cards to play with.

Step Two: Player One draws a card at random and keeps it hidden from Player Two.

Step Three: Player Two sets a timer for one minute, and then Player One quickly puts on as many items of clothing and grabs as many props associated with that type of weather as they can.

Step Four: Once the minute is up or Player One is ready, it’s time for Player Two to guess—what type of weather is Player One dressed for? After guessing, switch roles, draw another card and play again!

Can you portray a type of weather without clothing or props? Try using movement and gestures! For example, you could fan yourself for a hot day or shiver for a cold day. Brrr!

It’s time to get dressed for today’s weather and head over to New 42 Studios for Grand Soft Day. While you’re on your way, play the video of seasonal riddles below. Can you guess which seasons the images and narrator are hinting at?

Great job guessing! Now it’s time for Grand Soft Day. We’ll see you after the show!

Every day before we head outside, we have to find out what the weather is like. Will it be sunny? Will it be rainy? Will it be cold? It’s fun to notice the differences in weather day by day! In this activity, you’ll keep and illustrate your own weather journal.

Materials: Weather journal worksheet or plain paper, coloring utensils of your choosing

Step One: Take a look outside. What do you notice? Is it cloudy or is it sunny? What are people wearing? What kind of activities would you do in this weather?

Step Two: On your weather journal worksheet, or on a sheet of paper divided into seven sections, draw the weather! If it’s a cloudy day, fill the box with grey. If it’s windy, draw some wisps of chilly air.

Step Three: Show your weather forecast illustrations to your family and friends, and remind them of the best ways to prepare for each day. You are now the household weather person!

Don’t just draw the weather itself. Draw some things you noticed or did outside each day! For a rainy day, you could draw your umbrella or rain boots. For a sunny day, you could draw yourself at the park with friends!

You’ve dressed for rain or shine, identified the four seasons and tracked a week’s worth of weather, but there’s always more to learn! Start with some basic weather vocabulary practice from Smile and Learn. Then celebrate the four seasons with a catchy song from ABCmouse, and join Jessi from SciShow Kids to explore the science behind the cycle of winter, spring, summer and fall.

Our endlessly creative New Victory Teaching Artists have more activities you can enjoy as a family! See if you can continue using the weather as a source of inspiration as you get creative together.

Sometimes the weather can take you by surprise! Create a spontaneous performance with Lauren Sharpe.

Use the drawings from your weather journal to devise and illustrate a comic strip with Alberto Denis.