Welcome to another edition of Preschool Fun! This week we’re going to have fun with … clouds!
First, go outside and look up. Do you see clouds? If so, ask your child:
- Are the big or small?
- Are they puffy or flat?
- What do they look like?
- What is a cloud?
- What color are clouds?
- What makes a cloud? (This is hard! Let them guess.)
Next, read a book on hand that has clouds in it.
Any book will do! Point out the clouds as you see them. We often pass them by without noticing; it’s fun to draw attention to something that’s always there. Bonus: read the book outside! Show that you can read anywhere. Make it into a picnic. And, of course, if you don’t have a book, make one with your child (keep reading for a cloud book craft below).
It’s singing time!
For the younger set, try this song set to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.”
I’m a little cloud in the sky
You can find me way up high
Sometimes I’m puffy and sometimes stretched out
I just love to float all about
If your child is older, and really interested in what makes a cloud, here’s a great video on SciShow Kids that teaches the water cycle. If they enjoyed it, here’s a matching game that goes with it!
Now for some science.
You’re going to make a cloud rain in a cup! Gather a clear cup, shaving cream, and food coloring.
- Fill a clear cup ¾ way with water
- Have your child cover the top with shaving cream (that’s the cloud)
- Have them slowly drip food coloring onto the shaving cream
- Eventually, it will fall through the shaving cream, and make a pretty rainstorm!
- Science behind: Clouds are full of water vapor. Once there’s too much water vapor – too many drops of food coloring – it rains!
Craft time!
The simplest of cloud crafts is the cotton ball cloud. Have them glue cotton balls onto a piece of blue construction paper to create their own cloudy sky. Are the clouds fluffy or stretched out? Compare to the real clouds you see outside. Feel free to add rainbows, birds, planes or anything else to complete their scene.
If you’d like to use some paint, why not paint a cloud? Put a small amount of white paint on one side of a piece of paper. Have your child fold the paper in half and squish! Two clouds! Have them draw a rainbow between them.
If you still have the shaving cream out from earlier, mix some shaving cream with glue (equal parts) and have them paint clouds with the puffy paint mixture!
Last, make your own cloud book.
- Staple papers together and have each page represent a cloud
- Write (or have your child write) “The cloud looks like a ____” (e.g. The cloud looks like a car)
- Illustrate! (Either draw, color, cut out pictures from magazines, print out pictures, etc)
Hope you had fun, and I’ll see you next week!
