CLOUD QUICK STARTS
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Put marshmallows on small craft sticks to make simple edible puppets. |
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Sing about C L O U D Y to the tune of “Bingo”. |
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Tear white paper towels or typing paper into interesting cloud shapes. |
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Read story “Spilt Milk”. |
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Sing the song, “The Little White Cloud That Cried”. |
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Look for animal shapes in the clouds above. |
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WHITE CLOUD PICTURES
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Give your children 8 ½ “ x 11” pieces of light blue construction paper. |
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Set out some glue and some white cotton balls. |
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Show your children how to stretch out the ball into cloud shapes and then how to spread glue on the paper and place the cloud shape on top. |
Variation: For gray rain clouds, have your children lightly brush a black marking pen across the bottom of the clouds. |
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CLOUD PUPPETS
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Take some white paper heavy paper and cut out cloud shapes (approximately 6” x 6”) for your children. |
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Give them the cloud shapes along with some glue and some white cotton balls. |
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Have them glue cotton balls all over their cloud shape. |
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Then help then tape a large craft stick behind the cloud shape for a handle. |
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Have your children use their cloud puppets when they sing cloud songs or recite cloud rhymes.
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CRAYON RESIT CLOUDS
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Use a white crayon to draw clouds on white pieces of paper. |
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Set out some blue wash (diluted paint) and some brushes. |
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Have your children take a cloud paper and brush the blue paint across the paper, revealing the white clouds. |
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GIANT PAPER CLOUDS
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Cut out large 4’ x 5’ clouds from white paper. |
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Place two together and staple around the outside of the cloud, leaving one side open. |
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Set out some half sheets of newsprint. |
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Show your children how to crumble the newsprint sheets and stuff them into the clouds. |
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As the children stuff, more and more sheets inside, continue stapling the open side. |
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When the cloud is totally stuffed, staple the last opening shut. |
Variation: If you would like to make a giant classroom rain cloud, when you are stapling the first side together, place strips of light blue tissue paper sticking out between the two layers of cloud and staple in place (so they hang down when you are finished).
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TEARING CLOUDS
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MATCHING CLOUDS
This is a fun activity to do on a felt board.
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Place two small squares of white felt together and cut out a cloud shape. |
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Make four to six more sets of different cloud shapes. |
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Place one of each set of the clouds on a blue background felt board. |
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Set out the remaining felt clouds and have your children take turns placing the matching shapes on top of one another. |
| Variation: Mix up all of the felt shapes and have your children find the matching sets. |
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WHAT COULD THEY BE?
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Cut cloud shapes out of heavy white paper. |
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Try to have them vaguely resemble animals or objects. |
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Place the shapes in a box or bag. |
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Have your children take turns drawing out a cloud shape and telling the rest of the group what they think it looks like.
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COUNTING CLOUDS
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Set out six sheets of blue paper. |
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Write a numeral (one to six) on the bottom of each sheet. |
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Set out a box of 21 cotton balls. |
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Have your children take turns placing cotton balls on the sheets (for clouds) matching the number written on each sheet. |
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BLOWING CLOUDS
You will need two plastic drinking straws and one large cotton-ball “cloud” for this activity.
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Place the cotton ball in the center of a table. |
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Ask one of your children to stand at one end of the table and another child to stand at the other end. |
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Give each child a straw. |
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Explain that when you say “Go” they should each blow air through their straw and try to move the cotton ball “cloud”. |
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The first child to blow the cloud off their opposite end of the table is the winner. |
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CLOUD RHYME
Popcorn shapes – up in the sky.
Altocumulus clouds - floating by.
Scattered, wispy shapes – up in the sky.
Cirrus clouds - drifting by.
Long, flat shapes – up in the sky.
Stratus clouds – moving by.
Large, puffy shapes – up in the sky.
Cumulus clouds – floating by.
Low, dark shapes – up in the sky.
Nimbostratus clouds – with rain go by.
High, dark shapes - up in the sky.
Cumulonimbus clouds – thunder by.
Jean Warren
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CLOUD STORIES
Check with your library for these books about clouds.
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
The Little Cloud by Tomie de Paola
Nimby by Jasper Thompkins
Nimby by Jack Read
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TYPES OF CLOUDS
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Use the Cloud Rhyme under Language activities as a beginning on studying the different types of clouds up in the sky. |
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Talk about rain clouds (Nimbostratus), how they cover the sky and are darkened by the water they hold. How when they get so heavy with water, the water falls down out of the sky. |
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Talk about the big white puffy clouds (Cumulus), how they are white and therefore contain no rain. How they continually change their shapes. How they often look like objects in the sky. |
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WHAT CAN CLOUDS BRING US?
Discuss with your children the different types of weather that comes from clouds. Such as rain, snow, sleet and hail. Talk about each one, how they think it is formed and why some forms of precipitation are heavy like rain and some light like snow.
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WHAT IS A CLOUD?
Discuss with your children the process of evaporation and how when water gets hot it turns into vapor and rises in the air and when it reaches cold air up high in the sky, it condenses forming cloud vapors.
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WHIPPED CREAM SNACKS
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Top Jello cups with whipped cream clouds. |
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Top fruit cups with whipped cream clouds. |
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Top blue cookies with white whipped cream clouds.
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OTHER CLOUD TOPPINGS
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Top lemon pudding with meringue clouds. |
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Top cookies with white frosting. |
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Top hot chocolate with mini-marshmallow clouds. |
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I’M A LITTLE CLOUD
Tune: “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 about.
Jean Warren
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WHEN I SEE CLOUDS IN THE SKY
Tune: “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean”
When I see clouds in the sky,
All big and puffy and white,
When I see clouds in the sky,
The weather is sunny and bright.
White clouds, white clouds,
White clouds up in the sky.
White clouds, white clouds,
White clouds, puffy and dry.
When I see clouds in the sky,
All big and solid and gray,
When I see clouds in the sky,
The weather is rainy all day.
Gray clouds, gray clouds,
Gray clouds up in the sky.
Gray clouds, gray clouds,
Dropping rain from up high.
Jean Warren
(You could also sing about gray snow clouds if you wish.)
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WHAT’S FLOATING BY?
What’s fluffy and white and floats up high,
Like a pile of cotton in the sky?
And when the wind blows hard and strong,
What very gently floats along?
What brings the rain, what brings the snow,
What showers down on us below?
When you look up high in the sky,
What is that thing you see float by?
Adapted Traditional
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THE CLOUDS ARE PASSING BY
Tune: “The Farmer In The Dell”
The clouds are passing by,
The clouds are passing by,
Heigh-ho, just watch them go,
The clouds are passing by.
The clouds are passing by,
Way up in the sky.
Sometimes fast and sometimes slow,
The clouds are passing by.
Jean Warren
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RAIN CLOUD RHYME
Rain clouds, rain clouds in the sky,
I really hope you’re passing by.
But in case you’re here to stay,
I’ll just go home instead to play!
Jean Warren
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C L O U D Y
Tune: “Bingo”
Today the clouds are in the sky
And cloudy is the weather.
C L O U D Y
C L O U D Y
C L O U D Y
And cloudy is the weather.
Adapted Traditional
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