Nothing says summer vacation like laying back and watching the clouds go by. Has your child ever asked you where clouds come from or why they look the way they do? Are you curious yourself? If so, why not take the summer break to learn about them? Clouds are fascinating; they come in many shapes, colors, and sizes, and each type of cloud has its own origin and purpose. With a simple art activity, you can teach your child about clouds while broadening their understanding of water and weather.
Kathy Charner, Stephanie Roselli, and Brittany Roberts have just such an activity. This simple craft from their book Another Encyclopedia of Theme Activities will teach about different types of clouds while providing a hands-on element to really help the information stick. Give it a try after a fun afternoon of cloud watching!
Materials:
What to Do:
1. Show the children photos of the three main kinds of clouds: cirrus, cumulus, and stratus. Discuss the appearances of the different types of clouds and the weather they bring. The three main categories are:
- Cirrus: white, feathery high clouds (in Latin means “curl)
- Cumulus: puffy, low clouds (in Latin means “heap”)
- Stratus: wide, gray low clouds (in Latin means “covering” or “blanket”)
2. Read Little Cloud or another book about clouds. Discuss what the children observed in the story
3.Give each child a sheet of construction paper, glue, and cotton balls. Have the children create the types of cloud they want by pulling the cotton balls into their desired shapes and gluing the shapes on the paper
4. Label each cotton-ball cloud picture with the Latin names and the name of the child who created the cloud picture
