Our very first week has already served as a lesson in flexibility (but let's be honest - the past two years of becoming a parent have TRIED to teach me about flexibility and I NEVER learn!). We were actually supposed to focus on farms this week, but the weather was SO WILD that I just had to take advantage of the opportunity to experience so many types of weather in such as short period of time.
Read on to see what we did to explore clouds and rain.
Read on to see what we did to explore clouds and rain.
Cloud Sensory Bin
One of our activities to explore clouds and rain was a cloud sensory bin, which was inspired by Learning4Kids. I created the bin with a small plastic container, which I filled with cotton balls, blue pom-poms, decorative glass stones, and laminated clouds and raindrops (labeled with "c" and "r," respectively).
I did this activity with my 16 month old toddler, along with a few other children ranging in age from 2 to 4. The activity really had something to offer each child.
The older children (aged 3 and 4) were able to sort through and find the laminated clouds and raindrops and work on sorting them and identifying the letters. If we had more time or I was working just with them, we could have sorted the "clouds" (cotton balls and pom-poms) and the "raindrops" (glass beads).
The younger children (aged 1 and 2) enjoyed finding the glass beads and putting them into (and taking them out of) cups and bowls, which was a good fine motor exercise. They liked tossing the pom-poms and cotton balls around and digging through them.
Together we enjoyed counting and talking about the colors of the beads, cotton balls, and pom-poms.
The older children (aged 3 and 4) were able to sort through and find the laminated clouds and raindrops and work on sorting them and identifying the letters. If we had more time or I was working just with them, we could have sorted the "clouds" (cotton balls and pom-poms) and the "raindrops" (glass beads).
The younger children (aged 1 and 2) enjoyed finding the glass beads and putting them into (and taking them out of) cups and bowls, which was a good fine motor exercise. They liked tossing the pom-poms and cotton balls around and digging through them.
Together we enjoyed counting and talking about the colors of the beads, cotton balls, and pom-poms.
Ivory Soap Cloud and Fluffy Bathtub Paint
As another sensory activity, we created a cloud out of ivory soap in the microwave. This activity is well documented on many sites, but it's very simple. I cut the bar of soap into four pieces and microwaved for one minute. Voila! A giant, puffy, super cool looking ivory soap cloud. The texture was really not what I expected. It was crunchy, not soft. But it was very fun for my little one to feel.
Instead of tossing the crunched up soap at the end, I found a recipe from Housing a Forest to create fluffy bathtub paint from the remnants. Though bathtub paint has been a big hit in our house before, this particular recipe was not a huge success. I think I should have done a better job breaking up the soap first. Next time, I would use my food processor to make sure it was really fine before adding the water. Sorry - I didn't take any pictures of this activity!
Instead of tossing the crunched up soap at the end, I found a recipe from Housing a Forest to create fluffy bathtub paint from the remnants. Though bathtub paint has been a big hit in our house before, this particular recipe was not a huge success. I think I should have done a better job breaking up the soap first. Next time, I would use my food processor to make sure it was really fine before adding the water. Sorry - I didn't take any pictures of this activity!
SHaving Cream Clouds and Rainbow Rain
This activity was better for the older kids, but the toddlers enjoyed checking out what we were doing. I got the idea from Seedlings Nursery School. The project involved putting some water in a cup and topping it with shaving cream. The kids got some food dye drop bottles and dropped the dye onto the "cloud." Eventually the cloud became saturated and began to "rain" food dye into the cup. If I changed anything, it would be to use dyed water and droppers rather than straight food dye, as we used a lot of dye. The older kids really liked this activity. I would definitely repeat it in a few years when my toddler is a bit older - it was a great way to discuss the science behind why rain falls from clouds.
Blot Art CLouds
One of our crafts this week was a super easy project for all ages - blot art clouds. It was a really simple project - I just put a blob of white paint (and a tiny bit of gray) on one side of a piece of paper, folded the paper in half over onto the paint, and let the kids rub their hands around on top of the paper (no touching of paint necessary). We then unfolded to see what they had created! The older kids enjoyed drawing a weather scene around the clouds and coming up with ideas of what they thought their clouds looked like. For the younger ones, it was a quick and easy craft!