Cloud Shape Challenge

About 30 minutes, outside, for ages 5 to 7.

Where it works

Works in any outdoor space

Who it's for

ages 5 to 7

Try this adventure now:

  • a cloud shaped like an animal
  • a cloud with a flat bottom
  • the biggest cloud in the sky
  • a cloud moving faster than the others
  • a gap of blue between two clouds
  • a cloud that changed while you watched

Today's Challenge

  1. 1.Does that cloud look like an animal?
  2. 2.How fast is it moving?
  3. 3.What color is the sky today?

Quick Start: What you need

  • 1blanket

The Goal

Lie back on the grass and identify distinct shapes within passing clouds.

How to start

  1. 1

    Gather what you need: blanket. Nothing else required.

  2. 2

    Head outside and see how many you can find: a cloud shaped like an animal, a cloud with a flat bottom, the biggest cloud in the sky, a cloud moving faster than the others.

  3. 3

    Talk about what you are seeing. Start with "Does that cloud look like an animal?"

  4. 4

    Print the worksheet to check things off as you find them, and keep it afterwards.

Sketch The Sky

Pick one cloud, watch it for a minute, then draw its shape below before it changes.

No two clouds ever form in exactly the same shape.

If you want to push it further

  • Pick one cloud and watch it for a whole minute
  • Try naming a shape nobody else can see

Print it and go

The worksheet has the checklist, the prompts, and a space to draw in. One page, ready for a bag or a glovebox.

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