Weather: Rain Cycle & Clouds

We began our week learning about the rain cycle—how it is a continuous circle. The water on the earth is warmed by the sun and evaporates and floats up to the sky. The droplets bind together to make a cloud and as the droplets get larger and heavier they fall down to earth as rain…making puddles, filling rivers (etc), which get warmed by the sun…etc. We then acted out the rain cycle. We were the ocean, evaporated water vapor, clouds, and then rain. The children enjoyed acting it out. 

For science we did this Absorption Activity. The children enjoyed this hands-on experiment. 

To incorporate math we created a cloud and raindrop activity. The children were given clouds with different numbers on them and then had to match the same amount of rain drops with the numbers on the clouds.  

  

We also wrote out a chart comparing what we do when it is raining and when it is sunny outside. 

We also read The Cloud Book, by Tomie dePaola, which introduced the children to three different types of clouds. They then each made a cloud chart by using cotton balls.

Cumulus- the beautiful puffy clouds that you see on sunny days, 

Cirrus – stringy, elongated, white clouds that indicate a change in weather

Stratus – “stacked”, gray clouds. Stratus clouds are formed when clouds join together and they usually fill the sky. They indicate a storm is coming. 

We further explored Cumulus clouds by reading It Looked Like Spilt Milk. The book talked about how a cloud can look like different objects, even though it is just a cloud. The class made their very own cloud prints, with white paint, and decided what their cloud looked like to them.

I found  this song online that we sang throughout the week: 

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.