Monthly Challenge
SEPTEMBER
Cloud Watching
Introduction:
Clouds are an important part of the earth’s atmosphere. They are made up of a lot of water
and ice droplets in the sky and are so light that they float above the Earth. There are many
different types of clouds and each comes in a different form and shape. Three common
types of clouds are cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. Cumulus clouds hang low in the sky and
are white and puffy, usually piled on top of each other. Stratus clouds are flat and spread
throughout the sky. They can sometimes look like a big gray blanket. Cirrus clouds are
wispy, meaning they are lighter and thinner than other clouds.
Challenge:
Go cloud watching! Pick a nice day with your grown up and spend some time lying in the
grass by your home or in a park looking at clouds. Spend some time drawing how the clouds
look to you. Are they thin, thick, puffy, or spread out? Clouds can also sometimes look like
familiar shapes. What do the cloud shapes look like to you? Draw the objects, animals, or
anything else you imagine in the clouds.
Extensions:
1. There are different types of clouds that form in the sky. With your
grown up, spend some time looking up different clouds on the
internet. See if you can identify the clouds you drew. You can look
at clouds such as cumulus, stratus, cirrus, or nimbus, which are
a few of the most common.
2. Record the colors of the clouds you see.
Clouds range from white to dark grey
depending on the weather. As you classify
and draw the shapes of the clouds write or
draw which color you see. You can record
the weather next to it and see if there is a
connection. For example, on a sunny day
do the clouds look grey or white? Do you
notice any other colors close to sunset? Cloud Journal
Date:
Draw the cloud you observed:
The weather was
I imagined a
.
in the clouds.
Date:
Draw the cloud you observed:
The weather was
I imagined a
.
in the clouds.