Have you every watched the clouds as they float by?
Maybe you’ve looked for shapes and pictures. Maybe you’ve hunted for dark clouds heavy with rain. One of my favorite parts of summer as a kid was having the time to do nothing but lay in the grass and watch the clouds drift by. When I was really little me, my sister and our neighbour across the street used to pretend we lived in the clouds. On days where there were lots of large fluffy clouds we would swing as high as we could on our swing sets and pretend we were flying up into the clouds to play with the animals who lived in the sky.
Have you ever noticed the clouds? What do you think they are made out of?
Maybe this story will give you some ideas.
There are lots of books about clouds maybe you’ve got a favorite? I like this one:
This project is inspired by the beautiful printable made by Holdfast Beach School and is something you can build and make on your own but when you are done you should really take a friend or a grown up to share the magic with.
You will need:
- A glue stick
- cotton balls
- scissors
- tape
- two popsicle sticks
We are going to make the clouds with our cotton balls like this:
Then we are going to cut up our picture and glue it to our frame like this:
And finally you can tape the handles on the back like this ^
Now find a cozy patch of grass and your parent and head on out to the yard to watch the clouds, like this:
To the grownup:
Having a teenager at home really gives you an interesting perspective on your parenting. I get a hyper critical window into all the things I’ve ever done as a parent, good or bad, and the insight on how they were received. One thing I have learned, the relationship you create with your children is built upon tiny moments and memories that build up over the years. For example…
The other day we stayed up late to watch the bats come out, something we do at least a few times as a family every summer.
All of my big kids childhood vacations were taken in cars with no plastic drink purchases allowed because a) I am pretty militant about single use plastics and b) we didn’t have a lot of money for flights and planes are super hard on the environment. It’s amazing how much impact that has had on my teens perspectives and our relationship. Positve impact 😉
We also watched the clouds together.
Sometimes when I was feeling overwhelmed or I could see that my kids needed some time out I’d just go lie in the grass. Of course my kids would quickly follow and ask what I was doing. I’d say something like “I’m trying to figure out if this cloud looks like a dragon or a space ship.” which would immediately result in them lying down beside me to give their input. Conversations would follow and in a few minutes everyone was feeling better.
My teenagers remember those few minutes.
It kind of seems weird but when they talk about it I get the feeling that those memories are part of why they trust me with their stories.