Preschooler Science Experiment: Exploring Clouds

While the kids and I were on a road trip one day, Mr 4 asked about the clouds in the sky.

“What are they?” “Well, what do they do?”

I love when a child asks questions. It means they are interested and curious for information. I primarily teach my kids a pre-k curriculum from school-led programs and projects; however, I always listen to any off topic questions they may ask during the day. When they ask a question, I make a note to teach something child-led. If I had to categorize my techniques (which I don’t like to do) I would say I use unschooling twenty percent of the time. By taking the time to further explore their questions, I am able to further their curiosity and development.

When we walked through the door, I quickly jumped on the computer and google, “Cloud projects.” Wahlaa, (bloggers again RULE) there it was, awesome cloud science projects!

Supplies Needed:

clouds 1

  • Water
  • Colored water (I used blue for rain)
  • Shaving cream
  • Bowl
  • Dropper

To start the cloud project, pour water in the bottom of a bowl. Make sure to use a clear bowl, so you can see the results of the clouds!

cloud 2

Then, add shaving cream on top for the clouds!

cloud 3

(Seriously. Who doesn’t like shaving cream?! It’s awesome!)

Finally, in small cups I added blue food coloring to a cup of water to represent the rain. The kids used the dropper to add rain to the clouds.

cloud 4

When the clouds were filled up with all the rain they could handle, guess what happened?

It poured!

cloud 5

Then they explored the clouds high and low…

cloud 7

I gave them a spoon so they could dig into the action. They picked it up, mushed the clouds between their fingers and even smelled it.

cloud 8

We had a blast exploring clouds! This was a perfect science experiment that helped them to understand rain and how part of the cycle works.  By demonstrating a hands-on project, they really got into the action. Make sure to have paper towels on hand!

 

 

 

 

 

One comment

Comments are closed.