I mentioned that I would share with you a few more activities we have been exploring since reading the book “Cloudette” and at this table, the children spent time creating disappearing clouds…
This was an activity that involved writing, drawing, and tracing. Although we did this activity on black construction paper, it can also be easily done on a chalkboard as well…
Our three year olds particularly liked this process. To make a disappearing cloud, you set out black construction paper (or chalk board), white chalk, cups of water, and chalk. I created clouds on sheets of black construction paper ahead of time but you could just let your students draw their own clouds…
The children dip their paintbrushes in the water then trace over the lines of chalk (over the clouds) to make the clouds disappear…
My three/four year old’s enjoyed making the clouds disappear but in the process, they had to come to terms with the idea that once the clouds disappeared, they would be left with nothing but a black piece of paper. They were thinking from the start that they would make a cloud with the chalk to take home with them. Once they made the adjustment, they decided making the clouds disappear was more fun then just drawing clouds…
Super simple to put together and a great process!
Available on Amazon
I love it!
Thanks for stopping by Carolyn!
Fun!! Love your list of cloud books!
How long were they able to water paint on the paper before it ripped?
Actually the paper never did rip but I think it was because of the kind of paper – it is a very high quality grade construction paper.
Isn’t sometimes the simplest activities that end up being the most fun? 🙂 Thanks for sharing this one. I was wondering about the paper ripping as well, as I could imagine Maddie absolutely soaking it haha. I’m sure she’d love to make things dissapear so we might use our chalkboard so that we can repeat the activity many times. This would be great for learning to write letters, etc. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Perhaps if the paper rips, this could be part of the learning experience – especially since it isn’t a “take-home” kind of artwork. Trying to figure out how to paint on the water then gently move the paper so it doesn’t tear would have its own value in the learning process. If the paper does tear, then just make a paper and chalk collage out of it:)
That is true! 🙂
Such a simple and fun idea! My girls love the book Cloudette!
painting with water! what a fun way to explore cause and effect! we’ll have to check and see if our library has Cloudette!
This is such a great idea. I think I’ll try it out with my son with letters and numbers. Thanks for sharing this. 🙂
Thank you for your comment and I hope you do give it a try!
Hi Deborah! We finally tried this and it was a definite hit! My son really enjoyed it and it turned from a pre-writing excercise into an actual writing exercise when he decided to write with the chalk himself before painting it off with the water. Thanks again for the inspiration for this.
Simple & smart. I like that they had to be okay with the clouds going away. It’s good practice for loving something but not needing to hold on to it, right? Very special stuff there.
Yes, it was an interesting concept to observe the children since they had to make a choice.
[…] Disappearing clouds […]