Types of Clouds for Preschoolers

I mentioned in my Instagram account that Vito is very much interested about the weather lately, and to be specific, he loves learning about clouds.  It all started when we were reading National Geographic Kids Weather book every night.  From here, he started to identify the clouds whenever we are outdoors, whether its a rainy, fluffy, or clear clouds (his own vocabulary).  So while he is still enthusiastic about it, I decided to throw a simple and not so original cloud activity.  Again, I worked on this activity with Mavi when he was 3 years old, and I am happy to do it again with Vito.


To start with, these are the books that we were reading to explore more about the clouds.  The Weather book is suited for 3-5 years old, and the Clouds book is for older children (but younger children love these too!).

• Clouds Read and Find Out
• Sunshine Makes the Seasons Read and Find Out
• Weather National Geographic Kids
• The Weather My First Discoveries

I also have Weather 3 part cards and booklet for other weather phenomenon that you would like to explore.  Read about it here, or click this for the material.


Going back to the clouds, for a preschooler, I only introduced the three basic types of clouds:  cumulus, cirrus and stratus clouds.  Don’t worry if your child could not pronounce or memorize the names yet, what’s important is that they will understand what these clouds mean and do.


To extend Vito’s knowledge on clouds, we made these replicas whenever we see a new cloud formation.  This is really a straightforward activity.  All you need is a set of cotton wool, a blue cardstock, glue, and some gray water color paint (optional for stratus clouds).


With our reference photos, we talked about the three types of clouds.  You can ask your child to describe each of the clouds to you instead of telling them what they are.  Once they’re aware of the differences, you can discuss what each cloud represents.

Here's what we came up with:
My eldest remarked that stratus is what we often have in Ireland LOL.  This was the easiest to make and explain because like Mavi said, we always see this in our sky.  Vito doesn’t want to put paint, but if you checked Mavi’s work years ago, we added some gray paint indicating rain.


Cirrus is flat and thin clouds.  Vito had difficulty making this one so I lent a hand.  We seldom get cirrus clouds. They only appear mostly in summer.


I am thankful that Vito got to observe the cumulus clouds last week, the only day that didn’t rain and sunny.  He couldn’t say the cumulus word completely so he loves using the word “puffy” clouds instead.


Before I end, if you are looking for lessons and activities on clouds for older children, you might want to check this post on cloud activities with Mavi a few years back.  This is perfect for those with older kids and it touches other types of clouds.  PLUS! It has a FREEBIE!  Click here or the picture below to see the post (Learning the Different Types of Clouds).


Now that we have done this activity, the boys and I would always identify the clouds whenever we are outdoors and predict if it’s going to rain.  And speaking of rain, I’m thinking of having a water cycle activity with Vito as an extension activity for clouds.  What do you think?

To keep up with our activities on the fly, follow us on Instagram, that’s where I’m always at whenever I don’t have a prepared post.  See you there!

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