Cloud Story Watch
What you need
- a blanket to lie on
How to do it
- Spread the blanket on the grass on a day with big clouds, and lie down side by side.
- Find a cloud that looks like something, an animal or a castle, and give it a name.
- Start a story about it. Where is it going? Who does it meet? Let your child tell the next bit.
- As the clouds change shape, let the story change too, taking turns to say what happens next.
Why it matters
The clouds supply the pictures, and because they never keep still, the story has to keep finding somewhere new to go.
What they're learning
- Making up a story
- What happens next, and next.
- Taking turns to tell
- Your bit, then their bit.
- Looking up
- Noticing shapes in the sky.
What to look for
Notice them using "and then" to keep the story going.
A tip
Never look at the sun, and lie on the blanket to keep the damp out.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: just name what each cloud looks like
Harder: let them tell the whole story while you listen, then ask questions about it at the end
