9 Cloud Craft For Kids
You know how when you’re a kid, clouds are really just fluffy piles of rain, and then as an adult, you realize that they’re actually something more?
Cloud art is the same way. It’s a great way to engage kids in creative play while teaching them some science.
These nine craft ideas are sure to keep your toddler busy for hours with colorful swatches of cotton balls, cloud goop, and sparkly glitter clouds!
Puffy Cloud Prints
What you’ll need
- paper
- starch (optional)
- How to make a puffy cloud print:
- Cut the paper into squares or rectangles.
You can vary the size of your squares to create different-sized clouds in your print. Make sure that each square is big enough for a child’s hand to fit on it without covering any of the outer edges.
Spread out a large piece of newspaper or plastic wrap on a flat surface and sprinkle with some starch, if using it instead of water (see next step).
The starch will give an extra puffiness when we put our cloud prints down on top of it! In either case, make sure that there are no loose bits or particles on top for our kids’ little hands to get into!3a OR 3b If using water instead of starch as your adhesive agent, mix together equal parts of water and cornstarch until well mixed.
then pour onto newspaper or plastic wrap until evenly coated but not too thickly covered (about 1/8 inch deep). Remember that kids are messy so cover as much area around where they’ll be working so they don’t accidentally spill any ink from their bottles!
Rainbow Marbled Clay Clouds
What you need, Polymer clay, in a rainbow of colors. You could use store-bought polymer clay or make your own.
A small plastic bowl. This can be recycled for another use, such as an ice cream container, a yogurt cup, or a condiment holder.
How to Make It
Roll out the clay into 10 equal balls of different colors, each about 1/2 inch in diameter and ¼ inch thick (or whatever size you want). Each color should be approximately half the height of the bowl so that it fits nicely inside when rolled up and placed on top later.
If you are making a rainbow-marbled cloud craft with more than 10 colors (and why wouldn’t you?), repeat this process until all desired colors have been rolled out individually and set aside until ready for assembly step 2 below.
Place each ball onto its side on top of one another inside the bowl (with bottom edges facing inward), leaving enough room at the top for rolling later on when it’s time for gluing them together!
This will give them some space so they don’t stick together during drying time after gluing has occurred after painting has been completed–which might take several days depending on how many coats have been applied to each layer prior to allowing drying time between coats–
allowing plenty of room for movement before being glued together into one solid unit at the end-stage where there isn’t any movement around those areas anymore due to careful planning beforehand by following these steps closely; otherwise, things could get messy fast!
Giant Paper Plate Cotton Ball Cloud
Materials
- Plastic lid to use as a paint palette
- Watercolor paints in a variety of colors (or one color)
Paintbrushes in different sizes, including a small one for fine details. We used two white paintbrushes and one black, but you can use any colors you like! You will also need a paper plate or piece of cardboard large enough to hold the cotton ball cloud when it’s done.
We found some great ones at the dollar store! Lastly, you’ll need some cotton balls (we used about 30).
DIY Cloud Dough
Cloud dough is another fun sensory toy that kids love to play with. It’s easy to make and a great way for kids to explore fine motor skills, sensory exploration, and more!
To make your own cloud dough
Mix equal parts flour, salt, and baby oil until it forms a crumbly mixture (you may need to add more flour or oil depending on how much moisture is in the room).
Roll out the mixture with a rolling pin until it becomes a pancake-like shape.
Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Handprint Crayon Resist Clouds
The easiest way to make a handprint is with a paint roller sleeve. If you don’t have one, you can also use some plastic wrap and a rubber band, or even just your hands.
Once you’ve made your handprint, it’s time to get creative!
For this project, we’ll be using crayons as our resist material in order to create our clouds. In the first step of this activity, we want children to draw over their thumbprints with a black crayons (or whatever color they’d like).
Then they can add additional details using blue and green crayons until they are satisfied with the look of their cloud!
Watercolor Stamping Clouds
You will need
- A sponge. The bigger, the better!
- White paper (cardstock works best).
Watercolor paints in blue, black, and white. Be sure to buy a good quality brand like Crayola or Winsor & Newton.
Cheap brands tend to bleed a lot and won’t give you crisp lines on your cloud stamps. If you’re using oil pastels or colored pencils instead of watercolors, that’s fine too!
How to do it.
First, cut out some clouds from your chosen paper with an X-Acto knife or other sharp blade into whatever shapes you like—triangles are popular! Make sure there’s plenty of room around each one so that when you stamp it onto your background sheet later on everything will have enough space around them without overlapping too much.
Rainbow Cloud Slime Recipe
In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup (or 8 oz.) of glue and 1 tablespoon of water.
Stir until the mixture becomes elastic and stretchy when pulled apart (approximately 2 minutes).
Add food coloring to your liking, mixing well after each addition until the desired color is achieved (optional). More coloring will result in a darker slime; less coloring will result in lighter colors of slime!
Add glitter for extra sparkle (optional) — mix well with your hands or a spoon until completely incorporated into the slime mixture! You may need to add a few more drops of water if it looks too dry or stiff while stirring in any powders or ingredients like glitter into your homemade cloud dough.
Shape into clouds by rolling between hands until desired size/shape is reached then let dry overnight before playing with again!
Simple & Sparkly Glitter Clouds
Glitter is a fun way for kids to decorate a cloud craft.
It can add some sparkle to your cloud and make it stand out.
Plus, glitter comes in lots of colors so you can match the color of your cloud with your child’s favorite color!
Paper Plate Rainbow and Cloud Craft
Materials
- Paper plates
- Markers and/or crayons
- Glue
- Scissors or a paper cutter
Steps to follow.
Have your child choose a color or colors for the rainbow and have him or her mark it as such on their plate. Then, have them do the same thing with clouds (if they want to add them).
Once they are done, have them cut out sections of the plate that will be used for each section of the rainbow (imagine cutting horizontal lines along the plate). You may need to cut overlapping pieces so that there is enough room to fit everything together with glue later on.
If you’re doing clouds too, then simply cut out enough space for both rainbows and clouds on one paper plate!
Now you can start gluing! Start by gluing down your largest piece first—we recommend starting from one end of your paper plate so that everything stays aligned properly throughout this process!
Follow up this step by adding smaller pieces until all sections are glued down securely; these smaller pieces should be evenly spaced apart from one another so that no gaps appear between any two colors in your rainbow when it’s finished being constructed (it should look like an actual rainbow!).
For example, if you were making a red-yellow-orange-green-blue-purple spectrum then each section would represent approximately 1/7th – 1/5th size; however, if making only half a spectrum then consider using smaller sized plates than usual because they’ll need more space between each section than usual!
Make Some Cloud Art Today With Your Favorite Mini Artist
Cloud art is a great way to get your little ones thinking about the sky. It’s also a great opportunity for them to be creative and imaginative.
Cloud craft projects are an excellent way for kids to explore shapes, colors, patterns, and textures.
You can make interesting cloud crafts with simple everyday materials that you probably already have on hand in your home or classroom. In addition, these projects are easy enough for preschoolers and kindergartners who are just learning about the concept of art but still fun enough for older children who want something more challenging than finger painting!
Fun and Imaginative Cloud Crafts for Preschoolers and Kindergarten Kids
Cloud crafts provide a wonderful opportunity for preschoolers and kindergarten kids to engage in imaginative play while exploring the wonders of the sky.
With a variety of cloud craft ideas, little ones can create their own fluffy clouds using simple materials. One popular activity for preschoolers is making cotton ball clouds by gluing cotton balls onto blue construction paper. They can add colorful raindrops made from tissue paper or sequins to complete the scene.
Another delightful craft is creating 3D paper clouds by cutting out cloud shapes and attaching them to popsicle sticks or straws. Children can then use these clouds for storytelling or pretend play. For a hands-on sensory experience, kids can make cloud dough by combining flour and baby oil, shaping it into cloud-like forms and adding small toy figures or natural elements like leaves or twigs.
These cloud crafts not only enhance fine motor skills but also encourage creativity and imagination. Preschoolers and kindergarteners will love engaging in these cloud-themed craft projects and activities, bringing the beauty of the sky into their artistic creations.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed these 9 cloud craft ideas for kids. They are easy and fun to make, so there is no reason not to try them out with the next generation of artists!
