I recently read about the book, Shapes in the Sky, A Book About Clouds by Josepha Sherman on the Almost Unschoolers blog. The book is probably better for children about seven or eight years old, but it is short enough that it managed to hold the attention of C and R. I think the page with ice cream and dragon shaped clouds helped a lot. I also tried to read about the different types of clouds with great excitement in my voice - not sure if I was fooling anyone with that.
At the end of the book, there are directions to make your own cloud. First, put some ice cubes in a metal bowl. Then add one inch of warm water to an empty jar. Bring the bowl of ice, the jar of water, and a flashlight into a dark room (we were in a tiny bathroom). Place the bowl of ice on top of the jar and shine the light toward the top of the jar.
A cloud forms near the top of the jar as the warm water evaporates, rises and then condenses.
Hmmm...I thought it was neat. I think my children expected something more; they seemed to want the cloud to be more tangible. I think this means that in the end it was a great lesson. Clouds are not cotton balls or swirls of whipped cream in the sky.
I am linking this to Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.
7 comments:
This is very cool! Although, I suspect my kids would also be disappointed. I remember picture clouds as big bouncy castles as a young child =)
I generally read everything in an over the top, excited voice - I think that's why I have trouble decided the appropriate age level for books :)
I love taking literature and combining it with other content areas. This is terrific!
"Clouds are not cotton balls or swirls of whipped cream in the sky." Theyre not? :(
We read this book too, and Anna was kind of lukewarm about it - long names are intimidating to her. I cheated and made a cloud for her during cooking - the general idea of a steam escaping from a boiling pot is exactly the same, and it makes a bigger cloud. Still, Anna wanted to make a cloud that would fill up the whole room and was disappointed when I had to talk her out of this idea.
I love making mini-clouds. I remember doing that once when I took the hottest shower I ever had when I was in 5th grade.
But, it is always disappointing when the kids don't think your experiment is as impressive as you thought it was.
Very cool! I suspect Emily would want to put the cloud in her pocket and take it around with her. We'll have to give it a go!
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