Opportunity 1: Observing the sky
Time: 30 mins

This opportunity will give the child a chance to talk about the sky and about what they see when they look at it. Sometimes we tend to take things for granted and think that such little things are not important or that our children already know everything about them. Let them talk and express themselves whilst you write down points to record what they are saying. You will notice how their imagination can go beyond your expectations!

Resources
• Large paper
• Marker to write down some points
• An outdoor place
• Laptop
• Apron
• Water colours/colours
• A3 cardboard/paper
• Paint brush.

Go outside or move near a window.  Ask your child the following questions and talk about these things:
• What do you see when you look at the sky?
• What colour is the sky?
• Why do clouds move?
• What do you like to look at in the sky?
• Have you ever watched the sky on a beautiful/stormy day?
• Look at the sky. Describe the clouds, the colours and what the clouds look like.
• Why is the sun essential?
• What happens when the clouds move in front of the sun?

Let the child talk freely. Write down and use the points previously recorded an introduction to every activity. Ideally you carry this part of the activity somewhere outdoors.
Show the clip on You tube ‘Types of Clouds’

It doesn’t matter if they do not understand everything, you can mute the clip and describe what’s going on. Encourage the child to describe and use words like ‘fluffy, soft, big, small, thin, white, grey’.

After lots of discussions, watching the video clip, observing the sky etc, as a conclusion to this activity, tell your child and encourage him/her to draw the sky. The more s/he draws and colour things the more it will help him/her to remember what had been discussed. When the drawing is finished, ask him/her what s/he has drawn and write down what your child says. The end result needs not be perfect. Praise the child continually for his/her work.

Opportunity 2: Making and naming clouds
Time: 40 mins

During this activity, the children will learn and understand that different types of clouds represent different types of weather. They will also learn that the wind moves the clouds. Sometimes the clouds look grey and heavy and sometimes they look white and light. They will learn why we need clouds and why they are important.

Start by watching the following video about clouds (stop the video at 3:15):

As a follow up activity, you can do the following representation with your child.
Resources
• Cotton balls
• Marker
• A4 blue cardboard
• Glue
• Some glitters and grey paint (optional to decorate the nimbostratus cloud)
• Chalk

Method
• Cut a piece of A4 light blue paper/carboard. Ask your child, ‘What does the blue colour represent?’
• Tell him/her that some clouds are white, grey, fluffy, fat or flat and that they float in the sky. Some float low, others float high.
• The main types of clouds include the Nimbostratus clouds (these bring continuous precipitation), the cirrus (wispy) and the cumulus (puffy). Whilst explaining this part use movements with your hands to demonstrate where and how clouds float. The following video will help you to demonstrate this:

• Draw 3 different types of clouds (refer to picture 1)
• Your child needs to fill the cloud with cotton balls one at a time, so ideally you should draw the cloud outline one at a time to help them stay focused.
• Whilst your child is filling the clouds with cotton balls, write down the name of the cloud underneath and help him/her describe how it looks- ‘big’ ‘fluffy’ ‘heavy’.
• You can add some grey paint and silver glitters to the nimbostratus cloud to help him/her remember that such clouds represent precipitation and rain.
• Ask your child what the word precipitation means? (Something that falls from the clouds like snow, rain, hail).
• As a closure encourage your child to look at the sky and to name the clouds. You can provide some chalk so that s/he can draw whatever s/he sees in the sky on the ground – clouds, clouds moving, the sun hiding behind the clouds, shadows etc. The intention of this part of the opportunity is to help your child remember the 3 main names of clouds that this opportunity focuses on.
• The more you repeat the clouds’ names, describe how they look and use exaggerated tone of voices, the more your child will accumulate information and learn new vocabulary.

Opportunity 3: Counting raindrops
Time: 30 mins

During this activity, your child will practise number recognition and number value in a context. Encourage your child to say the number, count by rote till the indicated number, and afterwards s/he can mark make the correct number of raindrops in paint with his/her index finger. During this opportunity tell your child that the rain is falling, and this is called precipitation. Instead of paint your child can do a collage using snowflakes.

Resources
o A4 paper
o Marker
o Paint (any colour)
o Cloud (You can draw it yourself or find a template. Lamination is optional)
o White board marker
o Raindrops (You can draw it yourself or find a template. Lamination is optional)

• Before starting this activity play a number rhyme:

• Then divide a paper into 4 boxes and draw some clouds (see picture 2). No need to look for printouts.
• Afterwards provide 4 numbers. Either from 1-4, 4-8 or 6-10. This depends on your child’s recognition skills.
• Ask your child to name the number in the first box and to clap according to the number in the box. Afterwards, your child can mark make 5 drops with his/her index finger. This will enhance his/her recognition and concentration skills.
• Observe your child and make sure s/he is taking it slowly and printing one raindrop at a time in blue colour whilst counting.
• Alternatively, you can print this cloud clipart (Picture 3) and about 10 raindrops (Picture 4). You can laminate the picture (optional) and write the number using a white board marker. The child adds the drops according to the number you write on the cloud.

As a closure, discuss with your child why clouds and rain are important. Ask him/her if s/he has ever seen snow, fog, snowflakes, etc to expand his/her imagination; Finally remind your child that when something falls from the clouds, it is called precipitation

Opportunity 4: Guessing the shape of clouds
Time: 45 mins

During this activity, your child will be able to explore by him/herself whilst developing his/her fine motor skills. At first using a pipette might be a bit challenging. However, if you demonstrate how a pipette is used, your child will get the grip of it and have fun as well. Your child will also be able to predict what’s going to happen and why it rains when clouds like nimbostratus pop.

Resources
o Apron
o A3 paper
o Blue paint/food colouring
o bowl
o Pipette
o Cotton balls, some tape

• Start by playing the video story: It looked like spilt milk

• This story can help the child to expand his/her imagination and when your child goes outside and looks at the sky, s/he will be able to relate to the story and imagine that clouds have different shapes or guess what they look like.
• Start by focusing on the number 4 or 5. Count by rote till number 5 and demonstrate how these numbers are written. Encourage your child to write the number in the air. Tell the child to stick 4/5 clouds (cotton balls) on an A3 white blank paper while s/he counts them (see picture 5). The clouds must be placed at the top of the paper because clouds float in the sky/above us.
• When the cotton balls are firm, hang the A3 paper on a wall/door/window/back of a chair with some tape within reach of your child.
• Give the child some water in a bowl mixed with blue food colouring. Ask your child, ‘What happened to the colour of the water?’
• Fill the pipette with some of the blue mixture. Gently, the child must squeeze the pipette to leave small drops of “rain” at the top of the paper on the cotton balls. Let him/her get messy and explore by him/herself.
• Finally, when the cotton balls (clouds) become heavy and full of water they ‘pop’ and it will start to rain. They will see the blue water dripping/falling.
• Use words like ‘looks heavy’, ‘looks full’, ‘precipitation’, ‘it’s raining’, ‘down’, ‘above’. The more the adult uses different tones of voice the more engaged the child will get.
• Finally place the paper flat and let it dry. If you have some snowflakes, confetti or stickers, you can provide them to your child so that s/he can stick them too and learn that snow is a type of precipitation too.

Opportunity 5: The rain stick (Picture 6)
Time: 1 hr

During this activity your child will create and decorate a rainstick, hear the sound of the rain while s/he shakes it and link the sound to the letter ‘x ta’ xita’. The child will learn that letters have sounds.

Resources
o Empty kitchen roll
o 2 pipe cleaners
o Tape
o 2 round paper slightly bigger then the top/boton of the roll
o Paint
o 1/2 cup beans or rice
o Glue or glue gun
o Shaving foam

• Start by turning a pipe cleaner or two around a pencil to make it look spiral (see picture 7).
• Cut a piece of round paper slightly larger than the circumference of the kitchen roll.
• Stick the pipe cleaners in the middle of the circle with glue gun/glue/tape.
• Insert the pipe cleaners in the kitchen roll so that the round paper covers one end of the kitchen roll.
• Tape the round paper to the kitchen roll.
• Tell your child to pour the rice and beans (your “rain”) through a funnel into the open end of the paper roll. Once everything is secure in the roll, tape off the open end.
• Provide some paint and let the child colour it as s/he likes.
• When it dries, your child can decorate the rain stick with glitters, confetti and more.
• When it dries completely, tell the child to turn it slowly upside down. Ask him/her what s/he is hearing and to imitate the sound.
• Introduce ‘l-ittra ‘x’ and play the following video of the rain sound for a few seconds or minutes

• Whilst wiggling your fingers slowly down, say the letter ‘x’ sound so that the child links the letter sound of ‘x’ to ‘xita’. Encourage your child to imitate your actions too.
• Play this video clip and afterwards ask your child to find things from home that start with the letter ‘x’ (in Maltese)

• Tell him/her that there are more words that start with the letter ‘x’ (in Maltese). Link the letter to different words.
• Encourage him/her to pre-write the letter ‘x’ in shaving foam and afterwards encourage him/her to link and remember words which start with ‘x’. They can draw the rain (xita) too and, if your child is ready, practice writing the letter ‘x’.

Opportunity 6: Rain in a jar (Picture 8)
Time: 30 mins

During this activity, your child will have the opportunity to experiment by himself, learn new vocabulary and have fun while he/she sees the rain falling and dripping into a jar. You can hold a competition between your child and yourself and try to guess whose cloud will ‘rain’ first.
Resources
o Pipette
o Sponge
o Empty clear jar
o Blue food colouring
o Water
o A bowl to put the jar in it ( to avoid a mess)

• Provide an empty, clear jar and a dry sponge. Let your child explore the sponge (refer to it as a cloud). Encourage him/her to describe it – dry, light, empty…
• Place the sponge on top of the jar.
• Tell your child that the sponge represents the cloud and that the jar represents the air.
• Ask him/her questions. The following might help you:
How does the cloud look at the moment?
What’s the difference between wet and dry?
Why do clouds pop and rain falls?
What colour are the clouds on a stormy/beautiful day?
How do you feel on a stormy/beautiful day?
Are you afraid of thunder?

• Give the child a bowl with water and encourage him/her to draw some blue food colouring with the pipette and transfer it into the clear water. Here the child will see how the colour mixes with the water. Stir well.
• Encourage the child to fill the pipette and to tranfer the coloured water to the sponge (cloud). Always refer to the sponge as a ‘cloud’.
• If your child does not immediately see the water (rain) dripping, ask him/her what s/he thinks is happening.
• Encourage him/her to continue dripping coloured water on the sponge. This activity will enhance his/her fine motor skills.
• Finally the sponge (cloud) will get heavy and it will start to drip rain.
• The more your child fills the sponge with water, the more it will ‘rain’.

Ask him/her:
How does the cloud look?
What happened?
Why didn’t it rain before?
Why is rain essential?
As a closure, you can encourage your child to use the rainstick to accompany the following rhyme :