Little Cloud by Eric Carle + Fun with Homemade Cloud Dough
We fell in love with the book *Little Cloud by Eric Carle. It’s a story about a little cloud who takes you on a fun journey changing into all different shapes…. a shark, a sheep, an airplane, and more. It’s told in a cute way that is perfect for my son’s age (5). I love how it helps you see the creativity in everyday life and lets your imagination run wild trying to find shapes in the sky on a cloudy day.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links to the book mentioned.
Photo originally posted on Instagram artsymomma_amanda
My son sat on my lap while we browsed crafty ideas to go with the theme of the book. We decided on making Cloud Dough. I found the homemade recipe from I Can Teach My Child. It called for 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 4 cups of flour. After mixing it together, it still seemed a bit dry so I added about 1/4 cup more of the vegetable oil.
The consistency was powdery but you could also squeeze it together and mold it. If you have ever used moon sand before, it is kind of like that.
The kids were more than excited to play with it! I let them play with just the cloud dough for awhile and then brought out some of our cookie cutters to make cloud shapes.
We made a dog, sheep, snowman, shark…..
….and Little Sister made a Butterfly all by herself! She was so excited she kept making it over and over again.
I also gave them little cups. My daughter had a blast with these. My son kept making shapes in his hands and wanted me to keep taking pictures of his creations. He also made some sort of Taekwondo game with it which resulted in a huge mess when little pieces went flying in the air. Glad I put a blanket down which I just threw in the washing machine! It came out nice and clean and vacuumed up easily on the parts of the carpet some accidentally got on.
They looked like they had been hard at work baking all day….hee, hee! Off to the shower they went, but it was well worth the mess to see how much fun they had. I placed the remaining cloud dough in a Zip-Loc bag to play with again another day.
See also:
The Artist Who Painted the Blue Horse inspired craft
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft & Activity
Polar Bear Polar Bear, What Do You Hear circle craft, song, & snack idea
We love this book – love how you made cloud shapes with the cloud dough – perfect!
Thanks Michelle! It’s awesome how many uses there are for cookie cutters 🙂
We have had so much snow and cold weather here that this activity seems like a nice distraction. Looking forward to giving it a try!!
It kept them busy for a really long time 🙂
This is a great activity! I can’t wait to get the book and read it to my munchkins 🙂
Thanks Clarissa! I bet they will love it 🙂