Cloud catching

Age

3-5 years

Child Development

Pretending; vocabulary (body part words, metaphor)

Equipment

1 scarf, tissue, handkerchief, or paper towel per child

Physical Activity

Developing movement skills (eye-hand coordination, catching, throwing; body and spatial awareness); creativity

How to Play

Read the poem “Clouds,” then toss the scarf (cloud) in the air and let it fall to the ground.
1. CLOUDS by Christina G. Rossetti
  
  White sheep, white sheep
  On a blue hill,
  When the wind stops
  You all stand still.
  When the wind blows
  You walk away slow.
  White sheep, white sheep,
  Where do you go?
Try catching the “cloud” with different body parts: head, knee, back, foot. Invite the children to suggest other possibilities…elbow? Bottom? Chin?

Change it up / Alternatives / Additional Options

Add actions before catching: clap hands then catch; squat down then catch; touch nose then catch; turn around then catch. Add challenge by trying to do two or three actions before catching.
Toss a scarf back and forth to a partner. Try throwing two scarves at the same time and catching each other’s scarf.
Read the poem “My Kite.” In pairs, one child pretends the scarf is a kite and the other pretends to be a tree. One child runs across a big space with the “kite” above her head and then lets it go. The other child runs behind and catches the kits in his “terrible tree branches”…then swap over.
- MY KITE by Myra Cohn Livingston
  
  It was splendid,
  My kite —
  It flew and it flew
  When we let out the string
  In the wind.
  And we knew
  It would fly with the birds —
  It would to the sea —
  
  Then its tail
  Tangled up in a terrible tree
Read Once upon a Cloud by Rob D. Walker with the children and talk about clouds (e.g. the different shapes and colours, where clouds come from, what they are).

Excerpt from the HOP Early Learning Practiioners Resource (Decoda Literacy Solutions)

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