Please Cloud Don't Cry: Fun Activity Ideas

Help your child explore complex emotions by creating tactile clouds with different facial expressions inspired by the book.

Instructions:

1. Watch the read along video together to understand how the cloud expresses its feelings.

2. Talk about a time when you or your child felt grumpy or sad like the cloud.

3. Glue cotton balls onto the blue paper to create large, fluffy cloud shapes.

4. Use the markers or small scraps of paper to give each cloud a unique facial expression representing a different mood.

5. Ask your child to explain why each cloud feels the way it does.

You will need:

• Book and read along

• Cotton balls

• Glue sticks

• Blue construction paper

• Black markers

A sensory science experiment that visualizes how clouds hold moisture and eventually release it as rain or tears.

Instructions:

1. Watch the read along video and discuss how the cloud's tears turned into something meaningful.

2. Fill a glass jar three-quarters full with water.

3. Spray a thick layer of shaving cream on top of the water to act as your cloud.

4. Mix blue food coloring with a little water in a separate small cup.

5. Use the dropper to add the blue water onto the shaving cream cloud until it becomes heavy and starts to rain down into the jar.

6. Explain that just like the cloud in the story, sometimes things need to be let out to feel better.

You will need:

• Book and read along

• Shaving cream

• Blue food coloring

• Clear glass jar

• Dropper or pipette

A gentle outdoor activity focused on the book's theme of listening to nature and observing changes in the sky.

Instructions:

1. Watch the read along video to prepare for a session of quiet observation.

2. Find a comfortable spot outside and spread out your blanket.

3. Lie down with your child and look up at the clouds for several minutes in silence.

4. Encourage your child to describe what the clouds look like and what kind of day the clouds might be having.

5. Practice active listening by repeating back what your child sees, validating their imaginative perspective of the sky's story.

You will need:

• Book and read along

• Picnic blanket

• Sunglasses for kids

An artistic expression activity using water and paint to mimic the movement of rain and the release of emotions.

Instructions:

1. Watch the read along video and pay attention to how the colors change in the illustrations when the cloud is sad.

2. Paint several large blue and grey clouds at the top of a piece of watercolor paper.

3. While the paint is still very wet, hold the paper upright and spray a fine mist of water onto the clouds.

4. Watch as the paint runs down the page like rain or tears.

5. Discuss with your child how the rain helps plants grow, just like how talking about feelings helps people grow.

You will need:

• Book and read along

• Watercolor paper

• Watercolor paint set

• Spray bottle

Create a daily ritual where children can use weather symbols to identify and communicate their internal moods.

Instructions:

1. Watch the read along video to see how the girl learns to identify the cloud's feelings.

2. Set up a designated weather station in your home using a chalkboard or magnetic board.

3. Draw symbols for different types of weather: a sun for happy, a cloud for grumpy, and rain for sad.

4. Every morning, ask your child 'What is your internal weather today?' and let them choose the symbol that fits.

5. Use this as a starting point for a short conversation about their day and how they are feeling.

You will need:

• Book and read along

• Tabletop chalkboard

• Colored chalk

• Magnetic weather set