Sunny Day, Painting the Clouds Away!

The Sprout Scouts love all kinds of weather, but sunny days with fluffy white clouds are one of the best parts of summer! And definitely the perfect weather for taking it outside for an afternoon of sky gazing and cloud painting.  We love these printable cloud viewers from E is for Explore! We started off by printing out a family set, cutting out the center and laminating them. I duct taped a wooden craft stick to the back as a handle. We brought along some pallets of paints with blue and white tempura paint for the boys to mix and use. Some brushes and water for rinsing brushes were at the ready, too. Lastly, we brought some flat framed mirrors. You can also use unframed craft mirrors, just opt for something a bit thicker and utilize support and supervision with little ones as mirrors are fragile.

Painting on mirrors gives the artist a unique view to work with. Using mirrors for painting indoors provides a unique and washable surface. Outdoors, it can provide an inspiring reflection of nature, especially the sky! Imagine how this might look in a wooded area full of trees, or set on the ground in a wildflower garden... For children (who are naturally lower to the ground), things above their height can be not only out of sight, but also out of mind! This technique brings the distant world above them within their reach as they explore painting and mixing colors on this smooth and shiny surface.


When you are done, simply wash, dry and reuse! Artists who wish to have a more permanent work of art might benefit from a piece of paper to replicate their work on or even make a print on.

And there you have it...no one here will be guilty of commanding you to get your head out of the clouds! We're not even chasing the clouds away! We're just enjoying the sunny and slower pace of summer and, as always, happily playing!