rain clouds

As Longfellow said "into each life a little rain must fall," and so begins our November. I must say, I love the rain. One thing I find the Bay Area lacks are the beautiful rain storms that come in the summer in the Southwest and the East Coast. Lightening and thunder are rare here and when it does rain, it's often quite gentle. Perhaps other Bay Area residents disagree with me, but I'd take a red sunset after a summer monsoon any day!

This morning Max and I sat down to celebrate the rain by making rain clouds. He's still a little young for most aspects of this project, so I ended up helping him with quite a bit of it. I think any four year old and up would be able complete this on their own, with some adult guidance.

After we were finished we hung it up in his room and he started to sing "rain, rain go away."  It reminded me of how magical rain can be to a young child. I had to make a mental note - get out and play in the rain while it lasts! Which we're going to do right after school today!

How do you spend your rainy days? Do you LOVE the rain or hate it?



materials:

large sheet of paper
white paint
paint brush
hole punch
string
straw
scissors
beads
stuffing (news paper, old pillow filling, etc.)

get to work:

1. Begin by drawing a cloud onto your paper.

2. Cut out two clouds of equal shape.

3. Paint your cloud white. (If you'd like, add sparkles to the paint while it is still wet).

4. Once the paint has dried, place the pieces of paper on top of one another and using a hole punch, punch a series of holes alone the edge of the cloud, about 1/2" - 1' in. (My hole punch broke this morning, so I used my scissors instead).

5. Take the straw and cut 1" piece off. Then cut the end so that it's pointed. This will be your needle.

6. Thread the string into the straw, pulling it out of the top and tying it into a knot at the base of the straw.

7. Begin sewing the cloud together. The best method for most children seems to be: start from underneath the hole, thread through, pull up and return the needle to the underside of the cloud. Threading from underneath every time is an easier concept for most children, versus the "in and out" method that most sewing requires.

8. Leave a small part of the cloud open. This is where you'll put the stuffing in. Stuff the cloud until it's full.

9. Sew the remaining part and tie the end in a knot.

10. Now take about 5 pieces of string and slightly varying lengths and place blue, clear, white or silver beads on the string. Do not fill the string with beads.

11. Once you've finished with the beading, tie the strings to the cloud.

12. You may now hang up your cloud by tying two piece of string to the top.

PS

The Rainy Day 

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
    And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It   rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
    And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
    Some days must be dark and dreary.