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Much of what we do involves looking down. We look down to read, write, watch animals, find insects, build dens, carve wood, start fires and cook. When you think about it, we don’t spend much time looking upwards into the sky. But the sky is ever-changing. It’s a dynamic space of swirling particles and molecules. Skies change colour and shape all the time, and so to have a very basic knowledge about the sky can mean that looking at it is much more interesting. If you know what you’re seeing you’ll notice things more. When you notice things more, you’ll become more interested in those things and want to learn more about them. When you know more about them, you’ll want to share your knowledge with others, which sustains this ever-growing cycle of interest and knowledge.

Cloud spotting, by Jasper. Jasper watches the clouds in the sky – amazingly, he’s got the dog doing it too.

The sky is a mystery to children, and the source of endless stimulation to their imagination. As we grow older, our heads grow heavier and our eyes become diverted towards the ground. Why not have a go at changing that, and turning your own and your children’s heads to the sky?

What you need

 Eyes!

What to do

1 Go outside, tilt your head to the sky and open your eyes.

2 This can be done any and every time you’re outside, whether you’re in the countryside or in the heart of a bustling city. Look up out of the car window or, even better, stop, get out of the car, lean up against it and look up. If you’re not too worried about the paintwork then why not spread a picnic mat on the car roof and allow your child to lie on their back and watch the sky.

What will you see?

 Cirrus. These are the highest-forming clouds at 20,000–40,000 feet of altitude. I always think they look like wispy floating feathers high in the upper atmosphere. They are formed when warmer dry air rises, turning moisture into ice crystals, and they indicate a change in weather, where warmer air is moving in on a front.

 Cirrocumulus. Also seen at 20,000–40,000 feet. These are sheets of clouds made up from small cloudlets of ice and they might cover large areas of the sky, looking like fish scales or ripples. These distinctive shapes are made when turbulent vertical currents of air meet a cirrus layer. They often indicate a change for the worse in the weather.

 Cirrostratus. These white, often transparent, thin wisps of cloud are the thinnest you’ll see. They can be used to predict the weather over the next 24 hours. They usually indicate that there’s likely to be wet weather on the way – either persistent rain or sometimes only a light drizzle, depending on the specific qualities of the cloud.

 Altocumulus. These are mid-layer clouds made up of water droplets and ice, giving them an ethereal appearance, and are usually white or grey. They differ from cirrocumulus, which are white, higher up and generally smaller.

 Altostratus. Usually featureless, these are thin sheets of cloud stretching out over the entire sky. Sometimes the sun shows weakly through them. They usually form when a thin layer of cirrostratus drops from a higher level, and they can indicate that a change of the weather is on its way. They often form ahead of a warm front; as the front passes, the altostratus layer will deepen to form nimbostratus, which will produce rain or snow.

 Nimbostratus. These are dark, grey featureless layers of cloud thick enough to block out most of the sun. The rain or snow they bring will usually remain until the front has moved on.

 Stratocumulus. These are the most common clouds seen at low levels in the sky and have clear, defined bases. They are indicators of a change in the weather, but can be found in all types of weather, from settled, dry weather to rain.

 Stratus. These are the lowest-lying type of cloud, uniform white or grey, which we know from dull, overcast days. They sometimes appear on the ground as mist or fog. They can produce light drizzle if thick enough.

 Cumulus. If a child were to draw a cloud, it would be a cumulus cloud. They are detached, individual cauliflower-shaped clouds that form when warm air from the surface rises and cools to form water vapour, which then condenses and forms cloud. If they continue to grow in height and size they’ll eventually turn into cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulus clouds indicate fair weather, but if they do grow into cumulonimbus clouds they are capable of producing rain.

 Cumulonimbus. Everyone knows the look of these clouds. To me they are magnificent, exciting, daunting cathedrals of water vapour towering up into the sky. These thunderclouds are the only type of cloud that can produce thunder, lightning and hail. Their bases can lie very close to the Earth’s surface but stretch high into the atmosphere. They often grow from small cumulus clouds over a hot ground surface and can also form along cold fronts where warm air is forced to rise over incoming cold air. They are associated with extreme weather and once precipitation begins, they’ll usually only last a short period of time.

I studied physical geography at university, and weather was a part of the degree I remember enjoying very much. University for me was more about fitting lectures and study around rowing training, but because the subject was of genuine interest to me I managed to learn a significant amount. Now it’s my job to pass that knowledge on to my children, which I try to do every time we go outside and I tell them to look up.

Challenge

As you’re directing your gaze up to the sky, have a look to see if you can see anything in the shapes and patterns of the clouds. Most of the time, with the right cloud conditions, there’s something obvious that can be made out from the shapes that form up there. Usually it’s a strange creature or a face – let your imagination run wild!

There are a number of really useful apps and websites available for identifying cloud types. The more you look and compare the clouds, the easier it will become to distinguish between them. Of course, there are cross-overs and similar-looking clouds. They aren’t always easy to identify, but it’s great fun trying!

Give your child a mission to photograph the sky every day for a week. At the weekend collate all the photographs and identify them together, creating your own cloud-spotters’ guide. It may take a number of weeks to get a wide range of different clouds, as they are obviously weather dependent.