Blinded by Science

The annual Spring Fling at the library this year was all about science. The decorations doubled as photo props with goggles, test tubes and lab coats. 

The cookies were delicious in the shapes of test tubes, beakers and flasks.

We explored sound waves with a hands-on dancing oobleck experiment.

Now that you've got a taste, I'll take you on a tour. After scanning their hands and coming through the quarantine curtain, the children identified these every day objects as if they were looking at them through a magnifying glass. Can you name them all?

We explored air flow by balancing ping pong balls on a current of air created by a blow dryer.

The precipitation began when the shaving cream clouds filled with blue condensation at the weather station.

Each child made their own color wheel. What does blue and yellow make?

You have to look the part while experimenting, right? So we made mad scientist goggles with crazy hair.

Gumdrop molecular models, yum. Is that a double helix I see?

Oh, water beads. Children of all ages (and lots of adults, too) are fascinated with these little spheres of water. I added an element of play by placing the translucent pipe builders with them.

I'm so happy we had lots of older children since we hold this annual event during Spring Break week. Youngest to oldest had a blast with science!

My favorite activity explored static electricity. It was probably the easiest experiment to set up. I just blew up the balloons and placed them next to a basket of wool items. The kids stuck them everywhere, all over the wall and each other. Even babies had fun with this one!

Who can build the tallest tower? I hung bulletin board paper on the wall to mark the progress of each group. The tower had to stand on its own for 30 seconds. I took this picture half-way through the program, so there were actually two towers taller than this one!

I had so much fun planning this event and I can't wait for Summer Reading Club 2014 "Fizz, Boom, Read!" Sharing with Tuesday Tots and Kids Co-op.

Preschool Trays: A little bit of Valentine love

Bobo is really ready for Easter, but I assured him Valentine's Day comes first.

Puzzles are quickly becoming a favorite past time. The transportation puzzle by Melissa and Doug have chunky pieces great for imaginative play as well.

The wooden horse puzzle is a challenge at 24 pieces with similar looking horses.

Zombie Lab experiment making zombie skin. Mix and 10 minutes in the fridge make a delicious treat.

My little joker loves this Valentine joke cards. Lift the flap to find the answers.

Hand-print craft kit makes a lovely Valentine's gift for mommy.

Sparkly hearts for decorating.

We have more Valentine activities planned for this week. Bobo also loves exploring his red sensory bin.
Sharing on Montessori Monday.

Preschool Trays

(Age Four)

The trays this week are based off of mommy's reading and discovery time for Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives by David Gettman. I try to read at least one non-fiction book a month in addition to my reading for fun, work and review.

I learned about the five areas of work in the Montessori method, Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Geography & Cultural Studies. Gettman offers explanation and examples of each area.

We are still working our way through Bobo's science kit by Learning Resources. I'm not sure what area it fits in with Montessori. We talked about which items he thought would float and tried it out.

The block puzzles from allourdays works on math.

This vintage set of dominoes came in our early learning bag from the state college this month. You can work on math with them. We also had fun stacking them and knocking them down, creating patterns, making shapes and learning about cause and effect.

Wooden duck puzzle. Again, not sure where it fits in with Montessori, but I'm still learning. I've read many preschool and homeschool books which have all suggested a puzzle and building area. Bobo loves puzzles.

The pouring lentils tray is directly from the Basic Montessori book. It works on the practical skill of pouring.

Colorful scented candles work for a sensorial tray. Identify the scent by sniffing, the answers are on the bottom.

I'll be incorporating more Montessori ideas in our weekly trays. We are working on language skills with the Superhero ABCs each week as well. I'm sharing with Finished Friday and Montessori Monday.

Messy Learning Lab: Mini Volcanoes and Fingerpainting

The two activities I'm sharing today are classic messy play. Sometimes simplicity works best!

Crayola fingerpaints and fingerpaint paper from Discount School Supply invitation. After using the special, glossy paper, I highly recommend it. The paints spread easily and didn't tear the paper even after several layers of paint. The product retained the brilliant colors of the paints even after drying.

Fingerpaints are so fun!

Mini volcano invitation, vinegar in spill-proof cups (DSS, again) with liquid watercolors for color, baking soda and vinegar from the Dollar Tree, and pipettes from DSS.

The mini volcanoes are always a favorite at the library. I'm surprised more people don't do this simple science experiment at home. I recommend it for reluctant bathers as a fun bathtime activity. It's also easy to set up in the kitchen while you're busy preparing meals.

Water removes most of the mess of these activities. I'm happy to say the fingerpaints came right off the wallpaper and the floor (our custodian helped with the clean-up, so I'm not sure what he used). I did throw out the table cover for the mini-volcanoes.

I'll be sharing the two messiest activities from the Learning Lab on Saturday. I'm hosting Flannel Friday this week for the first time!

Sharing with Kids Co-Op and TGIF

Tot School: Counting

Bobo is working his way through his magnet set's experiments. I set out magnets of different size and strength. He thought the blue one would pick up the most chips and so did Daddy. I went with the yellow wand.

Textures tray. I put out Glow-in-the-dark slime and silly putty. The silly putty has mysteriously disappeared, which is why I do not have a photo. I better check the seats of all our pants!

Balloons and spooky foam stickers. We each made one balloon and played lots of large motor games that Bobo made up.

Scholastic's Let's Count Critters and counting cards.

Pumpkin observation with a mini pumpkin from 2 Teaching Mommies.

Bobo is still in love with Ladybug Girl. This year's read for the record book was Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad. These Ladybug Dominoes are adorable. We've matched them and played a domino game. I've been reassured in the past week that Bobo does indeed know how to count.

I shared this at TGIF, Read, Learn, Explore and Tot School.

Tot School: Birthday Bonanza

Click to enlarge, so you can see better. Sorry so dark!

This is the first Tot School post with birthday presents from this year! Bobo received some wonderful educational toys. We also added our Totes for Tots to the mix.

Pictured above (from left to right, top to bottom)

Superhero stamping and stickers

Haunted house with gems and skeletons

Science experiment- Color Mixing

Linking Patterns (TFT)

Counting Bears

Superhero pre-writing

I also brought the workbench out of retirement, aka Bobo's closet. Bobo's BFF joined us for school this day. Momo was a fantastic student!

Bobo's favorite gift was a Wolverine costume. I think he's worn it everyday.

Momo is a serious sorter and organizer. I was very impressed, especially when she gave each skeleton a gem heart.

Then, we headed outside for some water bead play. Momo played how I always wish Bobo would play. What was my little guy doing for the 20 minutes Momo was absorbed with the beads? Rolling around in the grass fighting sentinels, LOL.

The science experiments are a huge hit! I'm so happy with this purchase. The tools are just the right size for little hands. 

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how the kids worked together. Bobo was a little reluctant to share the spotlight. He told me in the evening, "Mama, I just didn't feel special today." Awww... I guess we'll keep school one-on-one for a little while longer.

Linked with TGIF

Simple Science: Breaking the Sound Barrier

Breaking the sound barrier is what happens when an object moves faster than sound and makes a sonic boom. A bullwhip is just such an object. One of the performers the library hired this summer was The Whip Guy.

In addition to giving a brief history of the whip, he also dazzled the crowd with injury-defying feats like snapping the buds off these flowers.

I found it very interesting and fun. Bobo? Not so much.

He had more fun playing with A!

Linking up with Simple Science Sunday.

Sensory Tub: Fizzy Bathtime

Still uploading pics from cell (fuzzy)

I mixed cornstarch, baking soda and water with food coloring to make bath paint. It was a little runny, so I'd use less water next time. Here is a recipe for outside painting. I stuck the boats and helicopters from our Transportation sensory tub to be painted with the addition of a cut-out of Buzz Lightyear.

When Bobo saw the invitation, he immediately asked for his Toy Story toys. Luckily, I had just organized his toys and could grab the box. Instead of painting the walls and cut-outs like I anticipated, he painted his toys. He pretended they were in disguise and had lots of adventures.

Bobo sprayed the toys with vinegar to get them clean. Since the paints had baking soda in them, they reacted with the vinegar by fizzing. He thought it was cool, but taking too long and asked for the bath to be filled, so he could get them really clean.