Wind, Worms, and Wonder

Last week was kind of a wash when it came to school stuff. Peter was sick with what we finally figured out was roseola, and spent the week glued to me day and night due to waves of fevers.

So, this week is letter W part 2. We started of running. The boys and I were excited to be back in our groove. Now that I know that I will be heading back to work in September, I am even more determined to make the most of our time.

We read “How Does the Wind Walk” by, Nancy White Carlstrom, which was perfect for a windy spring day. We talked about the wind. Where it comes from? How do we know it’s there? What does it blow? What can’t it blow?

Then we experimented using our own “wind” to move objects.

Clark thought my inclusion of a rock was pretty funny. He nearly turned blue trying to get it to move with his breath.

What’s life with out a little messy fun?  This dry oatmeal.

Once the boys exhausted my collection of objects to blow across the table, Peter walked into the kitchen with a plastic golf ball. Aha!

The boys got such a kick out of the game, especially when the ball rolled off of the table and Peter laughed as it bounced across the tile floor.

The boys had a little more air left in them, so I watered down some washable tempura paint and we painted with the wind.

Then we tried blowing the primary colors together to create swirls of secondary colors.

I put it outside to dry, only to turn and find Peter trying to do some foot painting.

Of course, Clarkie thought that too was hilarious.

Finally we bundled up and headed out into the windy day. I started picking weeds (not my favorite W week activity, but necessary) and came across a big fat worm.  I must be a changed woman for I picked it up with my fingers to bring it to the patio for the boys to inspect.

Clark was so worried a bird would swoop down and eat it that he kept throwing handfuls of dirt over it.

So I had no choice but to pick it up again so that the boys could all watch how it wiggled across my palm. Then, brave Simon wanted to hold it too.

Clark got curious, then gave it a try too.

Then like a true naturalist, he wanted to rush to return the little worm back to his home in the soil.

What a wonderful day! And we managed to do all of this before 10:30am!

We all needed a rest after that.

Volcanic Eruptions of Mass Destruction

Let’s face it, volcanoes are cool.

The explosion, the smoke, the lava, the ground quaking in fear….are all great fodder for the imagination.  Making a volcano for a science fair project has become a cliché’ in American culture.  But cliché’s become cliché’s for a reason. The volcano is a tried and true standby for quick and easy scientific fun.

Who better than preschoolers to reap the benefits?

This experiment can be done using your imagination, a paper cup, baking soda, and vinegar. However, I was looking for something a bit more dramatic to end “V” week with a bang. So I searched online for some ideas and found this design.

http://www.create-kids-crafts.com/playdough-volcano.html

The design was exactly what I was looking for and as a bonus it called for simple materials that I had in the house  (tin foil, paper plate, cookie sheet, and play dough). I had a bunch of drying homemade play dough in bags that I couldn’t bring myself to throw away. So, it was a perfect chance to use it up.

I pretty much built the volcano myself, since Clark was freaking out about the impending explosion. He literally thought our house was going to be consumed by hot lava, fire, and explosions. I spent the whole time assuaging his fears and assuring him that it was a harmless experiment.

Clark used his Spider-sense button (a sticker on his hand) to make sure all was clear, before he agreed to help decorate the volcano.

I seized the opportunity to squeeze in a bit more science by giving the boys dinosaurs to decorate the volcano. We talked about how one theory of what happened to the dinosaurs was a massive volcanic eruption. Though, this set Clark to worrying again, and he hoarded his favorite ones out of harm’s way.

Miraculously, I managed to set this whole thing up before my husband left for work. It was great to have him there to take part in the fun.

Rather than save his plastic creatures, Simon delighted in dropping them into the “hot lava”. ( I better keep an eye on him!)

 

 

 

“V”ery Veggie

Vegetables are not just what’s for dinner. The classification of fruits and vegetables has always interested me, because it is not cut and dry. The scientific definition and what is commonly used are quite different. This gray  area provides the perfect opportunity to have kids exercise their scientific mind.

I have done this activity with many different age levels (kindergarten, 3rd grade, and 6th grade), so I knew even at the preschool level it would both fun and thought-provoking.  AT the higher levels, the kids are more active in cutting apart the fruit and vegetables, I use more challenging, exotic samples, and they work to create an operational definition.

The boys really took their “work” seriously. As you can see  in looking at the boys’ facial expressions as they pondered their decisions.

But, for Simon, my voracious fruit eater, the temptation was too great.  It didn’t take long for him to dig in.

And, Peter is getting less and less happy about activities being conducted on the table out of his reach. After snapping this picture, I let him crawl across the table and investigate the produce as well. I couldn’t get a photo of that for obvious safety reasons.

The activity wasn’t messy enough for our house, so I broke out the tempera paint for some vegetable prints.

Peter was rewarded for his patience.

And we even had a visit from the vacuum truck in the middle of our fun, which was cool being that it is V week and all. However, it would have been nice if it arrived after we had a chance to wash our hands.

Ooblek-tastic!

If you have never heard of ooblek, whether young or old, run directly to your nearest supermarket (or your pantry) and pick up a box of cornstarch. All you need is cornstarch and water to create this fascinating goo. It is hard to describe this stuff besides theord goo. Depending on how you hold it it could be a fluid, chalky, or hard as a stone. The dynamically changing properties of his stuff makes it cool for all ages. I integrated ooblek this week since we have been focusing on the 5 senses. Last week the boys got to experience lots of different smells by investigating various spices for S week. (I lost those photos though when I dropped my iPhone in the toilet last week, hence my absence of late.)  We continued the connection to the senses by focusing on touch, taste, and textures for T week. First, I gave the boys color coded cups of substances. The first set was salt and sugar. They smelled each and felt them for textyre. I helped them verbalize their thoughts by providing words like grainy, rough, and sandy. Clearly though, one fared much better in the taste test! Next, I cleaned the cups and plates and filled them with cornstarch and powdered sugar. Again, the boys used their senses to decribe and compare the substances.

Then, it was time for the big Ooblek-tastic event! Considering that the boys didn’t like playing with Jell-O last week; I was skeptical about Clark especially even touching the ooblek. I set out the materials and built suspense by asking the boys what I should do with the green water (a drop of food coloring) and strange powder (cornstarch).

Of course, they wanted to mix them. At first they were quite apprehensive about the resulting mixture.

But with a little encouragement, they really dug in!

And for those neat freaks out there who are wondering how I could let my kids create such a mess, I assure you that it all comes off with a little water on a sponge. Extremely easy and fun!

I hope you give it a try! Let me know how it goes.