More Eruptions at the Art Table

Looking at this picture

can you guess the materials we used at the art table today?

Did you guess glue, baking soda and coloured vinegar!

The children loved it.

It was a challenge to squeeze the glue and wiggle it all around the paper.

Shaking on the baking soda was easy.

So easy that they added more and more.

Figuring out the spray bottles was hard too,

but they figured out different ways to make it happen.

The important thing was that the spray hole point towards the paper

not the face or clothes.

Watching the baking soda react to the vinegar slowed

the process.

The glue helps hold it all in place.

Volcano Erupting Fun

We've been back at school for almost two weeks and the chilren

have been excited about the volcano they built before the holidays

started.

The first week back we started with working together to make

our volcano erupt.

The children really enjoyed that and wanted to do it over and over.

The problem was that the volcano is too big for the smaller children

and to far for them to reach to the middle of the table.

We used stools for them to stand on but it limited their freedom

of movement.

So the following days I decided to set out small jars around the edge of the table 

with boxes of baking soda and coloured vinegar.

I didn't want to be present all the time supervising so 

to limit how much of each ingredient they would use I put out

smaller spoons and eye droppers.

It looked like a science lab for several days.

This week at the art table we used red and yellow paint

on egg carton sections to represent volcanoes erupting.

This was a great colour mixing and fine motor activity.

Plus the children enjoyed watching the paint pool in the cups.

What I appreciated was that they didn't do this activity to have a finished product.

When they were done they left everything there.

The next child that came continued where the other left off.

At the end of the day there was so much red paint it looked like 

a murder scene.

Building a Volcano

I find it difficult to plan for after a two week break.

What will the children be interested in especially after a holiday like Christmas?

But this year several children were showing an interest in dinosaurs 

so I decided to do a little prep with the children before

our holiday started.

We made a volcano with papier mache.

If you've ever used papier mache you know that it is very sticky.

I was curious if the children would try it.

Would they be willing to stick their hands in a white, sticky mess?

Would they figure out how to dip the strip of paper to get it all wet

then move it over to the sculpture?

I remember with my own children that it took a few tries for them

to enjoy the texture and the process.

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I was thrilled to see that a fair number of children were happy to try

and we were successful in our creating.

We covered the the crumpled newspaper with strips of newspaper first.

Then a second layer of paper towel.

This will be a working volcano that has a glass bottle inside.

Finally we painted it with diluted glue

and added tissue paper for a finish.

We used a couple of shades of brown 

which I think turned out really well.

This took us two days then it had two weeks to dry completely.

This morning was our first day back from holidays.

 I added rocks, trees and dinosaurs for the children to discover.

I also moved one of the sensory tables beside it which holds sand.

I'm curious how the two will work together over time.

Lava Painting

It all started with a volcano.

Mini, individual volcanoes.

I added red and yellow paint to the vinegar.

Plus a touch of dish soap, 

wish I would have added more

to see what would have happened.