Colour Fun

 I surprised the little one with a new toy.

A homemade toy using paint chips from the store.

The paint chips have magnet strips attached to the back so they can stick to the fridge.  (She was quite interested in pulling the magnet strips off).

There are two of each colour so we can eventually work on matching.

But for now we are focusing on the colour names and how to sign each.

In the above picture she is signing 'white'.

 She liked the tin can that I brought them in

and she spent a lot of time opening and closing it.

After she had put almost all of them on the fridge she began to take them off again.  One at a time, opening and closing the lid after each addition.

It gave me another opportunity to say the names of the colours as she removed them.  She also worked hard learning how to take the cards off the fridge.

While she was busy playing with the coloured paint chips I made some jello for another activity.

I gave her the empty box and she started to put the paint chips inside of it.

 She thought of the idea of putting the cards in the box and followed through with it.  Then she had to figure how to get them out of the box.  Love watching her focus and calm approach at figuring it all out.

Ice Fishing

Ice fishing inside has been inspired by the terrific amount of snow that

has fallen in the past four days.

Simply made from a cardboard box with a small laundry basket

to fit the hole in the middle.

I covered it with white paper and reinforced all the cut edges

with tape knowing they will take a lot of use.

Taping the edges of the paper also makes it harder to fold which happens

when the children become impatient and try to move the paper out of the way.

Fishing nets were added because the fish were falling off as they

brushed against the paper.

They also helped to carry the fish to the kitchen to be fried.

Magnetic Slime

To extend on our experience with the magnetic sand we were given

I decided to add it to our slime recipe.

My slime recipe is just white glue and Seventh Generation laundry detergent.

I didn't measure the sand as I added but went on the stiffness.

I have two really powerful magnets that work well to make the slime move.

The children were tentative at first but some reached right in with whole hands

and hearts.

Here is a photo story of one child's experience.

She uses her whole body, no sitting, to experiment.

Up, down, in and out she shows no hesitation for this

sensory experience.

Although she needed a bit of help from mom to get it all off when she was done.

We discovered that when it sits over night with one of the magnets in it,

that it separates.

The magnet is attracting all the magnetite to it leaving the glue and detergent

pooling on the sides.

The families are so intrigued.

We've made a second batch in the week we have played with it.

The more you play with it the less sticky it becomes.

Magnet Painting

 
               
   
A piece of plexi-glass was placed on two blocks and a magnet wand was used underneath.  A piece of paper was placed on top and then the magnet balls dipped in paint on top of that.
         

The children moved the wand back and forth and watched the marble wiggle and jiggle around.
            
The photos with text boxes above are from our hallway bulletin board.

Magnets on Metal Extensions

Last week I shared this post about playing with magnets and tin cans.  At the end I asked for ideas on how to extend it.  Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas.  The following is what was added.
  
Milk jug lids with magnets on the backs; some of them I glued wiggly
eyes on the inside. They were a hit.
  
Pipe cleaners but the children didn’t show much interest.  I wonder if
they were brighter colours would they have been drawn to them.
  
I dug out these magnet clips that are shaped like bugs and butterflies.
They had a lot of fun moving them around.
        
A few of our discovery bottles might work with magnets; nuts and bolts,
iron filings, and bingo chips with metal edging.  They used the wands to
try to move the pieces inside around.

Then as the week concluded I moved the small metal pieces into the
sensory table with the magnet wands and covered it all with paper confetti.
    
 
They slid the wands through the confetti and checked what was stuck to it
when they pulled it out.

Thanks again to everyone who sent me emails with ideas.