Magnetic Sand

One of our families was walking on a local beach when they found

black sand.

The dad realized that it was magnetite and would work 

with magnets.

So he brought me a coffee can full.

When we used magnet wands the magnetite covered them.

It is quite heavy when it is wet.

It is so cool.

The children enjoyed lifting the magnetite on the wands then brushing (pushing) it off.

It feels silky smooth.

I put dry magnetite between two clear, plastic plates and

sealed it shut.

It sat on two blocks so the children could slip the magnet wand

underneath.

It reminded me of the Wooly Willy Magnetic toys when I was young.

Spirals

            
Since we have snails in our little garden I decided to set up this provocation
                                    focusing on spirals.
          
The trays are covered with sand and there are small containers holding different
                          loose materials beside each of them.
                      
                I also printed various images of spirals that I Googled.

I discovered that the sand just scattered everywhere so I made a change for day
                                                  two.
     
          
I drew spirals on paper and laminated them.  The children then placed the items; toothpicks, shells, flat marbles and coloured stones, around, on or within the lines.

The second week I changed it again, taking away the silver trays and replacing them
                                            with turntables.
              
      A mixture of markers and coloured pencils were offered with paper.
  
Drawing on the paper while spinning the turntable was a challenge for some of the
                              children and their grown up helped.
    
This also allowed them to experiment with the drawing tools, like using two at a
                                                      time.
 
The pictures above shows two children, different ages, able to spin and draw at the same time.  What skill do they have or have learned that allows them to do this when others can’t?

             
                         
                                Having fun and being creative!

Big Buddies and Sand Play

          
Our big buddies were in to play this morning.  It’s their first time playing in our room, usually we go to their room to do different activities.
            
As they played with the various activities I noticed that one of the big buddies found a new way to play with our new sand structure.
                  
He used one of the smaller hoses as a plug in the funnel.  Then filled the funnel with sand and encouraged his little buddy to pull the plug. I wonder if our big buddy realized he was teaching science to his little buddy?  Definitely was a fun way to learn cause and effect.

New Sand Structure

             
Raymond created a new toy for us over the Christmas break.  The inspiration came from KodoKids, the site where we bought the rubber ramp kit.
                 
I had hoped it would be a bit shorter so I could set it on a toddler sized table but since it isn't I placed it in a wading pool on the floor.
  
                  

It works well on the floor for all the children even our youngest.

It has funnels, scoops, tubes and cups.  The longest tube is see through which the children enjoy watching fill up.
                         
I’m very excited to watch how the children will use their bodies as they explore this new structure.  No one has climbed in yet but I expect it will happen.

Sand Foam

Have you made Sand Foam yet?  I was inspired to try it from blogger PagingFunMums.  Especially since it is only 2 ingredients and we have lots
of sand on hand.
        
The second ingredient is shaving cream.  PagingFunMums said the the recipe
was 3 cups of sand to one can of shaving cream.  We didn't use a full can of shaving cream.
         
We put the 3 cups of sand in our big bowl then gradually added the shaving
cream till we thought it was a great consistency.
         
       But it became too wet so we had to add a bit more sand.
         
I expected the texture to still feel gritty because of the sand but it became
silky smooth.
 
        After mixing it we transferred it to individual trays at the table.
            
As it sat in the open air it dried out slightly so we added more shaving cream which allowed any new child to join experience the mixing.   Some were hesitant
to get their hands wet.
            
A stick helped her get involved and encouraged us to bring out more materials.
           
Shells and stones were added to the sticks then we went out for a walk in the forest to collect more.
        
We found pinecones, evergreen and cedar boughs, bark and maple tree seeds.
           
We began exploring how to build fairy homes with these materials.

Overall the sand foam didn’t last very long in the open air.  PagingFunMums did say, in the comment section, that it would last several days if sealed in a container.  We may try it again.

Sandbox Continued

               
The corn plants didn’t last past the first hour this morning.  But as I watched I learned that one child was digging to look for worms.  Luckily I had some fake worms in the storage room.
                
Adding the worms allowed me to learn more about the little boy.  He is shy with me, not much eye contact and no talking.  As I brought the worms out his mom explains that he loves worms and shared a few stories.  When I handed him a water bottle I received a big smile.  Then I heard him sharing ‘words’ with his mom as he enjoyed the play.
        
  Other children joined in, collecting worms and spraying the sand.
                
I have a surprise for tomorrow morning.  I received a message this afternoon that our worm composter has arrived and that there is a bucket of worms waiting in the fridge for us.  Can’t wait to open the bucket with the families.