Make it Rain

        
I’m privileged to have an ECE student this term. 
Nicole is very enthusiastic and willing to share
and facilitate ideas.
 
      This morning she set up an experiment called
                  “Make it Rain”.
 
   She started by making a cloud (shaving cream on water),
        then dripping food colouring on top of the cloud.
   
             The children waited and watched. 
                    What will happen?
                  Will anything change? 

And then it started.  The colour started to rain through
      the cloud.  Wonderful and beautiful to watch. 

    Could you imagine if rain fell in different colours?

Fizzy Painting

Everyday this week we have been painting rainbows
different ways.   First was painting on sponges then
smearing it across the paper.
 
We’ve done this before and it works beautifully in it’s
looks as well as versatility for the ages participating.


Next was scrape painting. 
I saw this idea at The Imagination Tree and loved it.
I added playing cards and other brushes as well as
combs for the children to try.
 
The children enjoyed using the little spoons to drip paint
on to their paper then experimenting with the tools. 
Unfortunately one little child used the paint filled comb
the correct way ~ in her hair!
 
        Scrape painting looks wonderful.  We’ll be trying it again.

          
But today’s rainbow painting was the most fun so far. 
I first saw Fizzy Painting at Gift of Curiosity. 
 
            Science and art all mixed into one.
 
It was very exciting to watch the children as they went through
the steps of painting their picture then dripping the vinegar on
to the paint.
     
          Her facial expression says it all.

I just want to say a big thank you to all the wonderful bloggers that have inspired me and helped make my program interesting and exciting.  Many people ask why I blog and my reason is to share. 

Build-a-Boat

            
        Last week we went to the creek to explore
             if homemade boats would float.

  
Our Nature Bags contained clipboard and paper, paint, scissors,
   drift wood and a stick.  I also took tape and plastercine.
 
 The children got busy making and painting their sail and attaching it
                                      to the stick.
 
     My husband had pre-drilled a hole part way into the driftwood. 
          But not all the sticks were the same size as the hole
             so the plastercine was used to hold it in place.
 
The boats were done.  Each were unique by how each child attached
                                       the sail
     
      or the shape of the boat like this catamaran.  

                  Now they were ready to launch.
  
   We walked down the path till we could find a safe place to
                reach the water to let our boats go.
 
   It was exciting to watch the children put their boats in the water. 
   Some were top heavy and fell over.  We talked about why that
                    happened and how we could fix it.
 
Another difficulty we experienced was some boats wouldn't move.  Why? 
What do they need to move?  Another push?  Making the water ripple with
our hands or a stick?  Different methods were tried and the boats started to
                                         sail away.
      
     As the boats floated away the children ran after trying to
                              keep them in sight.
 
Off they sailed but "Oh! Oh!" some got stuck in branches laying in the water. 
A brave grandmother showed them how to use a stick to solve the problem.
 
         Then there were rapids.  How quickly the boats disappeared. 
      We quickly tried to follow, some disappeared, others resurfaced.
               
        A little one trying to rescue what was left of her boat.
 
          It was an awesome day to explore the creek and build a boat. 
 We will plan another day to spend more time exploring boats at the creek.

Another Pom Pom Sort

 
        As one mom said to me when she saw this set up
                “Who doesn’t love pompoms?” 
       Then she scooped her hands into the soft balls.
 
      And that was pretty much the same feeling amongst the
              children that played at the table.
          
The sorting was tricky for some because I included
various shades - light and dark - of some colours.
  
    Many children enjoyed filling the jars with random
     colours, then sticking their hand in
         or shaking it to empty it out.
        
    Others ignored the jars altogether to create
                     something new. 
                   “It’s a dinosaur.”
 
    But I enjoyed watching these two boys play with the jars. 
            Playing side by side then sharing the task of
               stacking them into a tower one at a time. 
              
   Then trying to catch them when they went tumbling down.

 You can check out our first and very different pompom sort here.