Shake It Up Paintings and Spooky Science!

 Look at these gorgeous paintings the kids created on Monday!

 

They were created using a cylindrical container, paper, marbles and 2 colors of paint. After all that was placed in the container, the kiddos shook it up! I let them shake it for as long as they wanted. Some were finished in just a few seconds, and the others shook for a few minutes. They all turned out great!



On Friday, we did sort of Spooky Science experiements.  Ok, so they weren't so spooky, but they did still get lots of ooohs and ahhs, which is always the goal!

 

Our first experiment was the homemade lava lamp.  We added vegetable oil to an empty bottle, followed by red-tinted water.  We watched how the water seperated from the oil, and ended up in the bottom of the bottle.  Then came the fun part - each child got to drop a piece of an Alka Selzer tablet into the bottle.  We put the cap back on, and watched the magic happen!

 

This picture doesn't do the experiment justice.  It's a pretty amazing experiment! 





Our second experiment used a carved jack-o-lantern, vinegar, baking soda and green food coloring.  It started out looking like this....

 

and ended up like this!



 

The kiddos asked us to do this experiement over and over!  We heard lots of squeals, screams, and even one child, who exclaimed, "This is awesome!"  I love hearing that!  The children called it the burping/spitting up pumpkin.  We'll go with that!  They decided he must be spitting up from a tummy ache.  Maybe too much candy!

 

Also on Friday (but not nearly as exciting), we did our letter Dd activity (posts coming soon on our letter activities), and read the books It's Fall and Fall Changes.

 

See you on Monday for another exciting week of pre-k!

October Sensory Tables

October is here, and that means pumpkins and colorful fall leaves!  We have changed our sensory tables in the block room, and the children are having a great time exploring the new textures. 

 

In the red table, we've added dry oatmeal, mini plastic pumpkins and silk fall leaves.  I've noticed several kids just running their hands through the oats.  (Sorry for the sideways picture - I rotated and saved it about a thousand times, and it still uploads sideways!)

 

 

In the corn table, we still have...well, corn!  The kids just can't seem to get enough of it - it's almost as popular as the sand table.  We've added pom pom "pumpkins", as well as a few new scoops, and a fall striped bucket.

 

 

Have you tried sensory tubs at home?  They are so much fun!  You don't have to spend much, if any, money to create one, and most items can be found around your house.  Try shaving cream, oatmeal, beans, applesauce, or even water.  Add in some spoons, scoops, cups and bowls, and you're set!  Children get good practice scooping, dumping, pouring, and mixing with sensory tubs.

 

Try it out - it's easy, fun, and your child will love it!  (Special bonus: you'll even have fun putting it together and watching your child enjoy it too!)