Last week, we went outside to observe the signs of winter. It had been really, really cold around here so the kids had been inside for several days. They were very happy to get out in the sun and snow!
Making Homemade Ice Cream
Homemade “Puffy Paint” with Preschoolers
Today, we created our own “puffy paint.” It was a great lesson on states of matter and change. The kids had a ball with this one……
Making “snow” with preschoolers
Locally, we have had lots and lots and LOTS of snow lately. We definitely have snow on the brains! Due to extremely cold temperatures, we decided to create snow indoors. Here is what we did….
Exploring Ice and Salt with Preschoolers
With all of the freezing weather that we have had lately, I thought it was time to discuss water in its solid state-ice! We began by discussing the difference between water in it’s liquid state and in its solid state. The night before, I filled one paper cup, per child, with water and stuck it in the freezer.
I passed out the cups to each child and we made observations using our senses. We talked about how solid it was, how cold it felt, and how parts of the ice chunk were turning into water.
We talked about how slippery ice is and what could happen if you were to step on ice. Next, we talked about how important it is to melt ice so people and cars may get to their destinations safely. But how?? How can we melt ice when it is cold outside? This was our question for the day…
I gave each child a container to put their ice chunk in so the mess could be easier to clean at the end. I also gave each child a per of gloves, an eyedropper (because it is more fun when color is added!), a cup of salt, and cups of colored water.
The kids got right to work! They watched as their ice was quickly melted by the salt.
You can’t really tell in the pictures, but the combination of salt and colored water made these river-looking panels down the sides of the ice. The kids had a blast sending different colors down the rivers.
The scientists were determined to melt their entire ice chunk!
It can be difficult to hold the attention span of preschoolers on one topic for forty-five minutes. However, this activity did!!! I actually had to stop the scientists so we would have time to record their observations in their journals. I highly recommend doing this experiment. I was thinking that next time, I may put something in the ice that the kids need to get to, such as a plastic toy.
Enjoy!
~Miss Jenny
Exploring Density with Preschoolers
Recently we learned about color mixing using different mediums. I thought that mixing blue water and red water would be a great way to introduce the concept that two liquids with the same densities mix together. We combined the two cups and it showed us how the two different cups were not combined and mixed together. I posed the question, do you think that all liquids mixed together like this? We had to investigate….
Glow-in-the-Dark Slime with Preschoolers
This week, we discovered blacklights and glow-in-the-dark slime! Needless to say, we had a blast!!
Exploring Color with Preschoolers
Sometimes it is difficult to hold the attention of a group of preschoolers. However, this activity kept them exploring for forty-five minutes! This week we explored color mixing!
Preschoolers Experimenting with Candy!
After Halloween, instead of eating all of that candy, we decided to learn from it and explore! We have a forty-five minute class, and I tried to squeeze as many experiments as possible! Here is what we did….
Melting Crayons with Preschoolers (States of Matter)
Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. I wanted to stick with a fall theme and include pumpkins in our experiments. Next week, we will explore what is inside them maybe do a little carving, but this week, I wanted to something different. I have seen so many melting crayon ideas around and decided to combine science with art.
Learning with Miss Jenny 