Racing goop

Well, I heard of a fun idea, so we tried it.

First we took some corn starch and some water.

Then we mixed them together.

We hung some baskets and other containers with holes in them from the ceiling.

Then we dumped some of the ooblik (corn starch and water) into each hanging container.

Next we watched...

...and watched...

...and watched... (alright, by this time not all of us were watching)

This was supposed to be an ooblik race...one in which we watched to see which container would allow the ooblik to race to the table fastest...but as you can see...

not a lot happened...

Then I remembered...

The original idea had suggested the idea of a FLUBBER race...NOT an ooblik race. So a couple of days later, we re-hung our baskets on a mission to make a race really happen!

We concocted the recipe for flubber using borax, glue and water.  We scooped it into our various hole-y containers...

And watched the race begin...

it wasn't long before we were rewarded with sufficient racing by the flubber...

This race proved to be much more exciting than the first!

Oh how we enjoyed watching the flubber stretch...

...and stretch...

The photos ended here, but the race continued throughout most of the day.  

The children observed:

which flubber went the fastest

which flubber became the thickest

which flubber hardened after only traveling a short distance

and which flubber didn't even make it through the holes in the container at all.

My lesson learned here...

always follow the correct recipe, and when you goof...try again!

Taking Risk

Can a child achieve optimum early childhood development without being given ample opportunities to take risks?  The ability to walk out from the other side of having taken a risk and succeeded is something that can build a child's confidence like little else can.

For months now, I have been aching to share with you all an absolutely AMAZING blog, written by Teacher Tom.  Today, I simply can not resist.  Yesterday, Teacher Tom wrote a wonderful post called Dangerous Hammers.  In this post, he refers to an article in The Times called Can a Playground Be Too Safe?.  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on his post and the article.  So give it a read, and speak up!

Rainbow Salt activity

This is a simple activity you could easily recreate at home.  I'll walk you through it.

Supplies you'll need:

-tray (we used cafeteria type, but you could easily use a baking sheet without non-stick coating)

-colored chalk

-salt (large quantity)

-wide and shallow tub or bowl

-jar

-small scoops (such as measuring spoons)

-masking tape

-piece of paper (we used construction paper)

Set up:

With supplies laid out on table, pour salt into the shallow tub or bowl. Use masking tape to adhere opened jar to table (in order to avoid the jar being repeatedly picked up and dumped and refilled throughout the process). Tape the piece of paper into a funnel shape (will be used to transfer salt to jar).

Process: 

Scoop a small amount of salt onto tray. Rub chalk back and forth over the salt. Watch the salt change color!

Pour the colored salt through the paper funnel into the jar (a kitchen funnel could be used here, but we did not have one wide enough at the top to catch all the salt out of the tray well).

Repeat as many times and with as many colors as desired. When the layers of colored salt have reached the top of the jar, replace the lid and find a special place to store it.

You may need to pull out several jars and a good bit of extra salt, as this activity can tend to hold a child's interest quite well.  

As you probably well know from reading some of our other blog posts, our art projects are focused on process as opposed to product.  This activity however, naturally lent itself to providing a finished product.  There was much mixing of colors, which in turn gave us a wider variety of colors in the jars than colors of chalk provided. The children seemed to enjoy so much each step of the process that they wanted to repeat it more than they wanted to explore alternatives in the process.  I think we'll need to this activity again.  I am curious to find out whether the finished product will remain just as "finished" as the first time, or if the children will delve further into experimenting with how they can modify the activity and how that changes the outcome. Perhaps I'll even leave out the step of taping the jar to the table.  That could change things a bit.

As far as clean up.  Remember...it's just salt.  If you simply do this activity over a hard floor surface, the salt sweeps up very easily.  So, just relax and enjoy the process!

Gone fishing

Sometimes a battle is just what's required.