Archive for the ‘Water’ Category
DIY Water Table
Water tables are not cheap, a pain to store if like up you have short warm months, and for people in smaller houses, condos and apartments bulky even if they are being used. So this is an easy and fun way to play with water with simple toys and tools that can be used for other things as well. The bike helmet is optional.
- Gather your materials. You will need a plastic bin ( I got this one in the dish rack aisle at Walmart for under $3, some fun beach type toys like this water mill which I love because it is so dynamic and was bought at Target for $1.99, then a turkey baster, a silly funnel and measuring cups from my kitchen. Also water !
- There aren’t many steps other than play outside, or place some towels down around it as well as have some handy if you are playing inside.
- For more fun add ice cubes and/or bath toys.
- If you are doing this outside after your child has had enough , water your plants, grass and flowers!
Books About Water
Who Sank the Boat? 
Big Red Tub
Water by Tara McClintick a preview can be read online here on memetales. The book is a wordless collection of photos of water proceeded by a poem about water. The photos include water in many different forms, a water fountain , pool, shower, glass of water and more. I love that it shows how water is used for so many purposes, delivered in so many different ways but are is always wet. Great basic book!
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Preschool Science – Sink or Float?
I have done many times with my son but now that he is 3 and has starting asking more complex questions, able to use information to make solid predictions it was way more fun! Using Easter eggs doesn’t simply add novelty, it add another dimension of learning, as we added more items to the eggs to see if the amount would change the result.
- Gather your materials. You will need a plastic tub, some plastic Easter egg, tape to cover the holes they have, and a range of items to pack inside. We chose a lego, some feathers, coins, rocks and dry pasta. You will also need some crayons in the same colors as the eggs, a marker and paper to make a prediction and results chart.
- Start by filling your eggs with the contents. Don’t forget to add tape to the holes so water doesn’t get in.
- Make your easy peasy chart. Draw the egg, write what’s in them and have your child decide if they think it will sink or float. Talk about how when they decide they are making a prediction. Ask them why they think each will sink or float.
- Do your experiment. Pop the eggs in the water and discover if it sinks or floats.
- Was the result what you expected? All of ours floated so we opened up the one with rocks in it added more and then it sunk. This was the best part of the whole lesson because my son figured out why it sunk the 2nd time but not the first! Since doing this last week we have “tested” many other things from a match box car ( it sunk) to a sock!
- We also opened some of the eggs up to see what would happen, and blew air on them too. Some moved some didn’t can you guess why?;) Love that one experiment leads straight to another!
What I love about teaching through experiments is that kids grasp things on their own, the true pleasure of making a discovery is obvious on their faces and it makes a mark. They remember and understand this experience much better than if we simply told them why things sink and float.
Brr It’s Chilly !!
We’ve been doing a lot of crafts and young children need to have free art time to create, as well a variety of sensory experiences to discover new things, so this was the perfect answer! Also the ice cubes don’t melt very fast so we were able to pack them up to use for another day!
- Gather your materials. You will need an ice cube tray, some paint, water, a few paper towels, paper and a pan.
- Start the night before and put some paint in the ice cube tray. Add water and freeze.
- In the morning or after , pop the ice cubes out and let soften for about 5 minutes.
- Line your pan with a layer of paper towel add a piece of paper .
- Start painting !
While painting ask about how it feels, see if they will hold the cubes long enough to make a few drips of water etc… there is no wrong way to do this.
Yellow And Blue Make Green !
- Gather your materials. You will need some clear or white glass or plastic containers. Food coloring, water , a turkey baster and a thick place mat or towel under the jars.
- Start by letting your child get accustomed to using the turkey baster to transfer the water from one container to another. They do make child size turkey basters and sell them at educational stores like Lakeshore learning but I am just using a regular old one.
- Next add blue and red to two of the jars and have clear water in the third. Ask about the colors and if your child is old enough, ask them to make a prediction about what will happen if you mix the colors.
- Continue with as many color combinations as they want.
My son had a blast making green and we re did this experiment 4 or 5 times.
- If they are getting frustrated with how slow the turkey baster is encourage them to pour the water into the other jars.
- The fun can keep going as long as they are interested, our experiment lasted about 30 minutes which was about 15 minutes longer than I expected!
” A Rainbow Of My Own” by Don Freeman is a charming story about wanting a rainbow, you may notice that the colors are out of order but I have always used that as a teaching tool in my classes.
” Little Blue and Little Yellow” by Leo Lioni is a profound book with underlying commentary about race relations while the surface story is about little blobs of color who when squished together turn into one green blob!
A Painted House
- Gather your materials. You will need some water, and a variety of paint brushes ( make sure they are clean you don’t want to really paint your house).
- Dip your paint brush into the water and start painting! Fences or other unpainted works the best because it will darken when “painted”
- While you are painting with your child, point out the dry wall and the wet brush and ask them what happens when they paint it. Little exchanges like this are fantastic teaching opportunities. Remember though if they just want to do it in peace, let them you can always recap later.
- When your child starts getting uninterested- in a insanely enthusiastic way introduce the next brush. I know that this is hard for people who aren’t used to being surrounded by small kids , but a little enthusiasm goes a long way- feel free to fake it too .My son loved the roller- I gave it to him last and ended up having to go grab a coffee cause he played with it for almost 20 minutes alone! ( By grabbing a coffee I mean from my kitchen , not Starbucks).
