The Books We Read and The Things We Did: Part III

 The Books We Read 

and

 The Things We Did

 Part III

January - May 2018

 STEAM Class

 The goal of this class was to give children the opportunity to learn about science, technology, engineering, art, and math through both explorative and innovative structured activties.  direct discovery and exploration; performing experiments and

Art Through Chemistry

Today was about using chemistry to make art.  The children dissolved magnesium sulfate (more commonly known as Epsom salt) in hot water by taking turns carefully yet thoroughly stirring it.  Then they poured the resulting solution onto plastic lids, and as the liquid evaporates and cools it will change into crystals.  Hung in a sunny window, this will make for beautiful sun catchers! 

Now for a bit of physics - if any of the crystals are just the right shape (prism) and the sun shines through at the right angle, it's possible to see a rainbow.   

Speaking of light, we read Secrets of Winter by Carron Brown & Georgina Tee under a blanket tent to make shining the flashlight through the special pages (to see hidden animals and their habitats) more effective.

Lava Lava Lamps

 

Today involved a bit of chemistry, physics, and art as the children made their own lava lamps.  They poured water into a bottle followed by oil (which is lighter than water so stays on top).  Then they added food colouring and glitter (art!) and salt.  Salt is heavier than water and oil, so it sinks to the bottom but along the way picks up globules of oil (chemistry) and thus the salt/oil bubbles rise back up slowly - for the lava lamp effect.  We used a flashlight to illuminate the bubbles.  You can recreate this at home with their lava lamp bottle by simply adding a spoonful of salt and holding a flashlight behind. 

We read Harry and the Hot Lava by Chris Robertson for a fun take on the subject and a spark for discussing imaginary play.  

Enjoy the lava lamps! Any salt will do - we used table salt (yes, the children wanted to know what kind of salt to ask their parent for). 

Nothing To See Here

Today we started by reading Ike and the Incredible Ink by Brianne Farley, and then experimented with making invisible ink with lemon juice. The children dipped Q-tips into jars of lemon juice and wrote and drew pictures.  We then tested to see if we could make the hidden writing appear using heat.  We tried simply letting the papers dry, putting the papers in sunlight, and using a blow-dryer to provide direct high heat.  The resulting chemical reaction made the secret drawings appear!

  Erupting Volcanoes

We learned all about volcanoes through discussion, the book Volcanoes by Stephanie Turnbulll, Nancy Leschnikoff, and Andy Tudor, watching Mount Kilauea in Hawai'i slowly and gently erupting, and examining lava rocks up close.

Then, because it wasn't practical to simulate a volcano and lava flow with fire and heat (this was the first guess about what experiment we were going to do), we instead used chemistry.  

The children added baking soda to a basic slime mixture and chose what colour they wanted their volcano to be (black for cooled lava, green for new growth on top, red, orange or yellow for active hot magma flow).  Finally they got to pour vinegar on top and watch their volcanoes erupt - so much fun that we had to do it again.  

It was interesting to watch them colour volcano pictures afterwards, and to see what they had learned (there were lava flows, lava tubes, ash clouds, fire, and houses on new land created by the volcano). 

Draw Bots

 

Today the children learned how to be a robotic engineer - and it was great!

We used simple 1.5 volt motors, switches, and a battery pack, plus tape, a cup, and markers to make Draw Bots.  The children learned how and why to connect the red wires from the motor and battery pack to the switch, and then to connect the black wires to power the motor via the batteries. We talked about how to tell which is the positive and negative side of the battery and how to know where to place them in a device.  We also talked about why we need a switch and what it does, and how electricity flows along the wires from the power source to the switch and motor. 

Then they put their Draw Bots to work and created some beautiful art work!

Now, the inner robot workings will last indefinitely - you may need to replace the batteries is all.  However, the markers may slip out of position and/or dry out, so you might need to retape.  The exact positioning of the markers produces different designs, so you could also change this up just to see the effect. The piece of wood and penny on top are to help balance the robot, and if these fall off just reglue.  If the Draw Bot is off balance, try adding another penny or two.   If the cup falls apart, I would simply cut and peel it away from the motor, switch, and battery pack, and then reassemble with a fresh cup or other similar container. 

Also, a word of caution: this is a fun robotic toy/tool BUT the motor gets hot after use.  Please remind your child to be careful, to keep it away from younger siblings and pets, and to maybe use it only when an adult is around.

Hiding in Plain Sight 

 

Today we learned to be wildlife ecologists, studying animal camouflage and then putting our knowledge into action.  

We read Secrets of Animal Camouflage: A Shine-a-Light Book by Carron Brown (Kane Miller/EDC Publishing, 2016) which was a fun way to learn about different animals and the various ways in which they hide and the reasons for doing so.  

During snack we watched a video that showed zebras running in a herd and described the benefits of their stripes (pattern confuses predators and tsetse flies).  

Then we headed out to the nature center to create our own camouflage creatures, either one that exists in the world or imagination.  The children used markers, fabric, moss and other materials to create their camouflaged animal pictures.  So wonderful to be outside!

  All About Bubbles

 

Today we experimented with bubbles.  The children were given a variety of materials (pipe cleaners, wire, string, beads, straws, pipettes) and bubble solution and given free rein to make wands of different shapes and sizes and to use the other items and see what kind of bubbles they produced, what worked better and less well, and to in general enjoy creating and experimenting.  

They of course got to bring home their wands, so if you don't happen to have bubble solution on hand and they're desperate to demonstrate, try mixing dish soap, water, and glycerin (2/3 cup soap and 3 tbs glycerin to 1 gallon of water - adjust ratio to make less).

We read Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar, a hilarious book full of alliteration, rhyming, and fun vocabulary.  We used our imaginations to think of different scenarios based on the book and how we would handle them. 

Walking in a Spider Web 

 

Today we learned about spiders through watching two documentaries (one "too short" and one "too long"!), making our own spider creations with various materials and if they so chose the children also made webs (oh, what tangled webs we weave..............). 

There was a lot of creativity and learning and exploration involved.  Not all spiders turned out to have 4 pairs of eyes and 8 legs, but the children should be able to tell you that that's the definition of an arachnid/spider, which otherwise come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colours and live in varied habitats around the world. 

We read Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott and discussed what a folk tale is, and the main "points" of this story (family working together and a legend about how the moon came to be in the night sky). 

Chive Guys

This week marked the beginning of spring, and in cultures across the world and time people have celebrated the return to warmth and longer days with symbols of new growth, such as baby animals born in the spring, the colour green, and of course eggs. 

We discussed how to tell it's spring; even though there still might be some snow, the days are longer, it's warmer, and things are starting to grow! We read It Starts With a Seed by Laura Knowles and Jennie Weber. 

Then the children painted little terracotta pots for the bottom part of their guys.  While those were drying a bit, they explored some of the variety of seeds by creating free-form designs on paper with the different sizes, shapes, and colours of seeds.  

Next they carefully placed an eggshell in the pot, glued on googly eyes, scooped in soil, and sprinkled chive seeds on top.  The Chive Guys are bald right now, but put them in a sunny window and keep the soil moist (not wet or puddly but not dried out) and they will grow hair! The "hair" can be trimmed and the chives used in cooking, such as salads, pasta, and egg dishes.  The children will get to watch their biology project as it progresses and participate in it's care. 

Transformation

We are continuing our celebration of spring! Yesterday the children made caterpillars and butterflies; just like in real life, their creatures were beautiful and unique.  Their creations will come home next week once dry.

First we read A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long and learned all about the diversity of caterpillars and butterflies and how they grow and live.  They loved the inside cover pages which show a variety of butterflies and caterpillars and wanted to know the name of each one! We also watched a video of monarchs migrating en masse - mesmerizing and awesome.

Mixing It Up

Today we mixed it up, with schedule and activities! We had an early recess because it was so nice out and we all just needed some fresh air and room to run. 
We read Mix It Up by Herve Tullet, an interactive book that explores mixing colours.  Then it was our turn to experiment with mixing colours.

First the children mixed their own paint combinations, using a palette with six spaces, three of which were filled with the primary colours.  They mixed and created and then painted with their own colourful, individual palette. 

Then they experimented with mixing colours and watching a chemical reaction as they dripped vinegar from pipettes onto frozen cubes of baking soda, jello, and water with different coloured layers.  As the cubes fizzed and melted, the colours mixed and combined into swirls of bubbly new colours. 

Wildflower Seed Paper

Today the children made a double gift for someone of their choosing.  They made their own seed paper, which can either be folded in two to make a card or cut in half to make two gift tags.  The card is the first present, and next the flowers that will sprout from the planted paper. 

There was several steps involved: making the paper pulp, spreading it onto the deckle and mold, sprinkling on wildflower seeds that bees and butterflies prefer, smoothing it out, sponging out the excess water - and now waiting for the paper to dry. 

We read Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More; Poems for Two Voices by Carole Gerber and Eugene Yelchin.  Super fun to read and to listen to - check it out!

The Next Generation

 

Sunday was Earth Day, but it's Earth WEEK at preschool!

Today we discussed that Earth Day is a time to celebrate how wonderful our planet is and to come up with ways to take care of it and keep it healthy. We read a wonderful book called When the Wind Blows by Stacy Clark and Brad Sneed, which explains in an easily accessible and narrative format all that the wind does, from blowing beach balls to powering wind turbines. 

We talked about how one can run out of batteries that operate toys or DrawBots ;), and how eventually the planet will run out of gas and oil for our cars and homes.  However, we can't run out of the sun and wind (yes, all stars eventually implode but our sun isn't due to do so for a really long time and that's a whole other class). 

So we made our own working mini wind turbines, and the children understood that the movement of the propeller (via strong wind or vigorous spinning) activates the magnetic coils inside, which sends electrons down the wires and lights up the LED.  They decorated the bottles with animal stickers, representing one part of the diversity of life on Earth that we want to protect for all generations to come.

Natural Architects

 After reading Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (accompanied by a lively discussion) the children took cardboard pieces with pre-cut slots and created!

Today was all about inspiring and helping the children to be architects - of houses, towers, spaceships and more.  They had the option of decorating with markers.

  Float the Boat

 

Today the children had an amazing time designing and building boats out of aluminum foil and then testing first whether the boat would float or not and making modifications as needed. To introduce the project we read Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen and discussed what happened and how. 

Then they tested what amount and what type of heavy and light items (marbles, pennies, corks, and bottle caps) and in what combination and location on the boat they could add them and still have the boat float. They made many, many boats and tested them all out!

Slime & Ice Cream (one for eating and one for messing around)

  

Today we had our last science class.  By request, we made slime and of course that was a blast ;).  We also had ice cream since it was a party!

Wind-Down Friday Class 

This class was created specifically for Friday afternoon, because all of us feel the same way at the end of the week, whether child or adult! Children, though tired, are still ready to go and need things to do.  So the class was designed to provide a mixture of calm, mindful, and child-centered activities such as yoga, sensory explorations, explorative art, outdoor play, music and movement, stories and discussion. 

Gazing Upwards

 

Today was all about constellations, and don't worry, we only told the kids to look with you for the Big Dipper in the night sky as we thought that most of us can find that ;).

There were glow-in-the dark constellation lacing cards and a space sensory bin available as activities during free time.  We used a pop-up planetarium to shine the constellations onto the wall to get an idea of what they all look like together.  

Then the children made constellations in the paper "sky" by covering it with black, purple, and silver paint.  We read Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton and Christina Balit to learn more about the names and stories behind these ancient and magical star groupings.  We did some deep breathing and stretching along with some more action-oriented yoga. 

Sensations

 

Today we had two water-bead sensory bins, the big regular one with lots of beads to scoop and dip and play with, and a smaller one atop a light board with custom beads in rainbow colours.  There were coloured cellophane sheets available to put on top of the light board to experiment with how the beads looked different with different colour sheets underneath.

The typewriter also came back out again, by special request.  The children are getting the hang of how to insert the paper, hit the keys one at a time, and then shift down a line.  They really enjoy it.

They also had the opportunity to make "god's eyes" out of wool and twigs.  Some chose not to, which was particularly okay given their busy morning.  Some were really into it and learned the technique, which is kind of mesmerizing once you get going ;).

We read Who Done It by Olivier Tallec, back by popular demand, and all the children learned how to read the word "who", which is the first word on each page.  They took turns guessing the answers and explaining why they picked that picture.  Fortunately, there is a third book coming out in March and I pre-ordered it yesterday ;).  

Yoga focused mostly on deep breathing and gentle movement.  But we did of course have to do our version of frog, except for on the last one instead of "ribbit" it was "EAGLES" since of course everyone was still ramped up from the pep rally this morning! 

***note: it worked - the Eagles won the Super Bowl for the first time just two days later!

All About Noses

 

Yes, it was all about noses this afternoon!

To start, the children had the opportunity to play with scented playdough (lavender, cinnamon, lime, orange, spearmint) which they got to bring home ;). Next we played the smell guessing game, and these kids have got some great noses! Then we read Mr. Putter and Tabby Smell the Roses by Cynthia Rylant (a great series, btw).

Now, in addition to providing our sense of smell, of course our noses are the primary way we breathe.  Since it's Winter Olympics time, we practiced preparing for competition by doing deep breathing to inhale lots of oxygen and get our bodies and minds ready.  Then we did yoga poses renamed for Olympic events: ski jumping, moguls, cross-country skiing, luge, bobsled, speed skating, hockey, and figure skating.  Lots of fun!

Cloud Art

We had only a few students this afternoon given the rampant flu epidemic, so we took a relaxed approached and messed around with sensory play.  We created two different types of cloud projects, one involving shaving cream and glue, and one with simply flour and water.  Sometimes simple and basic is just what we need.  We read

The Many Metaphors of Mosaics

 

The children all created mosaic frames which will come home next week.  They had the opportunity to play Around the World matching game, and enjoyed free play.  

We read One Love adapted by Cedella Marley based on the song by Bob Marley and My Friends by Taro Gomi.  We did a full series of mindful movement followed by several yoga poses by request!

Drawing, Collages and Yoga Dice (and one crazy storm)

 

 

We had a great afternoon, and the kids were fascinated by the sideways snow.  We made drawing dice, which they brought home.  

The idea is to use them either when you want some artistic inspiration or just feel like it for fun. You roll the dice and whatever shape or type of line/dot is the starting point. They have a blank die on which they can colour each side with whatever colours they like, or add materials of their choice.  

We used a set of collage dice next to create collages from yarn, fabric, sequins, sandpaper, googly eyes, bubble wrap, colours (markers), beads, and more.  The creations are drying and will come home next week.  

Then we did yoga using yoga dice! Everyone got a turn rolling the dice and seeing what pose we'd do next. 

Bread & Butter (far from basic when it's fresh and you made it)

 

Today we made butter, and got to bring some home after enjoying it on warm rolls that we also made ourselves! The children rolled bread dough into balls and after the dough  finished rising (getting bigger and puffy because of the yeast causing them to grow) we baked them.  Everyone was wondering what the wonderful smell was, and it was our snack!

Meanwhile everyone took turns turning the handle on a butter churn filled with cream.  First the cream got foamy, then thick, then started to get hard to turn as it turned solid, and then easy to turn as the butter solids fully formed and separated from the buttermillk.  The butter is unsalted so that you can choose to add salt for flavour or not as you prefer.  If you do, only a very small sprinkle is needed. 

We read Hooray for Bread by Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman while we were waiting for the rolls to cool, and.......................finally, the third book in the "guess" series was released this week! So we tackled Who Was That? by Olivier Tallec which follows the same format as the first two but is definitely harder.  So we'll read it and study the pictures again and make our guesses - lots of fun and good to have a challenge after re-reading (by request) the other ones many times. 

Of course we did some stretching and deep breathing (they remember and ask for different poses and types of breaths) and worked up an appetite for bread & butter during recess ;). 

But Why Are We Wearin' the Green?

I don't normally have holiday-themed enrichment classes as the children get a lot of that in their regular morning classes but I suppose all the sparkly, glittery, perky little leprechauns running through the school all week got to me and so today we learned about Ireland.

I wondered if the children knew where St. Patrick's Day originated, and they (at least said) they didn't.  We taught them that Ireland is an island country known as the "Emerald Isle" because there are so many shades of green found in nature there (the children then made that connection to all the decorations they've been seeing!).  Then we gave them watercolours in different hues of green and let them paint whatever they liked.  Such beautiful creations!

We read Fiona's Luck by Teresa Bateman and Kelly Murphy, and learned what to use your wits mean; using your brain and thinking hard to figure something out or decide what to do.  For snack we had scones made from the leftover buttermilk and butter from last week and hot cocoa to go with them.

The children have learned enough yoga that we did sun salutations today, and they could follow along as I called out the poses by name (and demonstrated). 

The Vernal Equinox

Today we talked about the fact that this is the first week of spring; even though snow is on the ground right now, the children agreed that they've noticed that it is light out for much longer in the evening now.  I explained that the first day of spring is called the equinox and is the day when there is the same amount of daylight and nighttime.  

So we made beautiful candle-holders by decoupaging tissue paper onto glass jars.  When the candle inside is lit (by a grown-up, of course, as they all knew) the colours will glow.  A nice way to celebrate the spring equinox - and useful if the power goes out again, as several children suggested ;).

We also worked on figuring out Who Was That? by Olivier Tallec, popularly known as the "number 3 book".  We flowed through sun salutations again as well as some balance poses and breathing techniques. 

Garden Season 

It was a busy time today, playing, creating, gardening, discussing, reading, and exercising!

We read Secrets of the Vegetable Garden by Carron Brown and Giordano Poloni in preparation for our first project, which was starting radish, lettuce, and marigold seeds indoors in biodegradable pots to transplant into the nature center garden and starting beans and peas on wet paper towels in a clear container so that we can see the roots and sprouts grow.  They will get to bring home some plants as well.

Since butterflies are an important part of gardens because they are pollinators, we painted colourful wings and attached bodies with eyes and antennae later on.  These will come home next week once dry.

We practiced yoga, beginning with butterfly pose because of our art project, and introduced a new breathing exercise: bee! We flowed through several sun salutations which the children can follow by name. 

Busy Bees

Welcome to summer! We spent as much time outside as we could today.  We read Buzzing Bumblebees by Joelle Riley, painted bee pictures, and had the opportunity to taste five different kinds of honey.

Then after rest, outside we went! The children had a fantastic time in the nature center, where we had snack and made beeswax candles.  Seriously, they were as busy - and buzzy! - as bees, running around playing together, so happy to be outside in warm weather.

Bugging Out

Today was all about insects.  The children had the opportunity to play with an insect sensory bin, use insect stamps, do insect rubbings, and play Catch the Bugs, a tabletop game.  

We read Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal, a fun book both to read and to examine the pictures to find all the different bugs and see what they are doing, both above and below ground.  

They requested specific yoga poses and flows as well as breathing exercises ;).  The best part, though, was playing outside in the beautiful sunshine.

And if you haven't watched the movie, please do!

On Friday the children were fascinated by making bracelets with clear beads that turn into different colours when exposed to sunlight.  I hope that by now everyone has had an opportunity to watch their bracelet change colour! 

They also worked on "finger" labyrinths.  Labyrinths are an ancient form of maze, with the difference being that there is one path into the center and one path out and no "tricks" or dead ends.  The point is to use the path, whether walking or on paper, as a way to calm one's mind and basically chill out.  Even young children understand needing to do this sometimes ;).

We read Yoga in the Garden with them and practiced the various poses before snack (definitely their favourite part of the afternoon) and recess. 

Feeling the Heat

We celebrated the hot weather today by making garden stones to be placed outside - somewhere where your child can easily see it but not step on it as it's made out of Plaster of Paris ;).

We read Sun and Moon by Lyndsey Yankey and had a great discussion.  If your child is asking you when the fireflies will appear (usually mid-late June) and wanting to go outside and look for them, or asking to go outside after dark to see the stars, this is why!

We did some calming yoga including lion breaths to let out some of the heat - and then went to recess and had a great time running around with friends and getting hot again!

Picnic & Party

Today we had a little party as it was our last Friday afternoon together.  We played in the nature center and the children had the option to make sun prints; some of them did so and some were so enchanted by the lure of the nature center that they chose not to ;).

We went back inside to clean up and have rest time, and then headed outside to the playground for a picnic and more fun.