Weather Week Part 2

Science: Making Rain

Instructions:

1. Pour approximately 3 inches of boiling water into a glass jar (I used a tall vase from the Dollar Store)
2. Cover the jar with a plate and wait 5 minutes
3. Put 3 ice cubes on the plate

Explanation:

The cold plate causes moisture in the warm air (caused by the boiling water in the jar).  The moisture condenses and forms water droplets.  You can compare this to what happens outside when it rains.  Warm, moist air rises and meets the colder air high in the atmosphere.  The water vapor condenses and forms precipitation that falls to the ground in the form of rain.

Sensory: We made a "Snowy Day" scene using a couple bags of cotton balls (Dollar Store) and some "snowy" animals that were a part of our collection downstairs.  On the second day of play (when I took this picture), I threw in some corks to add to the imagination in their play.  My kids imagination turned them into trees.  What will your child come up with?

Math: Rain Drop Matching Game

I made 48 raindrops and put shapes and colours on all of them.  While the children sat on their chairs, we all sang "Rain Rain Go Away" and I dropped the raindrops randomly all over the floor.  Once they were all dropped, the children raced to find all of the pairs they could.  This game can be competitive (see who finds the most pairs) or cooperative (work together to beat a specific time).

Science: Learning About a Thermometer

We watched a quick video on YouTube about thermometers and then used this printable.  We worked together to write on the numbers, then we checked our forecast for the day and the weekend.  We were on the way towards a major warm-up, so they were able to see a huge difference in temperature, which was great!  I then used the black crayon to show them what a 'summer' temperature would look like on a thermometer.

Science: What Does the Wind Blow Experiment

I created a simple table with a YES and NO column and then collected 8 random toys.  I blew each of the toys and the kids took turns filling in the table.

Art: Cloud Painting

This was my favourite activity of the week because of an event that came out of it.  I knew in advance that we didn't have Grey paint, but we would mix it.  I took out each of the paints, looking for grey and then made the sad announcement that this activity wouldn't work because there was no Grey.  My daughter (6) was quite sad and suggested we painted white clouds instead.  My son (3) looked at both of us and said in a very empathetic voice "It's OK mommy and sister!  Let's just mix the black and white and make grey on our own!"  So I went along with it and he was very excited (and his sister very proud) when it worked out!

Popcorn Sensory

This weeks sensory experience had two different parts to it.  On Monday, I gave the kids some kitchen utensils (measuring cups, strainer and some spoons) with a bunch of popcorn seeds.  My daughter was very excited, but this was more of a learning experience for my son.  We talked about what the seeds would turn into and why the seeds weren't falling out of the strainer but WERE falling out of the funnel.  My son looked at the different measuring cups, but he didn't show as much interest in that as he did the pouring and catching.

Then on Friday, we worked together to pop all those seeds.  Both of the kids watched the popcorn seeds pop in the popcorn maker and were very amazed.  We talked a lot about what was making them pop.  They could feel the heat from the popcorn maker when they put their hands close.  Once it was all popped, I have them the same kitchen utensils that I had on Monday - except I added some bowls and cups and a pair of tongs for my son to practice his fine motor skills with.  He really enjoyed that and his sister held the small bowls while he picked up each piece of popcorn and placed it in.

Shaving Cream Sensory

This week our focus on learning was

Cc

3

Square

Blue

We started the week with drawing shapes, letters and numbers in shaving cream that was bought from the Dollar Store.  As you can see, he was practicing his 'B' from last week.  He didn't like it when too much cream got on his hands, so he would run to the bathroom lots to wash.  The first time, he used the sink, but I saw that quickly getting messy so when he had to wash his hands, I turned on the tap in the bathtub.  It was quicker, cleaner and WAY easier!

We also worked on sorting this week.  I laid down all of these shapes in front of him and asked him what colours he saw.  Then I asked him what shapes he saw.  Then I said, "OK, now sort them either by colour or shape."  At first he didn't understand, so I said, "Sorting means putting them in groups that are the same."  This was easier for him to understand and he did just that.  When he was done, we talked math for a bit more.  I asked him if there were more piles (categories) when he sorted by colour or shape.  He counted what was in front of him and then made his final decision.  Colours.

Books Used This Week

March of the Penguins by Luc Jacquet

The Emperors Egg by Martin Jenkins

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra

Plus many non-fiction books from the library.

Wine Corks and Tongs

This post goes back to when I was still teaching in the classroom, but I still have the wine corks and plan on doing this again with my daycare kids.  I collected a variety of tongs - small, medium, big, plastic and metal - and then put them in the sensory box together with some containers and the kids had a great time moving the corks from one container to another and trying to stack them.  I love this sensory box!