Today in our morning circle we placed the frozen toys on the rug and passed each cup around our circle. We then encouraged the children to observe, think, question and explore each cup.
The dialogue:
Noah: "Well it did not turn brown it's just stuck."
Elias: "It pops out of the cup and it's the same shape of the cup."
Josh:"It drips!"
Elias: "Why is the water with the stick yellow?"
Teacher: "The stick is painted, the paint washed off in the water. Why don't the toys move around in the cup of water?"
Adam: "Because they are frozen and now they are stuck."
Teacher: "What will happen if we leave the frozen cups in the sensory table?"
"They will melt!"
Teacher: "How long will it take to melt?"
"One day, !00 minutes. 1000 days, 4 minutes..."
We left the cups in the sensory table for the children to observe, it actually took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to melt.
How children approach this exploration and what they learn, is influenced by a range of factors including different experiences, needs, skills and ideas that young children bring. We are looking forward to our next science discussion!
I love the "How long will it take to melt?" question followed by an opportunity for them to watch it happen in real time. Great way to help them consider different lengths of time and build their estimation skills!
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