Color Mixing

Kohavim children have been experimenting with color mixing at the art table this week. The children used red, blue, and yellow colored water with droppers and palettes. Using fine motor strength and control, the children used the droppers to mix the colored water in their palettes. As they experimented the children shared comments such as, "I wonder what will happen if" and "How did you make that color?" After mixing the colors together, the children used the droppers to drop the various water colors onto coffee filters. This color mixing activity allowed the children to make predictions, experiment, and discuss their findings. Stay tuned to hear more about our color mixing adventures!

What will the Keshet children do with the tube?

As Savita unrolled the new rug in our classroom, we found a thick cardboard tube inside.  We propped one end of it on a chair and waited to see what the children would do with it.  They looked it over, looked through it, looked through it at each other, talked and yelled to each other from one end to the other.  Eventually, the children started placing things inside the tube: cars, trucks, train cars, and then....Lego pieces.  They came to understand that the Lego pieces would not slide to the end of the tube like the wheeled vehicles did.  At one point, the tube was filled from one end to the other with objects.  This play also offered another opportunity to work on taking turns.  

 

 

Return of the ducks

The children had another opportunity to experiment with the ducks and ice - with some water thrown in.  Ethan and Harrison moved the sheet of blue ice into some clear water.  Not only did the clear water turn blue like the ice, but it broke into pieces.  Ben observed as the ducks happily floated about and the ice floe slowly disappeared.  The ice on the playground was doing the same in the warm air this morning!

Experimenting with color!

The children once again asked if they could color the water in the pool with water colors! Nathan asked if he could go inside to find some"cool" water colors to experiment with. Orange , pink and green are the colors Nathan picked! We took a few empty bottles and filled them with water and water colors so everyone had the opportunity to pour the water colors in the pool. When the water colors ran out Hannah suggested that everyone get in the pool and mix the colors by walking around in a circle, in the pool. When the colors were all mixed up, all we could see was "orange water". Our hands, feet and legs turned orange!

Outside Classroom!

"What can we do with a block of ice, salt, eyedroppers and watercolors?" Here is what the children had to say..."The salt will make the ice white and the watercolors will make the ice turn all different colors."

The children really enjoyed watching the ice turn all different colors. If we looked closely at times during the activity, we could see "white smoke" rising from the ice block covered in the colorful salt.

Is it an ice sculpture?

This is a unique sculpture using styrofoam pieces donated by JB and Sam Royal. It is a joint creation by Sam, Teddy Fox, Matt, and Nathaniel. It took on various forms throughout the course of the morning. The children couldn't quite decide what it was but they had fun playing with the pieces that had a nice feel to them. They also experimented by seeing how the styrofoam and packing peanuts changed when put in water. The styrofoam just got a bit soggy but the peanuts disintegrated very quickly and started smelling. Maybe tomorrow our creative children will find even other ways to play with the styrofoam. It will be interesting to see if they find a way to use it as we continue to create the environment for our trip to Israel.

same idea, different medium

A few weeks ago, we read the book Mouse Paint and experimented with water colors to see what would happen when we combined red and yellow, yellow and blue and blue and red.

Today, we took finger paint and put different combinations into plastic bags. We mushed and kneeded the paint together until we began to hear exclamations of "I made orange! I made green! I made purple!!!". It was obvious that taking this active role in the transformation of TWO colors into a whole new ONE was both excited and enlightening!!

Fun With Shaving Cream

Today, the Rainbows enjoyed exploring with shaving cream. Jack announced, "I used shaving cream in the bath last night." Rose, Josh, and Grayden got right into it. They rubbed their hands all over the table and completely immersed themselves in the fragrant substance. It was very interesting to see the different ways that the kids used the shaving cream. Rose put her hands in and made fingerprints, Josh spread his hands and arms out using a windshield wiper-like motion, while Grayden covered his hands letting the shaving cream drip down onto the table. When they were done, Josh and Grayden decided to rinse off in the sensory table which happened to be filled with water. They quickly noticed that the water turned cloudy and white. Josh exclaimed, "We're doing a science experiment" and Grayden said very excitedly, "it looks like snow." This excitement led them to do the experiment about six more times going back to the shaving cream, covering their hands, and then rinsing off continually noticing how the water was getting increasingly cloudier. They continued to play with the water for a while longer, moving their hands around while observing and enjoying their new experiment.

A new tool to experiment with

After snack today, we had a chance to experiment with some unusual scissors. They have a loop of flexible plastic that connects the two blades in back, allowing the children to use a pinching or squeezing action to bring the blades together to cut paper. Everyone was excited to get a chance to try the scissors. It was interesting to see some children working out which hand they wanted to use to hold the scissors. Some used two hands to squeeze from the very back of the curved handle. This activity is a great opportunity to work with eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. We explained to the children that they should only use scissors when they are with a grownup and that they need to keep their fingers away from the blades to avoid getting hurt.

A New Challenge!

After spending some time exploring the colored water, the children were ready for a new challenge, a next step in their investigation of color. We offered each child a bowl of cornstarch and a spoon.

In circle time we introduced the children to cornstarch, a kind of powder made from corn that people sometimes use in cooking. "See what you can discover about what happens when cornstarch meets colored water."

The children spooned cornstarch onto a piece of construction paper and added drops of colored water to it. We encouraged the children's exploration with a few questions.

"What does dry cornstarch feel like on your skin?"
Eli- "It's dry like flour."
Rylan- "It's dry and slippery."
"What happens when water meets cornstarch?"
Jacob F- "You see blue blood on mine!"
Jake- "You see the color that is in the dropper."
"Which do you think is more powerful corn starch or water?"
Dylan- "The colored water because when you drop the colored water, some of the white goes away."
Zach- "The color part because it hides the white."

Day two...Exploring color!

Once again the Lunch Bunch children were invited to do the work of scientists and artists, and see what they could discover about color! As the children experimented with the eyedroppers and colored water, I invited them to reflect.

"Leo what happens when the blue meets the green?" Leo could not wait to respond, "Blue and yellow make GREEN!"

"Hannah what did you discover about color today?" Hannah said, "I made big spots with my colors."

Alana said, "My colors turned into Tye-dye."

I told the group, "I am curious about what makes purple. Will you teach us what you discovered about that?" Hannah, Jacob and Molly were happy to tell us that, "Red and blue make purple." I asked the children, "Who had lots of fun today exploring and experimenting with color?" Each and every child responded with one word...ME!

Playing in mud!

I don't know who had more fun today the staff or the children! Playing in mud was fun for all of us! Some children took a little time to embrace the whole, "let's play and bathe in mud" concept. Most of the children jumped right in, some took their time but eventually jumped in with their whole self!

Olive for example, took a little time before she felt comfortable putting her hands and feet in the mud. I noticed she was watching some of the other children splashing in the mud puddles and playing in the sensory table. I asked her if she wanted to put her feet in the mud. Olive then walked over to the mud, looked at her feet and said, "You can't wear shoes!" Then she walked over to the black top and proceeded to take off her shoes. She walked back over to the mud and put the tips of her toes in the muddy water. I encouraged her to put one whole foot in, and as she submerged her foot she screeched, "Cold!" As our morning went on she walked back and forth observing the other children, dipping her toes here and there in the mud all around her. Finally at about 10:10 Olive squealed with joy and laughter, because she was standing with both feet in the mud! She said, "I did it!"

How to make colorful rocks...

Tubes, funnels, cups and colored water it doesn't get better then that! Sam called my name from across the room, "Lauri look at our underground water tubes with red chemicals in it!" I ask Sam, "What are the chemicals used for?" Sam said, "They are bad chemicals, the chemicals are poison, they can kill people!" Then Sam and Josh started pouring the water back and forth, from one cup to another. They experimented by pouring the water into the tubes first, they filled a cup up with water/chemicals and then poured it into the funnel and watched as the water made it's way out of the tube, at the other end. Josh said excitedly as the water came out, "Look it's shooting out", as it splattered out of the tube. At one point in their play Josh said, "This is how you make colorful rocks!"

Can you make an Echo?

After having listened to Frank Asch's Happy Birthday Moon many times, the Rainbows had a chance to create an echo of their own - just like the one that Bear hears in the story when he tries to talk to the moon. The laughter and delight were highly contagious!

Can you make an Echo?

After having listened to Frank Asch's Happy Birthday Moon many times, the Rainbows had a chance to create an echo of their own - just like the one that Bear hears in the story when he tries to talk to the moon. The laughter and delight were highly contagious!

The All Stars and Sunshines Create a Highway Out of Tape?

The All Star children had this great idea, to stick and attach tape throughout the classroom! They all worked together and attached the tape to the chairs, tables and library furniture all over the Tel Aviv classroom. I asked the children, "What are you creating with this tape?" Daniel C. announced proudly, "A highway that leads to New York City, Sydney Australia, Africa, and Florida." Avery said, "There is only one big bridge on the highway and water is underneath it." The Sunshine children were in the hall on their way back to their classroom, and decided to come by to say hi. They could not believe what was going on! The All Star children invited their Sunshine friends to stay and help them build this elaborate/colorful highway. Well, let's just say our Sunshine friends were more than willing to help! They had a fabulous time tearing and attaching the tape, and when their parents came to pick them up at the end of the day, they simply just wanted to stay!

Tie-Dye Art!

The Tel Aviv All Stars created tie-dye art with nonmentholated shaving cream. The children used eyedroppers to drip different colors of diluted paint onto the shaving cream; then blended the colors into the shaving cream using a craft stick. Next, they pressed a piece of paper on the shaving cream; then lifted the paper from the tray... Ta, da, there you have it, tie-dye art!