Glass and Water Experiment

Last week we pulled out the baby food jars, and mixed up some paint. We used the other half of the baby food jars for our Glass and Water Experiments:

On each tray, I filled one baby jar with water, and left the other empty. I also put out Popsicle sticks, spoons, and plastic eye droppers.

Giovanni practices squeezing the plastic eye dropper to get water.

I was expecting a lot of banging, but as usual, Cordy, who amazes me with her ability to think outside the box, surprises me. She pours water from one jar to the other, and tests to see if the jars will balance. Then, keeping the jars connected, she flipped them, and watched the water move from one jar to the next without spilling.

Some of the kids were happy to pour the water out and splash their hands in the tray. Next time, I'll put towels on the table to catch spilled water.

And when banging and pouring got boring, Sydney and Taryn filled all the jars with water, and lined them up. They used spoons and plastic eye droppers to move water from one jar to the other. There was a LOT of testing going on!

Next time I would like to add colors to the jars, to watch the color mixing action that will inevitably take place!

Happy playing!

Paint Mixing Science

I've had a bag full of baby food jars under my classroom sink for almost a year now, and they haven't been used. I sometimes visit them, and think longingly of the projects to do with them, but then put them back.

Glass and three year olds? No bueno! Right?

Well, since I've been blogging, teachers like Teacher Tom do have three year olds tinkering with real materials. They are being allowed to handle "dangerous items" like glass, hot glue guns, and hammers.

Check out this article, Let the Children Play With Fire for even more arguments about the benefits of taking risks. Every time I read about it, or see it, I can't help but wonder if I need to loosen the reigns a little more in my own classroom.

I've talked to my director about getting a wood working bench for outside. So far, I've only convinced her to let us play blocks or do special projects on it. I would slowly like to integrate the use of real tools and wood. We'll see.

So anyway, I finally pulled out the baby food jars, and we got to work. We are running low on tempura paint at the moment, and I had some left over liquid starch in my supply closet. 

 

Using liquid water colors and starch, the kids mixed up finger paint.

When children are able to do "real" tasks, they gain self confidence.

A short while later, we took the paints outside to use at the easel:

The colors came out semi-translucent, but vibrant and beautiful.

At last count, there have been three spills, but so far...no broken glass! 

Happy playing!