Plunger Prints

Ooey Gooey Lady Groupie Alert!

I LOVE the Ooey Gooey Lady. Her ideas for the classroom are developmentally appropriate, messy, and FUN. 

Plucked straight out of the Ooey Gooey books, here is an activity that is sure to please, sure to get messy, and sure to be developmentally appropriate:
Plunger Prints.
Don't worry. These were new. I bought them from the dollar store specifically with this project in mind! :)
Do yourself a favor, and do this one outside!

We did ours on a water day.

This was at the tail-end of our school year, so the only paints left were blues, blacks, and browns. The kids didn't seem to mind at all. They were too busy learning a new skill...

...because it takes some serious muscles to pull a wet plunger from a piece of paper with paint on it!
The plunger suctions to the paint, and you can either slide it off, anchor the plate with your foot and pull really hard, or walk around with a paper plate stuck on your plunger. They figured it out eagerly and quickly. I was impressed.

I used logs to hold the paper down. If I could do it again, I would use even more paper, because this was very popular!

See why it's a good idea to do this one outside?

After the paint ran out, I busied myself with taping the paper to the fence to dry (and be displayed). Meanwhile, the boys had filled up a bucket of water, and began cleaning the plungers...

I need to hire these guys to fix my toilet!

Their WHOLE bodies were involved in this activity

The plungers were sparkling clean by the time we went inside.

While the boys were busy cleaning the plungers, we found out that the paper plates had become stuck to the sidewalk. This is pretty typical in hot, dry climates like Arizona. The paint-soaked paper plates dried quickly, and were glued to the pavement. The girls scratched, scratched, and scratched away to get the paper plates off, while I aided them by keeping the area wet (to soften the paper).

Here's what worked: 

This activity is great for building gross motor skills:   

Arms, shoulder and back muscles are needed to push and pull the plungers, and incidentally, these are the same muscles needed for writing. In a way, this activity was a very effective pre-writing exercise!

This activity is a language booster:

  Here we put real meaning to the words, "plunge," "suction," "grip," and "circles." 

It meets Early Learning Standards: 

Making prints with plungers meets the AZ Early Learning Standards by allowing the children to use a variety of writing tools, materials, and surfaces to create marks.

Clean up time was almost more fun than the actual painting:

Clean up time took more time than the actual painting. However, in this case, clean up became almost more fun than the painting, so it worked out. When we were done, I hosed everyone down, and we continued on with our day.

Here's what didn't:

I only had four plungers available for a class of 13. 

Silly Ms. Gina. I should know better by now! If it's possible, try to have one for each child. If the budget doesn't allow for that (these plungers were only a dollar at the dollar store, but they were a part of a larger purchase), try to have at least enough for half of the kids. 

The Paper ended up being blown down by the wind:

 I thought I taped it pretty good, but by the time we came out in the afternoon, that paper was gone. So much for our cool plunger print display! It's times like this that I have to remind myself, "Process, NOT product." The process was enjoyable, and the product...not that important.

  

I forgot to explain what plungers are really meant for BEFORE the activity.
While I put them away on the bathroom shelf, one of the children exclaimed excitedly, "PLUNGERS! THOSE ARE FOR PAINTING!" 

Uh-oh.

Happy playing!  

Coffee Oobleck!

One of our lovely teachers, Ms. Leslie, brought in a week's worth of used coffee grounds for us to use. I immediately added them to our sensory table, thinking they would be an instant hit! 

Not so much. 

I didn't get it. How could they not be drawn in by the smell alone? I even tried sitting at the table and inviting the children to come join me...I had a few takers, but no one stayed for long.

Usually it's just a simple fix to draw the children in to the sensory table. In this case, our simple fix was the addition of cornstarch (I added two cups.)

...and a container of water.

I also added wooden spoons (for those who don't like coffee's gritty texture), measuring cups, and measuring spoons.

Jackpot! The table began gathering attention, although they didn't immediately dump the cornstarch and water.

 Instead, they used the measuring spoons to mix

Their favorite thing to do was transfer the cornstarch and coffee grounds into the cup, watching the water slowly swirl, mix, change colors, and settle.

You can see the layers of cornstarch, coffee grounds, and water. The children lovingly called this, "Chocolate milk."

The language this activity inspired was amazing. The kids started calling it the "coffee table," and spouting out words like "mochachino, and cappacino."

I heard stories of Mommies and Daddies who always drink coffee...

...and how coffee was for grown ups only, although no one really knew why.

Eventually, the container became so fill, that the water overflowed, creating a river of coffee.

...And this became a new sensory experience. The smell was incredible, but to be honest, the texture was not. It was very gritty and wet, which was off-putting to most of the kids. Most...but not all (obviously).

They truly savored the process of creating a new substance. It was very relaxing to watch the white cornstarch swirl and mix with the contrasting, brown coffee.

The next day, I added another box (2 cups) of cornstarch to the table, as well as some more water.
*Side note: If you decide to do a coffee/water/cornstarch combo...leave the mixture UNCOVERED over night, or it will mildew. I've forgotten this in the past, and came to class the next day with a healthy growth of mold...and well, you can just imagine the smell. Ugh. Leave it uncovered!

There was more mixing action...

You can see the coffee in the table change as it gets more attention from the kids. The consistency is thicker, like gravy.

Eventually, all the cornstarch is dumped, and little hands start to mix it up. The process took two days...If I had my way, I would have done it immediately. Adults are efficient like that. But children need time to explore, and figure things out on their own.

Here it is...Coffee Oobleck: Mix 2 boxes of cornstarch (4 cups), 2 cups of water, and a few days worth of coffee grounds (maybe 3-4 cups?)

 

 

 

 Just like normal oobleck (cornstarch and water), this was completely addicting to play with, and filled the classroom with beautiful smells.

Ready for some nerdy talk?
The cornstarch/water combo creates a non-newtonian substance. It's viscous in nature (something all cooks know from when they add a little cornstarch to sauce...it thickens up!). This substance looks like a liquid, but when you touch it, it feels solid. When you force the molecules into motion (for example, letting it drip from your hands), it acts as a liquid once again.

Because of the unique nature of oobleck, you can roll a ball, and watch it melt before your eyes. 

Did you know that coffee grounds act as an exfoliate?  
Who knew? The cornstarch will leave your skin feeling silky smooth, and the coffee rubs away dead skin! 

 So, rub your hands in some coffee oobleck, and after you rinse, they will be rejuvenated and silky smooth. Bonus: They'll smell great, too!

Happy playing!

Glow Sticks In the Sensory Table

Last week, our class explored glow sticks! 

We put the glow sticks in the sensory table, and added water, a little bit of dish soap (to make the water more opaque), and turned off the lights.

Our lights stayed off for three days!

Glow sticks add a new sensory experience to plain water.

The table initially attracted a huge crowd, but the crowd dissipated after I introduced glow sticks in large boxes (next post!).

Still...there is a magic about glow sticks in water...

A picture with the flash on.

Flash off.

(For some reason, my camera took warped photos, so I apologize for the quality of the next few pictures).

Water is calming in nature. It is soothing to fill and pour it over and over again. I make it a point to have it available every day, whether it is indoors or out.

The glow sticks made the containers glow, but none were quite as breath-taking as the white one.

Have you explored glow sticks lately? 

Happy playing!