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!  

International Mud Day

It was international mud day on June 29th, and I'm the one, crazy teacher at my center who celebrated it! I decided not to rock the boat too much, and combined mud play with water play day. 

It started off with a bag of top soil, a couple buckets of sand from the sand box, and water.  

I put half the bag of soil in the sensory table...

...and half in a wagon top whose wheels broke a long time ago, and it has been waiting to be re-used.

To create another water source, I brought a  plastic water jug from home and filled it with the hose

This was by FAR the most popular thing on the playground, despite my attempts to draw them toward the mud! There is something about having control over the water flow that proved irresistible...So, although I brought it specifically for mud day, I decided to keep it around for a while longer. 

 There were some takers at the sensory table, but everyone seemed hesitant to try  actually standing in the mud.

And FINALLY, after seeing silly Ms. Gina mixing up the mud with her feet, there was interest in the mud puddle.

They wanted to help me mix the mud.

Getting braver...

"Oh! It's SO GOOEY!"

Splashing proved satisfying.

She had refused to go near the mud...but when I wasn't looking, she decided to test it out.

Right after this, she stepped out and asked to be hosed off! :)

Team work!

Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather...only bad clothes!

If you are not prepared with extra clothes, rain boots, and jackets you are missing out on some great sensory play!

However, if circumstances like low budget and neat-freak superiors get in your way...

make it happen on water day!

I ask my parents to always have extra clothes available, and to send them in clothes that are allowed to get messy. There is a print-out of Lisa Murphy's (the Ooey Gooey Lady) print-out called "Red Paint in the Hair?!" posted on my door, and prior to enrolling in my class, I inform parents of how "hands-on" we are.

The best tool I have is technology. I use my camera to capture the play-based, messy learning that we do and blog about it for parents to see what we do every day. I am utilizing Facebook and email to keep parents informed about classroom updates and photos. I also post pictures all around my classroom.

It is my next goal to make or purchase cheap rain coats for our monsoon season (rainy season). The goal is to have enough for each child in the class.

Is everyone as enthusiastic about messy play as I am? Not really, but I know it's for the good of the children.

Muddy, messy bonding time!

Overall, it was a great day! Because we combined it with water day, the children came prepared to get messy.  We were able to hose everyone down, and get changed before lunch. 

For more information about the benefits of mud play, as well as mud activity ideas, check out these resources:

• The Mud Puddle 
• Let Your Kids Get Dirty 
• Marvelous Mud 
• Playing in the Mud Can Make Your Children Smart!
• 7 Tips for Mud Play at Preschool 
• 5 Tips To Help Parents Embrace Messy Play at School 
• 30+ Dirty Kid Activities

Happy playing!

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Bubble prints on big paper

It's bubble week in our classroom. We practiced blowing bubbles at the sensory table, recycled soda and water bottles to create bubble snake-makers, and we also made bubble prints.

It's one of those "oldie-but-goodie" activities, so I couldn't pass it up. First we made individual bubble prints inside the classroom. All you need is paper, straws, plastic cups, bubble solution (1 cup of Dawn dish soap and 3 cups of water), and liquid water colors (you may also use food coloring).

We still had plenty of the colored bubble solution left, so we cut a large piece of butcher paper, and brought the bubble blowing outside!

This is completely process oriented art. There is no end product in mind...we blow colored bubbles just for the sake of blowing bubbles and watching the colors mix.

I cut a small snip near the top of each straw to keep the bubbles from being inhaled.

Very few "prints" are actually made, but that's okay. Its about the process, not the product!

This activity is great for building language, social and emotional skills (taking turns and sharing). It's also an enriching sensory experience.

Did you know that we have a special spot in our brain for sensory experiences? Once you experience something with your senses, you will never forget it! Not sure?

Close your eyes and remember the sound of your mother's voice, the taste of a penny, the feel of warm soap and water, and the smell of your child-hood home. Could you hear it? Taste it? Feel it? Smell it?

That's why providing sensory experiences is so important for young children. Now is the time that they are building an understanding of how the world works and what the world has to offer.

Now is the time that children learn that soap makes water feel slippery, and can cause bubbles when you blow in it with a straw. Bubbles are used to clean things like your hands, your body, your hair, your car, and your floors.

Eventually, the bubbles got boring, and the straws became the focus of exploration.

 And so did feet.

This is my favorite shot of the day!

Happy playing! 

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