Color Mixing:
We continued our discussion of colors this week and what new colors can be produced when mixing the primary colors. At the sensory table, students were asked to use pipettes to drop colored vinegar onto a tray of baking soda and to observe what happens. The children enjoyed watching the vinegar bubble and fizz. They tried mixing colors on the baking soda and creating pictures in the powder.
Later in the week, I added some cups of colored water and asked the children to see if they could figure out which cups had vinegar and which had water. Several children discovered that the vinegar fizzed on the baking soda while the water simply puddled.
The children also had the opportunity to create new colors by squishing two primary colors combined with hair gel in ziploc bags. The students predicted what colors would form when the primary colors were mixed. They observed as the two colors slowly mixed together. As the children took turns kneading the bags, one single new color surfaced.
Last week, the class conducted a color experiment called "Walking Water" in which they were able to observe colored water "walk" along paper towels into a glass filled with clear water, mix and create a new color. (I forgot to take a picture, so here is an example from the blog Coffee Cups and Crayons.)
After conducting our experiment and leaving it for the weekend, we discovered that the colors walked, but the results were not as we expected. We discussed that sometimes scientists will make a prediction, but the results may be different. It might be helpful to repeat the experiment.
As part of our discussion, we recorded the results of the experiment on chart paper. Volunteers colored in cups to show what they looked like before the experiment and then after.
Fine Motor Skills:
During small group time, activities are designed to integrate math, literacy and fine motor skills. Several activities this past week were designed to strengthen hand muscles in preparation for writing tasks.
Students practiced ripping paper and then made self-portraits.
The children continue to work on learning the first letters of their name. This week they decorated their first letter by crumpling tissue paper and gluing it onto paper.
As we head into a discussion of Fall, students rolled playdoh "nuts" for squirrels and counted them.
Crayon Grip
Students were introduced to proper hand grip this week. They practiced holding a crayon accurately and then dropped the crayon and picked it up trying to replicate a standard grasp. They then marked stars and made fireworks.
Library
This week during library we read the story When the Leaf Blew In by Steve Metzge. In this story a leaf blows into a barn causing a chain reaction of events in which a cow sneezes causing a spider to land on an owl and then the owl swooped out of the barn, etc. Each of the students was assigned an animal character and acted out the story. We have a class of budding actors! I was so impressed by their enthusiasm!
