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Absorbing Colors

Book Chapter

Absorbing Colors

This activity is for finding out what happens when various foods are placed in colored water. Have a variety of vegetables available and let each child select one to put in water to see what happens. After a few hours or longer of soaking, let the ch...

Water Mixtures

Book Chapter

Water Mixtures

This activity is for discovering what happens when different materials are mixed with water. Give children five cups, each filled halfway with water. Show them the materials you have—sand, salt, sugar, flour, pepper—and explain that they are goin...

Water Drops

Book Chapter

Water Drops

This activity is for finding out how drops of different liquids behave. Give the children each a piece of waxed paper and ask them to try dropping a small amount of water onto their paper in order to make drops. Ask children to describe what they fou...

Soaking Things

Book Chapter

Soaking Things

This activity is for finding out what happens when materials stay in water for a long time. Give children an egg carton and let them put water in each compartment. Then choose different items for each compartment and predict which items will change. ...

Bubble Makers

Book Chapter

Bubble Makers

This activity is for making and testing different bubble makers. Put out materials listed and ask children how they could use the materials to create a bubble maker. Children love making bubbles! They will test all the materials you make available. E...

Sand Sculptures

Book Chapter

Sand Sculptures

This activity is for making things with sand and water. At a sand table or in a sandbox, let the children begin by exploring dry sand and then add water to the sand. Wet sand allows children to try out many more ideas than dry sand does. Encourage th...

Mixing Colors

Book Chapter

Mixing Colors

This activity is for mixing two primary colors to create a secondary color. When introducing mixing of colors, always start with the primary colors and choose only two. Point out the different shades that children are producing as they use more of on...

Color Designs

Book Chapter

Color Designs

This activity is for dipping paper towels and other materials in colored water to make designs and test absorption properties. Give children paper towels and encourage them to fold any way they want, and then to dip corners or sections into the diffe...

Water Drops as Art

Book Chapter

Water Drops as Art

This activity is for dropping water on a semi-absorbent surface to see what happens. Children can work in pairs with one dropping colored water from an eyedropper into a box, and the other one tilting the box to see what happens to the water. When ...

Making Oobleck

Book Chapter

Making Oobleck

This activity involves mixing water with cornstarch and exploring the result. Have children measure two cups of cornstarch and one cup of water into their bowls. Then have them compare oobleck, water, and cornstarch and describe how each feels and lo...

Snappy

Book Chapter

Snappy

This activity involves observing properties of a new material. Away from children, make a batch of snappy with recipe provided and put on table for them to use. Children will work with the snappy for a long time—pushing, pulling, rolling, and stre...

Seeds in Our Food

Book Chapter

Seeds in Our Food

This activity involves looking for seeds in fruit. Put out fruit for children to see and give them an opportunity to touch and smell each of them. Then cut the fruit and give each one. When one of them uses the word seeds, repeat the word and encoura...

Where Do Seeds Come From?

Book Chapter

Where Do Seeds Come From?

This activity is for observing seeds in fruits and vegetables. Show the children a small assortment of seeds and ask them what they think the seeds are and where they come from and then discuss their ideas. As a follow-up activity, provide children d...

Sorting Seeds

Book Chapter

Sorting Seeds

This activity is for observing and sorting seeds. Distribute an assortment of seeds to each child. Ask them to put together all the seeds that seem to be the same and encourage them to sort their seeds according to different properties or characteri...

How Are Seeds Alike?

Book Chapter

How Are Seeds Alike?

This activity involves sorting seeds by one attribute. Have sorting boxes ready for each child and distribute one set of seeds to each. Provide children with magnifiers and let them explore their seeds. After their initial exploration, call out a cha...

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