Ice, Ice, Baby!

 A while back, we set up a "science lab" in the outdoor classroom. Various shades of colored water filled bins upon bins in our dramatic play area. The children donned goggles and lab coats and set to work mixing the brilliant colors in beakers, funnels, measures, cups, basters, and more. 

To change it up a bit, we decided to add several bins of ice each morning. We squirted a few drops of liquid water color (purchased from Discount School Supply) and the children went to work. 

We were only planning to set out this activity for a week or so because of the sheer quantity of ice we needed to bring in, but the children enjoyed it so much that we wound up hauling ice for nearly a month! 

Sensory Bin with a Hole-y Top

First, let me apologize for the very extended break I took from my blog. I am ashamed! Although, I do have an excuse...

Meet my new Cinnamon Conure :-). We bought him nearly weaned, so we were rather preoccupied with feeding, snuggling, and admiring our new little creature! His name is Candy Apple. Isn't he cute???

BUT, back to business! Once again, I have 'borrowed' one of Tom's sensory bin ideas from his blog at Sand and Water Tables. He has a great explanation as to why this apparatus is valuable for learning and he even shows a few videos of the children in action. I am working towards getting a wooden table-top, but in the meantime, I rigged up this cardboard top to see if the wooden top would be a good investment. After watching the children scoop, dig, pour, balance, and maneuver their scooping tools, I have no doubt that that the investment would be well worth it!

This was truly one of those activities that engaged the children for LONG periods of time. Today, two boys worked steadily at the station for over half an hour! 

This table top was very easy to make. I laid down three sheets of cardboard, measured and cut them to the size of the sensory table, and then sealed the edges with red duct tape. I used a box cutter to cut through each layer of the cardboard. Then, I taped along the edges of the holes. I scored the tape so it would go around the circles without crumpling up. For stability, I taped the table-top to the sensory bin.

Reaching into the table through the holes was a new experience and caused the children to think about how they were going to pull the beans and corn out without spilling.

As with any sensory activity, there is always some clean up. These boys enjoyed using the brooms as much as they enjoyed using the new table top!

Swamp Sensory Bin

I have been eyeing Tom's "Swamp" sensory event at Sand & Water Tables for some time. If you haven't visited Tom's site, it is well worth a look-see. His sensory tables are phenomenal!

I finally put in the effort to create a similar table on our patio area. I used a 3 separate sensory/water tables for this project to add depth, dimension and varying levels. I added swamp creatures, sand, leaves, and various other natural items to the bins. I also used bamboo garden poles for the bugs to "crawl" on. Each day, I add water to the swamp for added sensory fun. It is a bit of a mess, so the event will probably move to the yard next week, but it has drawn a lot of attention thus far!

Here is what I came up with...

Catching creatures in bug containers filled with swamp water.

Arctic Animal Excavations, Gak, a Pots and Pans Band, and More!

The holidays have past and the children are back into full swing at school. So, it is time to keep up with the post-holiday energy by adding some great new activities to the Outdoor Classroom.

Arctic Animal Excavation (Science, Sensory, Fine Motor) -

In the spirit of winter, we provided an "Arctic Animal Excavation" station. I placed a few arctic animals in 3 separate bowls and put them in the freezer overnight.

Each morning, I popped out the frozen animals and placed them in the sensory bins. I then added a few new animals to the bowls, refilled with water, and set them into the freezer for the next day.

Armed with goggles (this is a must due to flying ice!), child-sized hammers, and golf tees "nails", the children excavated the animals from their ice bergs.

The older children really took a fancy to this activity and they pounded the ice with great gusto (hence the goggles!). Once the animals were excavated, the ice melted throughout the morning and made a nice arctic animal mini-world play area.

Since I haven't blogged in oh-so-long, here are a few other things going on this week.

Gak -
This is a super sensory experience as Gak is very similar to the gooey slime that you can purchase in stores. I used 1 part white school glue to 1 part liquid starch. I also added a touch of liquid water color.

Simply mix with a spoon (or your hands!) until the mixture is combined. Mine started out a bit like stringy spaghetti, but after sitting for a bit, it all came together perfectly.

By the way, do you know that you can blow bubbles by sticking the end of a straw into the Gak??? Fun!

For a translucent effect, use clear glue and liquid water color. This mixture has a slightly softer texture. For those of you with a bit of potty humor, put the mix in a cup and squish it down...oh the sounds it does make! ;-) heehee!

Home-made Drum Band-
This was a super-simple, but oh-so-pleasing activity for the kids. The music area in our playground sits within 100 feet of one of our upper elementary buildings, so we are always cautious not to make too much noise. However, while the elementary students were on break, we take advantage of our right to make some noise!

And what better noise than a Pots N' Pans band? We set out pots, pans, oatmeal containers, buckets, wooden spoons and drums sticks.

The students, and even a few enthusiastic teachers, had a great time making "music."

 A few girls put the materials to another use...they were making "soup" instead of music :-).


Snowy Easel -
Another super-easy, but oh-so-pleasing sensory activity...shaving cream on the easel!

Colored Tape Art-
Several weeks ago, the children worked with black electrical tape to create works of art inspired by Piet  Mondrian. This week, I stumbled upon this TERRIFIC colored tape dispenser filled with rolls of colored masking tape. I set out paper and the tape and the children created art filled with unique lines and designs.

Perfect Playdough Recipe for Outdoor Use

We use playdough in the Outdoor Classroom a lot. There are always several children at the station and it is enjoyed by all the ages we serve.

Since the dough sits outside ALL morning (from 7:00am until past noon), we need a super soft and long lasting playdough.

To be honest, I thought all playdough recipes were 'created equal', but after several disastrous 

"Googled" recipe attempts, I finally asked the teachers at my school which recipe they use. 

Here is the one they recommend and we use it VERY successfully outdoors. It will last over a week or so under the outdoor conditions mentioned above and it will last for several weeks in the classroom!

5 cups flour
5 cups water
3 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup salt
1/2 cup oil
Add food coloring, spices, or extracts as desired to enhance color and smell. You can also add glitter, fairy dust, or other mediums such as sand to add texture.

Mix all ingredients in a large pot. Heat on medium, stirring until a soft dough forms. Remove from heat and let cool.

A Forest in the Sandbox

Our creative younger pod added a festive forest to their little sandbox on their patio.

They supplied mini trees, real tree branches, pine cones, plastic forest animals and tree cookies. Tree cookies are just the chopped ends from Christmas trees...available NOW for FREE anywhere Christmas trees are sold!!

We love them so much that we ask our parents to gather the cookies when they get their trees at Christmas. My coworker does a lot of exploration with tree cookies in the project room. For more ideas, visit her blog at I Work 4 Kids!

Christmas Sensory Bin

I have been envying several very cute and well-put together mini-sensory bins across the blogosphere lately, so I finally decided to make one of my own. I went to the 99 Cent Store and stocked up on a few Christmas items - plastic candy canes, a batch of erasers, mini ornaments, bells, glittery snowflakes, Christmas themed kaleidoscopes, and more. I also threw in some pompoms and set all the goodies on top of rice. Several of the children investigated each item in the bin. Two little girls lined up all of the items on the edge of the table. When I asked what they were doing, they replied, "setting up the presents!"

This Christmas bin is what I would call a "small world" or mini-sensory bin. For some PHENOMENAL large-scale bins, visit Tom at Sand and Water Tables. He takes sensory bins to entirely new level of engaging!!!!