Little Scientist

We LOVE science projects here. Killian is patiently waiting for me to finish his science kit that I've been promising since Christmas.

But here's a simple, fun science activity that you can do at home. And I almost guarantee that you have all the equipment:

 1. A bowl

2. scissors

3. A pencil

4. Coffee filter

5. A jar

6. A paper clip

7. Food coloring

 

1. First cut the filter into strips. I drew lines and let killian cut.. because that's a preschool skill (to cut a straight line) and hey! Perfect motivated time to practice

 

2. Mix 2 colors in the bowl (we did blue and yellow and red and blue... red + blue worked better)

3. Dip the strip into the color

 

4. Wrap the strip around the pencil and paper clip it. Fill the jar with water. Put the strip in so that only the bottom is in water.

 

6. Watch what happens. The colors will separate.  One color on top, one on bottom and the mixed color in the middle. SO FUN! Purple worked better.. you could see the blue on top. Green you could see the yellow on bottom but not the blue on top.

Here are the best pictures I could get:

Questions to ask:

Will the top part wash away? Why or why not?

Why are there different colors on the strip?

What color will ___ + ___ make?

Have fun!!! Your little one will LOVE this.

Ice Cube Color Fun

It's winter.. so why not enjoy some COLD color fun?

Here is the toddler idea for the week:

Fill ice cube trays full of water, and put different food coloring in the cubes. Once they freeze, the fun can begin!!

Either (for little ones) simply use the ice cubes as "cold crayons" and color with them- You may want to wear mittens :)

Or you can do some science with it:

Put a color in a bowl and discuss the color with your child. (Example: blue)
Then put a drop of another primary color on top of the ice cube (example red) Watch what happens!!

Your child will be very excited to see it change to purple. He/she will want to test out other colors. You could make a chart as you go:

Blue + Red = purple
Blue + Yellow = Green

This is TONS of fun!

Sorry I don't have any pictures at this time- but  you'll have to trust me that it's loads of fun :)

PS you may need to wear a smock or dirty clothes as the ice cubes melt and the color does stain.

Winter Art- Fun with Toddlers

I'm a little late with my Thursday posting, and I apologize! I'll have Friday's toss-up post up at 8 am (It's going to be a yummy recipe!)

But here's Thursday's post: Winter Art

If you live anywhere where there's snow on the ground, getting outside to play can be tedious. Getting on all the snowpants, boots, hats and mittens. However, here's something that's fun to do once you get out there!

Make art in the snow! Take an empty spray bottle (you can buy one at the dollar tree if you don't have one handy), put in water and food coloring. It's lots of fun if you have 4 or more different spray bottles with 4 or more colors. If you go this route- go with the primary colors (blue, yellow and red). Then let your boy or girl discover how to mix colors to get new colors!!

You spray the snow with the colored water and TA-DA! Winter art! Older children can actually try and create something in the snow or even write their names. Younger children might just like to color the snow. :)

Once they're finished coloring, play games with the colored snow. Hop/jump from patch to patch of colored snow. Make a snowman using the colored snow. Throw a ball or bean bag at the patches and try to hit it. You could create a baseball diamond with the colored water and play baseball- the colored snow is the different bases.

Have fun outside and enjoy the snow!!

Take-along Car Caddy

I made this car caddy for Killian last christmas. He loves it, especially when we're at an appointment. And it's super simple!

I used a green piece of fabric (actually a scrap of green fabric from Killian's kitchen) as the back of the caddy. Then I sewed on the train fabric on top, and sewed down pockets. Next, I sewed on some brown felt and yellow fabric to look like a road. Lastly, I sewed on a ribbon on the back to tie. I may change this and add bigger pieces of fabric with velcro, because the ribbon is hard for killian to tie so he can't clean up his own mess.

Here you can see the pockets. I have a few cars in each pocket and they stay in there when you fold it up. You fold the road on top of the pockets and roll it up:

 

Pretty simple but a fun toy for any boy :)