Friday, June 11, 2010

Color Science and Water Play in Early Childhood Education


"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny..."
~Isaac Asimov

When the weather is nice and sunny we live to bring water play both indoors and outdoors. I love letting the children make scientific discoveries on their own. Setting up the right kind of inviting activities not only make for scientific thinking, but open up kids mind to worlds of possibilities.

Setting up Scientific Discoveries
for Kids Through Water Play:
Discovering Color: Gather all yellow toys (legos, cars,small balls and scoops and cups, have a large bin or water table filled with enough water to actually submerge some of the toys completely.  Add blue food coloring to the water (be sure to add just the right amount of blue to get the perfect color of green-check with a yellow toy). When the toys are submerged they actually turn a lovely green color. This can be done with any combination of primary colors (red, blue or yellow) to make secondary colors (green, orange, purple, etc.)
We take dictation of the children and post it on the door for the parents to see what types of conversations the children have while making their scientific discoveries!

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