Presenting: Preschool!: Splish Splash

Our camp theme this week was 'Splish Splash: Water Exploration,' and with the help of Janet, we used science to explore and understand diffusion. The children were given water and chose a color of water color to mix it with, using pipettes. They observed what happened when they dropped a small drop of colored water onto a paper towel. Some children were using the magnifying glasses to watch the process more closely. A lot of the children noticed that the paper changed colors, while other children noticed that the water was spreading out. This was a great experiment for observational skills, cause and effect thinking, and fine motor skills.
Next week we will explore our sense of taste.... mm!

Oh paper plates..... so useful, so many applications, so budget-friendly.
Continuing our study of all things water, we used paper plates to represent atoms and molecules. Much like a puzzle is made up of small pieces, so too is water, specifically the molecules. Continuing the analogy, we learned that water is made from tiny pieces, called atoms, named hydrogen and oxygen.

One camper surprisingly drew a diagram for the class showing the shape they make when they all connect, and even drew 'connecting lines' between the atoms, apparantly representing electrons..... AMAZING!!! We realized that a water molecule looks like Mickey Mouse.

Using small plates for the hydrogen atoms, and a large plate for oxygen, they children set out to decorate their atoms and then connect them using tape to make the appropriate shape. Since the hydrogen atoms are the same, the children decorated their plates as such, making similar designs on each of the two.

Finally, the campers connected each of their molecules together, making sure that one of their hydrogens was touching someone else's oxygen. Voila! H20 !

Water Color painting:
Using tubes filled with watercolor paint, each with a sponge on one end, the campers experimented with spreading the paint as it was squeezed onto the paper.

After reading 'A House For Hermit Crab' by Eric Carle, we used our creative claws to design our own shell houses. In the book, Hermit Crab travels through the sea, encountering interesting animals that he uses to decorate his shell. The sea urchin provided protection, lampfish light, and a sea anemoene just 'cos they're pretty. Some of the campers added ocean items like coral and seaweed, while others added their own colorful touches.

On Monday, we experimented with paint by blowing on it through a straw. A bit reminiscent of our fireworks art from last week, and also of Pink Floyd shows circa '68. . . . flashback!!!

Okay, this is really cool:
The children invented this ball-through-the-rings game. It all began with three campers tossing a ball around, and then one by one, other campers added hula hoops to make each toss a bit more challenging...5 minutes later, we've got a camper-created game, and it's awesome!

On Tuesday, a one-woman puppet show entertained the campers. One story was about a bird who needed help harvesting wheat and making bread, but none of her 'friends' wanted to help her. Later, after bird did all the work herself, her lazy 'friends' showed up and said they'd help her eat the bread..... I think she shared it with them, but I probably would have told them all to get lost.
The other story was about an spiritual monkey and a crocodile.