Kategori: English

Float or sink?


MATERIAL

  • A container of some kind, preferably translucent, (a bucket or countertop works just fine).
  • Things to try if they float or sink, for example: pencil, candle, coin, ball, pearl, apple, button, orange, macaroni, eraser, carrot bit, sequin, scissors, keychain, piece of paper, wooden button, piece of wood, cucumber, screw, nail , cork, CD, glass jar, gem. Only your imagination sets boundaries, so check boxes and cabinets in the department, look in the kitchen and in the workshop / studio / carpentry room and pick up things that look interesting.

Allowing the children to make a hypothesis or make a guess as to what will happen to their chosen objects is a good method for getting the children’s thinking started and not getting caught up in doing it. It is very fun to drop things in water and just see what happens, but in an experiment it is also about trying to awaken the children’s ability to reflect and think about what is happening. What do you think will happen? Why? How can we get on with it?

Float or sink 2

Same material as above. Preferably more of each thing!

The working method here is to challenge what the children already know. What did you choose last time, and what happened then? How can you make it float if it dropped, or sink if it floated?

Clara chose a coin that she knew would sink. That the eraser rubber floated, she also knew this after last time’s experiment. After a while thinking about how she could make the coin flow, she tried to attach her coin to the eraser using rubber cords.

Time to try it out!

One eraser was too small to make the coin float well, but when Clara took two erasers it was better to get the coin to float.

Jet Aircraft

Experiment with air.

You will need: Balloons, thread, tape, straw, matchbox.

  1. Tie a long thread, with a piece of straw threaded, across the room.
  2. Blow up a balloon (do not tie) and tape it to the straw. Release the balloon. What happens?
  3. Now try loading the balloon by taping a matchbox under the balloon. What happens?

The experiment was created by Åsa Malmström at Österäng’s preschool, taken from lektion.se.

Memory with digital microscope

Using a digital microscope (i.e. ”Web ägget” or Wifi puck), you shoot images taken with a microscope.

Then have the children try to pair the images with the right object using the microscope. Here it is important to examine carefully as the image may have been taken by a small detail of the object you are studying.

Hint: use magnifying glass as a complement!

Then let the kids look for exciting objects, take their own photos and challenge each other.

Try to draw from your fantastic pictures.

(Thanks to Hands-on pedagogen  for the idea)

Is there sunshine are there also shadows

The sun is nice, with it can also be interesting shadows. Here are two tips for working with shadows:

In the shade of trees
Roll out the paper roll in the shade, under a tree or bush. The children draw the outline of the shadow. Older children can draw details; tree leaves and branches.
Paint the shadows.
Shadow Pictures

  1. Place an animal or other object so that it forms a clear image of the shadow drawing on paper.
  2. Draw the object’s outline.
  3. When the contour is finished, you can add details to it if you want.
  4. The shadows of an object can become an interesting peace of art.

Soap Bubble ideas

Summer heat and soap bubbles work well together!

Try to make soap bubble art: Pröva att göra konst med hjälp av såpbubblor.

  • Mix soap mixture with liquid watercolor paint.
  • Collect a bundle of straws together.
  • Put the bundle in the color mixture.
  • Then blow the bubbles onto paper – they create beautiful patterns.
  • Bend aluminum foil in different shapes and soak them in the seed solution.
  • Blow the bubbles on the paper.Why not take a look at some chemistry at the same time –

    Blow soap bubbles through geometric figures:

  • The children form geometric figures of aluminum wire.
  • What shape does a soap bubble come from a square stick?
  • From an oval?
  • What do that depend on?Blås såpbubblor genom olikt formade pinnar.

    Again, thanks lekolar.fi for the ideas!

Leaf insects

At least here in Turku isn’t the summer booming in full force, but you still want to enjoy the pre-summer. Why then not drag in som leaves, press them in a plant press (would probably work with just underneath some heavy books). Mix theReady-Mix paint with som Artmedium varnish, that the surface will be shiny. Paint the leaves to look like insects.

Gör egna insekter av blad.

Idéa taken from lekolar.fi.

 

Cobweb

As if the forest is not full of cobwebs anyway …

Try to study together with the children how a spider web looks. Maybe take a picture of it too. Then try to build something similar back on your farm.

Think of course also why the network is built as it is …

Cobweb
Spindelnät
(The picture, and the idea is borrowed from lekolar.fi)

Build a Bridge!

Let the children try to build a bridge. Determine a distance, say between two pulpets and then see which constructions they can come up with to create a firm bridge.
Broritning
Materials can be:
• Toothpicks and soaked peas (carefulwith the peas, they can crack easily)
• Straw. Tape them together, or use pins.
• Paper & tape.
• Glass sticks and glue.

Please let the children do a plan first on paper hard thoughts go, or you can always try and see what ideas work and which ones do not.

Document the children’s thoughts before they begin to build, and evaluate afterwards to see how their thoughts have changed.