CD prints

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a super huge fan of printing projects.  They tend to generate a mass-production cycle because the kids can make one master and print several pages from it.  I like when other teachers do it, I just tend not to like it myself.  That's why this project started out as a stamp-making project, inspired by Irresistible Ideas for Play-Based Learning (a favorite blog of mine as you are starting to learn!)

We would glue the buttons on the cd's to make our own stamps.  However, I didn't feel like waiting for the white glue to dry, nor did I feel like micromanaging the hot glue guns.  I wanted something a little more instantly gratifying. 

So, instead, with a quick snap of my fingers, the project became CD prints.

CD Prints

Materials needed

• Junk CD's
• Paint and paintbrushes 
• Paper (we used paper that was circular)
• Lots of space to dry final product
• Optional: a tray with a wet and dry towel to wipe off CD's for the next person's turn or have a sink or water bin nearby
• Note: if you place CD's exactly like this, you can fit three on a 8x11 paper (if you want circular prints and to not waste a lot of paper)

What to do

• Paint CD's
• Apply paper and press with hands or roller to make a print

 
Each print is really abstract and colorful and unique.  It was fun to watch the children figure out cause and effect and also to see how vibrant the colors looked on the metallic surfaces. 

Some kids like to stack the prints (there are a couple of stacks in the photo), which is fine with me (these are also the kids who like to fold and crumple up their art...not sure what drives this particular behavior but it always comes up with each group of kids so I'm assuming there is something innate about it...it also highlights the fact that for many kids, it's about the process of creating rather than the final outcome). 

*Stephanie*

Telephone Tubes

We got this idea from a blog but I cannot find the post!  Thank you, blogosphere, for yet another inspiration behind our activities!

[Edit: Just found the link looking for something else! Read it here at Irresistible Ideas for Play-Based Learning)

A few bucks for plastic tubing at the home store, plus a few empty bottles.  What we did:

• cut tubing to desired length (we had to use a saw for all of the cutting in this activity)
• cut off bottom of bottles (you need two bottles per telephone).  If the cut edge of the bottle is sharp, use duct tape to cover the sharp side
• stick tube through the neck of the bottle and secure with duct tape (do this with a bottle on each side)
• leave it in the yard and see who discovers it first

Another rendition of this project, using a longer piece of tube and way more duct tape:

Note: when you buy your tubing, make sure it's flexible.  This one is quite firm and since it came in a roll it was really tricky to get it straight.  Also, if you buy clear tubing it will be that much better for water play for when the kids are done using it as a phone.  (Actually they will probably be done using it as a phone because they discover it's usefulness in water play!)

*Stephanie*

Snap painting

There have been a few blogs featuring their trials and successes on this activity.  We just had to try it!  Plus, I had some to-go containers that I needed a use for.

Snap Painting
Inspiration here and here

Materials needed

• Box
• Rubber bands (large enough to wrap around the box one time without making the box collapse) 3 or 4 per box
• Paper to fit inside the box
• Paint and paintbrushes
• Tongs, tweezers, or fingers
• A wet towel nearby for wiping up spills and dirty hands

What to do

• wrap rubber band around the box (we used masking tape on the plastic container so it would not cut through the rubber bands)
• place paper inside the box
• use paintbrush to paint color onto rubber band(s)
• using fingers or tongs, pull up on the rubber band in the middle and snap it down by letting go (a teacher or another child may want to help by holding the box in place).
• watch as paint splats on the paper, the table, and probably all of the faces watching the activity

Bike Painting

I really can't believe I haven't posted this...we did it last week or so and we took lots of pictures intending to blog about it.  Must have slipped my mind!

We had some nice long pieces of cardboard left from our cardboard Halloween maze, so we used it as a road to paint on!  Shortly after starting this activity, we saw how beautiful the tire prints were and decided to "keep" the activity.  We lined the cardboard road with white butcher paper saved it when we were done.  It's on display in the classroom now!

 We started with Em using chalk to demonstrate what she thought would happen when the kids rolled their bikes through the paint puddles.  Bl looks like he's considering his own plan of what will happen.  Mitch, as usual, wants to watch from a distance.

 It would go all the way to the end

Here are the first two tire marks (or three)

 The paint wasn't making it to the end so we added more paint to the puddles.

 Sa wanted to walk his bike through the paint but that didn't seem conducive to our plan to keep the paint on the cardboard.

Then again, neither is letting dogs walk through paint.

Here is culprit #1 (Dexter), but they were both caught pink-pawed! 

Everyone got multiple turns who wanted them.

A "turn" was going around once and passing the bike to someone who was waiting.  Now that we've done this activity, we'll probably let kids take as many laps as they want before passing the bike.

Be chose to just watch but did a great job of moving the climbing structure out of the way so the kids could pass on the bikes.

Our print in its beginning phase.  Look how cool the pattern is, with different colors on different parts of the tires' circumference.  

Clean up was almost as fun as painting.  We washed the driveway so it wouldn't stain (the downside of renting our space is keeping things clean!).  Puddles are always fun, though, whether paint or water.

It looks like I must have left out the pictures where Ha and Te found that I had left gallons of paints (with pumps like you find on ketchup and mustard dispensers at the concession stand) sitting unattended.  You see them in the background going to town.  What was I thinking?

Ice

Party season is here...we have the Halloween party in October, a Thanksgiving feast in November, and a Holiday party in December.

And what do we always have after parties?  A freezer full of extra ice!

Today, we needed some extra space in the freezer (Monday is grocery shopping day for the kids' lunches!).  We had a bag of ice that needed to go bye-bye (still not sure where it came from--party season isn't here yet!), so we thought we could put it in the sensory table when the kids woke up from their nap.

When it was time to unload the ice into something, I used the closest empty container I could find, and it came in the form of a large black tub from Home Depot laying around in the yard.  If you don't have some of these in your preschool, they are so versatile, sturdy, and cheap!  I think they are for mixing cement or something. 

I digress.  So the tub was on the ground and I thought I needed a way to distract the kids from just jumping into the icy bath.  So I suggested they get some shovels and haul the ice to the sandbox.  They jumped on that idea!  And the sound of shovels digging into the ice was a nice sensation!

They got really busy, and once I referred to them as "the ice carriers", they walked around bragging "we're the ice carriers" or "ice carriers coming!"  It was wonderful.

You can just see how focused they were on the task at hand.

Back and forth they went, carrying ice all the way across the yard.

It was a wonderful feeling to slosh the icy water around, too.  Not too cold, but cool enough on this warm afternoon!

They seemed surprised when I told them they could drop the ice anywhere because it would just melt and turn back into water.  Ak created a little pile on a sunny patch of cement.  It actually stayed frozen for a long time!

This activity lasted at least twenty or more minutes.  Just a small bag of ice turned into an amazing, engaging activity for the kids.

*Steph*

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Upcoming posts:

• Wrestling at Beansprouts
• Stephanie's shopping cart and stroller issue