Early Childhood Blog

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Book and Finger Puppet Sets

Book and Finger Puppet Sets - 10% off (Limited time only)

Scavenger Hunt and Nature Creation

This is a great Spring activity to get the kids outdoors...

Go on a nature walk and collect as many interesting things as you can.

For older children, you could turn this into a scavenger hunt. Just make a list of items you would like them to collect and send them on their way!

This is the list I made for the older kids...

Scavenger Hunt List

When you return, get out the clay and begin your creation!

The DAS modelling clay is fantastic as it is air drying and is a great natural terracotta colour.

Making a clay creation using DAS Terracotta Modelling Clay

Here are my kids creations...

This is Heidi's (11) dog and dog bowl

This is Courtney's (9) garden

This is Sienna's (6) smiley face

This is Levi's (3) dinosaur garden (the spiky balls are the dinosaurs)

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Insect Hunt

This morning we all went on an 'insect hunt'...

For the serious insect hunter these exploring products are great...

Then, using Storytelling Paper and Markers we documented our findings...

A fun morning!!

Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Spring Flowers

This is a very simple craft activity the kids are sure to love...

What you need:

Paper shapes - flowers
Kids PVA
Pom Poms
Sequins
Markers
or
buy these items as a pack and save 10% - Spring Flowers Craft Pack (makes 24 flowers).

What you do:

Use the markers, PVA and collage materials to decorate your flowers...

Ta Da!! The finished products...

Hang up to make a beautiful Spring Flower display.

Monday, 29 July 2013

Celery 'Drinking' Experiment

The kids really loved this experiment and it let them discover for themselves how plants 'drink'.

Some great thought processes were witnessed and interesting conversations were had, some of which are documented below.

Day 1 Celery Experiment

Day 1 - When we placed the celery in the coloured water (black, yellow and green), I asked my 6 year old;
"What do you think will happen?"
There was a bit of a blank look on her face and she really didn't know what to say. When I prompted her to make a random guess she said "They are going to turn that colour?"
Lets wait and see I said...

Day 2 Celery Experiment

Day 2 - As the celery started to change colour, the excitement grew!

"Oh my gosh... look at the celery!"

I asked "How did the colour get to the top of the stalk when only the bottom is in the water?"

This question provoked much thought and eventually, after a little giggle came the response;

"Through the air?"

I said "Good try... have another guess."

After more thought came the response "It goes up the celery stick."

I asked "How does it go up?"

"On the outside"

We felt the celery stick.

"Is there any colour on your fingers?

"No."

"So, the colour doesn't go up on the outside. How else could it get to the top?

"On the inside!"

"Yes! Why would the water go all the way to the top of the stalk and through the leaves?"

"Don't know."

"Have a guess."

"Mmmm, because it's drinking it."

"Exactly!"

This was a great conversation and I loved the way she really thought about her answers. The look on her face when she figured out the process was remarkable. She was so proud!

Day 3 Celery Experiment

Day 3 - We continued to watch the celery changing colour even more dramatically on the 3rd day.

Overall, this was a very successful science experiment and my kids enthusiasm made it very enjoyable. I highly recommend trying it!!!!

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Self-Raising Flour Puff Paint

A very simple, inexpensive and fun activity...

What You Need: (for each colour)

1 tablespoons SR flour
1 tablespoon salt
few drops food colouring
water
thick card
cotton buds

Mix flour, colour and water in a small bowl until you get a smooth paste. Make as many colours as you need.