Clean Mud

Clean Mud

• 1 Roll of Toilet Paper
• 1 Bar of Ivory Soap 
• Vegetable Peeler 
• Water 
• Large Bowl

1. Take the roll of toilet paper and tear the sheets in to small pieces.
2. Place the pieces of paper in a large bowl.
3. Use the vegetable peeler and shave about a quarter (1/4) of the bar of soap into the bowl filled with the paper.
4. Add warm water to the mixture. Start out with just enough water to dampen the paper.
5. Have the child mix the ingredients, working the “clean mud” in between her fingers.
6. Slowly add more and more water to the mixture to create a slimier feeling.

 Less Mess: Place the mixture into a Ziploc bag and allow the child to feel the “clean mud” from the outside of the bag.

 More Mess: Mix small items (such as coins or small plastic beads) into the mixture and have the child find the hidden objects.

Noticing the Details

I don’t know about your life, but mine seems to get busier and busier every day juggling work, home, family and friends. There always seems to be reasons to do things faster, just to get them done, to have time to do more things in the limited hours of the day. But the issue with faster and more is that there is little time to appreciate the details in life. Noticing details is a hallmark of a good scientist. Up close is where the discoveries are waiting, the ones that spark curiosity, make you wonder why or how or what and invite you to take another look, examine closer, or read more.  

Life can be full of these moments of wonder, but you have to slow down to find them. Have you ever noticed that drops of water cling to your fingers before falling off or examined salt to that see each individual crystal is a cube? Have you ever wondered why little rays of light seem to dance on the table when shining through a glass of water or why cream swirls in a cup of coffee? These are the types of observations that invite your mind to question and ponder how the world works, which is exactly what we want our children to be doing. What do you notice? How does it feel? How does it smell? Does it remind you of anything? What do you think would happen if…? The right question at the right time can help children focus on details, make connections and lead them to deeper learning.

One thing you should know about me is that I carry a pocket microscope in my purse, and I use it all the time. Just today I was showing my coworker, Brenda, an insect I found outside our door. It was some type of beetle I had never seen before, but the colors were amazing; lines of emerald green running down its wing edged with magenta, iridescent blues, purples and copper on its back, silver eyes made of hundreds of tiny lenses. Noticing these things myself makes me a curious person, but sharing what I am curious about with others is when the magic happens; when Brenda gets curious and calls to another coworker inviting her to look closer. We wondered together what kind of insect it might be, why its eyes have so many lenses and what the world must look like through them. You don’t have to wait for rainbows to feel the wonder of living, and the more you can model wonder for children, the more children will appreciate the world around them and want to know more about it.

Science Blog: Oobleck – This cornstarch concoction changes from a liquid to a solid and back again right in your hand!

Looking for an activity that is both fascinating and easy to make with the ingredients in your kitchen? Then Oobleck is the goo for you! It is basically just cornstarch and water, but at just the right mixture, it is a liquid while sitting still but turns into a solid the moment you squeeze it. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself! Also, Oobleck is easy to clean up. It rinses away from hands and clothes with water, or if you let it dry, it turns into a powder and can be brushed off. Just don’t pour a glob of it down your drain!

Recipe

• 1 cup of water
• 1 ½ – 2 cups of cornstarch
• food coloring

 Add food coloring to your water and slowly start adding the cornstarch. Start out with a cup and a half of cornstarch and continue to add more until the goo looks like a liquid, but the moment you try to stir, it cracks around the spoon and gets stiff. If it gets too stiff and turns completely into a solid, just add a little more water. Refrigerate Oobleck in a baggie if you are going to play with it more than one day.

 Now the real fun begins. Try poking it hard with your finger. What happened? Now try easing your finger into it. Did it react the same way? Put your hand in and try to pick some up. Can you roll it into a ball? What happens when you stop rolling it? Try pouring some from a cup, or put some in a tray and tilt. What do you notice? Try using a funnel. As the stream comes out the bottom, can you break it in two as if it were solid? Make another color of Oobleck and let the children mix the two. What other tools can you try with Oobleck? How do you think the Oobleck will react?

 The science behind it:

Cornstarch doesn’t dissolve in water like sugar or salt does. Instead, the tiny particles are suspended in the water, floating next to each other. When Oobleck is sitting still or gentle pressure is applied (such as easing your finger into it), the particles are able to move around each other and make way for things moving through it (like a liquid would act). When greater pressure is applied to Oobleck (such as poking it with your finger or squeezing it in your hand), the particles are forced closer together creating a “traffic jam”. When they don’t have space to move, the particles bunch up and behave like a solid. As soon as the pressure is released, the particles are free to move around again and will flow like a liquid.

Did you know?

Oobleck is used in games show challenges. If you had a swimming pool of Oobleck, you could run across it. Just don’t stand still!

What have you tried?

What are your Oobleck experiences or do you have other concoctions that you make with children? Share your ideas!

Going on a Nature Walk

Through PNC Grow Up Great with Science, I recently visited the preschool classes of Friends School. I came to share a backyard ecosystem I set up with dirt, rocks, decaying leaves, worms, slugs and pill bugs.  (Pill Bugs are great animals to bring into a classroom, and I’ll write more about them at a later date.) The children had a wonderful time lifting up the rocks and leaves, watching the pill bugs move and examining everything through their magnifiers, but what I want to share with you today was what I encountered after the activity, when I stayed to go on a nature walk with Blaine Hicks’ classroom.

A simple walk around the school provided a myriad of learning moments. As soon as we were out the door, Blaine stopped the children and had them use their different senses to observe the environment (listening for birds, tasting and smelling the air, feeling the roughness of the brick), and as we walked along the sidewalk, the children were encouraged to look for insects under rocks, to notice the dew on the grass and to wonder about what creatures we might find in the mulch. A 15 minute walk, that totaled less than a city block, yielded an orange and black beetle, flowers in different stages of life and decay, a tiny millipede, miniature pine cones, an army of ants, wild strawberries, clover, a feather, mushrooms and a pill bug. Children gingerly carried their findings, and every step was full of wonder about what we would find next. Blaine didn’t fill the walk with facts, information and instructions.  She explored with them; asking questions, modeling curiosity, letting the children discover their world at their own pace and teaching them how to look closely.