Color Theory Experiments

Spring fever has set in our classroom - big time! The kids are full of energy and excitement and noise. :) We need activities and lessons that match their energy levels, and these color experiments are perfect. Exploring color theory and experimenting with colors never gets old. Even my own older kids want to try it. Here are 3 fun, hands-on color experiments that are super simple to set up, and are guaranteed to keep the kids interested.

Turkey Baster Mixing
We set this experiment up in our sensory table, but it would also work outside with tubs of water. There are 3 containers of colored water (red, yellow, and blue), lots of empty smaller containers, dollar store turkey basters, and a big "dump" bucket. I put a cheap shower curtain liner and some beach towels on the floor, just in case!

The students work on strengthening their hand muscles as they use the turkey basters to transfer and mix the water in the table. It looks like this in action:

Ice Cube Trays
This experiment is similar to the one above, but on a smaller scale. Again, there are 3 dishes of primary colored water. Students use little pipettes and their fine motor muscles to make new colors in an empty ice cube tray.

Walking Water
This third color experiment does not give the immediate gratification of the first two, but is sure to impress the class the next morning! To set it up, we recount all of the things that we know about mixing colors and about absorption. Then, we filled 2 pitchers with colored water. The students rolled a clean, dry paper towel and placed one end in the water and the other end in an empty bowl.

Surprise! The next morning when the students arrived the middle bowl was full of water! It was a great way to make a hypothesis and then wait to discover the results.

Each of these experiments requires just containers, water and food coloring. They are quick to set up, but are engaging enough to keep the students busy and learning for a long time.

You can read more about the color experiments we do at Play to Learn Preschool here.

Have fun playing and learning with your children today!

Long Term Science Investigations

Hi Friends! It's Kristen from Loving Teaching Inspiring. I can't believe my birthday month is almost over?!? I'm seriously wondering how this happen?

I'm currently browsing through TPT and adding a ridiculous number of products to my wish list! I'm sure you've already heard BUT today is the big site-wide sale on TPT. Don't forget the promo code HEROES to snag that additional 10% off.

All the authors here at The Primary Pack are participating & I've added direct links to their stores at the bottom of the post. These ladies are seriously talented & I'm so blessed to be a part of their 'pack'!

Now for science investigations. Do you have a group of kiddos who LOVE science? I know I sure do! However, sometimes it's hard to fit in the science everyday but we try! The easiest way I learned to do this is with a long term investigation.

A long term investigation is just that...an investigation held over a long period of time. Our most recent investigation was created because of the HUGE misconception my class has about the moon. During the day we ONLY see the sun....NOT TRUE! But for these kiddos they need to see it to believe it. And so the investigation began!

Every student gets there very own data log! We start by discussing the purpose of the investigation and everyone makes their own hypothesis.

I try to keep an anchor chart to track our data as well as their individual books.

Next-up it's time to go outside!!! It's almost like an extra brain break too---get up and move!

Afterwards we all get back to work logging our new data. First, we write the date at the top. Then we either cross it out (if we didn't see the moon) or color the moon to match the phase its in! Last we color the thumb to match our picture. This makes it easy for the class to easily count how many times we observed the moon during the day.

Here's where it can get a little tricky...would you believe it that our first week of this investigation we didn't see the moon once! UGHH of course! I found a wonderful resource online to help with "moon hunting" check it out here.

Look how this little boy color coded his thumbs. Adorable. Simply Adorable.

After we finished collecting our data it was time to analyze. We looked back at our class chart and talked about our findings. Then we filled in our conclusion statement and checked our hypothesis. This little girls hypothesis was correct!

My class loves these little investigations. So far this year we've done a decomposing pumpkin, grapes to raisins and now the moon! You can click on the pictures below to grab your own copy of these investigations today for only $2.10 each!

 

Don't forget to shop through all The Primary Pack's store for some fabulous resources!!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Add Some 'Bubbly' To Your Valentine's Day!

Hi All!  It's Jenn Drake from Crayons & Cuties In Kindergarten!
I am so excited to bring your some 'kid tested and approved' science fun on my post this month!

Looking to add some 'bubbly' to your Valentine's Day this year?!

Aren't we all!!!

But here is an idea your students are sure to L-O-V-E you for!

It's time to make candy hearts DANCE!!!

Click this picture to head over to my blog to read all about it, get the 'recipes,' watch videos of them 'dancing' and find out what we learned from doing 2 different experiments!

You can even find how I used these recording sheets!

The recording sheets are differentiated- allowing you to choose what works best for your students and their ability levels!

I hope your Valentine's Day celebrations are LOVE-ly and your day is full of 'bubbly' fun and a LOVE of learning!

Happy Valentine's Day,