Watercolors in Gelatin

Molded gelatin injected with pipettes of watercolors. 

Afterwards we put it on the table and let kids cut it up and mush it with their hands.  Great sensory experience!

Then we moved it into the sensory bin!  We also experimented with melting it in the microwave and resetting it over and over.

Cascarones and Spring Experiments

I'm just going to post a whole bunch of our classroom activities in no particular order.  It been a crazy end of year, and now there are only 2 weeks left!  Whaaaaaa????!  I know!!!  I can't believe it either!

Cascarones

 This year we chose to color our eggs using permanent markers.  Naturally, some eggs will get smushed and some will fall and break, so have extras available!  

After the children draw on them, they fill their eggs with confetti and tape the bottom.  I fold and cut colored tissue paper and give it a fringe on one side.  Most cascarones then fold the tissue over so that the fringe is more ballooned, but for our sake it's easier to leave it folded.

We gave the children pre-made cones to glue the tissue paper around.  They really loved playing with the cones and thinking what they could be used for! 

Then we applied glue fringe side up and attached the tissue paper by rolling the cone over the tissue. 

When they were finished we glued the eggs inside the cones.

"Eggs-periment" 

How many books can you place on four eggs before they crack?

The eggs were cut and taped on the bottom before hand.  And we counted as we placed book on top of book.  This was really exciting and fun!

  

The answer?

43

Dying Flowers

Pretty self explanatory.

Add food coloring to water and watch flowers turn colors.

Not sure how the multicolored flowers got so many different colors on one flower?  They were bought this way.  The kids thought they were so cool!

Insects

Quickly trying to organize my phone and download pictures. For some reason I thought this was THE year that I would be super organized, ha!  Well here is a hodgepodge of what with did with insects.

Bug Safari accordion books.  The children drew the backgrounds, then added the stamps.  We dictated the words and children also used some "kid writing" to tell their story.

Clay insects.

Life Cycles:

Butterflies with sharpie and watercolor. This is part of a collaborative art piece for our silent auction. 

Play dough with insects and fairies. 

Painting large coffee filers, by folding them in half and using watercolor, so that they come out symmetrical. 

These wings along with the antennas are to be used for the children to dress up and hopefully a recording of a song for a video for The Global Art Project for Peace?

Chinese Dragon

A few pictures of our dragon head made with recycled materials. 

First day we put boxes together and painted.

Then we added scales. 

Then we discussed what features a dragon has and added them using whatever materials we could find.  We also have lots of books to get ideas from. 

Grace decided it was a girl dragon and felt she neede a crown. 

I wish I had taken a picture of the tail!  The tail in a long dyed piece of fabric that each year the children write their names on and draw a picture of themselves. It includes names and pictures of all the children from over 10 years back.  It's pretty spectacular, and I always get a little nostalgic when I see my 14 years old drawing and name from when she was 4 yrs. old.  Snif.