A Peek Inside Our Playroom: STEM/STEAM Cart Inspiration

With our first snowstorm and official snow day behind us, we are about to embark on Winter Break here. I look forward to the time with both boys at home and it is also an adjustment for everyone. I spent a bit of time each day this week working on small household projects to get Winter Break ready here. One of those projects was a much needed make-over to our STEM/STEAM Cart! This was an addition to our playroom set up just about a year ago and since then, it has housed many activities, toys and materials until, more recently, it became a bit of a storage space and dumping ground, abandoned in its little space beside our toy shelf. It also became the temporary home of our Chanukah menorah and each night, as I watched the oil cups glow, I was reminded again (and again, and again) that I really wanted to revamp our drawers and infuse the life and light back into them. I wanted them to be accessible to both boys. I wanted them to be a bit more open-ended and contain a variety of loose parts they could use either on their own or in conjunction to build, create and tinker. And I wanted this project to be as quick and easy as possible...so I gathered some ideas and materials from the ever inspiring face behind Pocket of Preschool and set to work stocking our Winter Themed STEAM Cart. Are you ready for the grand reveal?

Drawers are stocked with pattern blocks, winter straws, cotton balls, small building blocks, recycled cardboard tubes, wooden craft sticks... I'm big on using what you have on hand, whether it's small manipulatives, recycled materials or craft and household items. These particular drawers are more "open-ended." While some materials (like the pattern blocks or wooden blocks) might be used on their own to build, create and design, the boys are encouraged to use more than one material at a time if and when they choose to engineer things of their own imagining or to work with ideas from Pocket of Preschool's Winter themed "I Can Build" book (a small version is provided in the pattern blocks drawer and I have a larger laminated book in our "Read, Write and Record" drawer). 

Our playdough drawer houses the boys' silly putty and kinetic sand, but also is home to our new batch of snow white sparkly playdough (I'll share a recipe along with activities for this in the future) and some basic playdough tools we always use, like rolling pins, cookie cutters, plastic knives and trays. If the thought of having playdough and messy sensory activities within child reach is utterly terrifying to you, know that both of my boys can reach this drawer and both also know that the activity needs to be asked for first and taken to a table space. It is also OK not to include your playdough and sensory activities in an accessible set up like this and to substitute in something else.

Math activities are often kind of left out of many STEM/STEAM setups. Why are we so frightened of math? Goodness knows I had my own baggage with math classes coming out of my school years and into adulthood. Now I have a preschooler who is quite fascinated by number concepts and quite talented with them. I'd love for his self concept with math to stay as positive as it is now, so I include creative and age appropriate play and learning opportunities to explore and expand on these concepts at home. This unifex cube activity is an adaptation from Pocket of Preschool's Winter Math & Literacy Centers. It encourages measurement using a variety of tools including rulers, unifex cubes and printed/laminated snowball rulers. That being said, S's favorite activity right now with unifex cubes is building "shooters." All building and playing is learning...

 Literacy is not a target included in the STEM/STEAM concept (STELM just doesn't have the same ring, I guess...) but it is an element of learning and development I include in all play areas of our home. Our "Read, Write and Record" drawer houses a larger format "I Can Build" book with pictures and text to inspire projects and ideas (not shown), a selection of printed templates to draw/dictate and/or write about buildings and ideas, some blank graph paper for "blueprints" and a tray of pencils and colored pencils. The boys can also bring in art and writing materials from our Art and Writing Center shelves if they'd like. Printed templates can be a great resource (I will link to these resources further down) but you certainly don't need to create these or purchase and print them. You can also simply provide blank graph paper or a clipboard and paper or a notebook or journal for these purposes. You can make your own "I Can Build" books using photos and pictures of actual buildings and objects or photos taken of your children's creations and buildings. How cool would it be to have your own family book or poster of child-created work? Drawing about buildings and creations made with the loose parts and materials in our STEAM cart also incorporates the art element of "STEAM." It is a great way to preserve the work and creativity of play even past the time that something needs to be deconstructed and put away for later use. I've found that both in my classrooms and in my home, an option to take a photo of or to draw about a creation helps a child to move through the difficult transition of having to put away the materials at clean up time.

Loose parts come in all shapes and sizes. We think about building with children on kind of a medium sized scale much of the time. Wood blocks, Duplos/Legos, Magnetiles and so forth... But what about loose parts on a larger or smaller scale for use in STEM/STEAM activities? Small drawers are not a space suited for larger items, though I currently have a large wicker basket stocked with some incredible recycled tubes that were gifted to me by an early childhood educator friend and little hands do love lifting and maneuvering large objects! Y in particular loves activities that involve heavy lifting and rearranging so I try to have a larger scale building option out (so we can spare the furniture). And on the other end of that spectrum are small loose parts for tinkering and designing. Inspired by this great "Build a Snowflake Tinker Tray" from What Can We Do with Paper and Glue, I set up our Invitation to Build a Snowflake drawer. I stocked the bottom with some cool colored shades of felt rectangles and squares that can be used as both a background and work mat. I raided my medicine cabinet, toolbox and craft drawers for the rest. A dollar store muffin tin is now stocked with hexagon nuts, glass gems and mosaic tiles, sea glass, q-tips and cotton rounds. The boys could stop there and create or design to their heart's content. They could also work with these materials on the light table or include materials from some of the other drawers (like the straws or wooden craft sticks).

A completely new setup like this does require some introduction and instruction. I let the boys discover the drawers on their own (which conveniently also caused that night's bedtime tantrum because they were discovered ten minutes before it was time to go upstairs and get into pajamas). I also use the drawers individually or in combination for Morning Work/Table Time activities. I show the boys how to take the whole drawer out and carry it with two hands to the rug or table. I show them how to put them away when they are done. When materials are used in a way I didn't predict or expect, I try to be open-minded and supportive. If they need something to add, I try to assist. If they dump out the contents and use the drawers as hat (yes, this happened) I try to redirect to our hat collection and steer the activity back toward a more functional outlet.

When the drawers begin to get a bit stale, it's time to shift gears. This might mean engaging in play and exploration with the materials to reignite interest. It might mean demonstrating and modeling novel activities with the materials already there. It might mean changing out a few of the drawers and swapping parts. You can assess burnout and loss of interest in a few ways. Either children will stop playing with what is there or they may begin to play with it in dysfunctional ways (dumping, being silly/rough with materials). While I did do a complete overhaul with our drawers this time, I almost never do that in any play area or set up. I prefer to shift things in and out more gradually as, in general, this is more conducive to the flow of creativity and exploration in my home and classrooms.

If you'd like to set up your own STEM/STEAM discovery area, here are a few things to consider:

• Don't break the bank: There are so many toys and manufactured products (even subscription programs) to encourage STEM activities in schools and at home. It's a great era to live in. However, these can be pricey and many of them are limited in their functionality. While building manipulatives are great for so many areas of development, they often can be used in only one or a few ways and while some are always loved (in this house that includes Magnetiles and Legos), some get stale more quickly. Secondhand shops are great places to find good quality building manipulatives and toys if you do wish to incorporate those. Recycling bins are also a great place to look for loose parts to include. And don't forget nature! Rocks, pine cones, sticks and stones are all fabulous in play and learning.
• Short on space or don't have the drawers? You do not need to have a set up identical to this one. You can store materials in baskets or shoeboxes or small bins. You also don't need to have 10 drawers' worth of materials out! Just a few will do. Check out a more comprehensive list of ideas for loose parts to use in play and STEAM activities on this post I published for Fantastic Fun & Learning.
• The Art of Timing: Having royally missed the mark here this past week, I will make a note of timing when it comes to introducing a new setup and on STEAM exploration in general. Make sure you have allotted enough time for your children to engage in their activity. S having discovered this right before bedtime was a recipe for disaster. You want to allow for enough time for children to discover and explore the materials. And, that said, if they lose interest after a few minutes or want to move on to something else, that's also OK. Different days and energy levels and moods dictate different play styles. When it is time to transition, I try to provide adequate prompts and reasonable options for cleaning up or writing/recording along with reminders that the materials will still be there later and can be used again. One of the greatest aspects of loose parts play in STEAM activities is that the materials are not "used up" through the process, but rather are available again and again to create and explore. 

For the printable resources I used in our STEAM cart, visit teacherspayteachers.com and check out these materials from Pocket of Preschool:

• STEM I Can Build Cards and Anchor Charts
• Winter Math & Literacy Centers
• Winter STEM I Can Build Anchor Chart and Books

You certainly do not need to purchase these (or anything) to set up something similar in your home or classroom. Many times I create or make my own printables and activities. There are also many free resources online or at your library. Sometimes I want to save some time and cut some corners and when I do, I love to support another educator in the process. TpT shops frequently offer sales on products as well, and I take advantage of this.

Stay tuned as we get Winter Break ready here for a post on updates to our Writing Center, a great new Wintry playdough recipe, some snowy day fun  to take outdoors (or inside) and a grand reveal to our Winter Story Stretchers Playcamp, featuring 10 of my very favorite Winter themed children's books and fun play and learning activities to go with them. Until then...

Happy Playing!

Got Snow?

Needle felting--how I play the day
away when the kids are asleep!

I remember the excitement I used to feel as a little girl when in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun came up, I could hear the sound of snowplows traveling back and forth our suburban street. Surely there would be a snow day in the morning! What was it we were supposed to do with our pajamas to get a snow day again, wear them backwards or inside out? S cried this morning when we told him preschool was closed. So yeah, that happened! Nonetheless, once his initial disappointment surpassed (and my heart is so truly happy that school is a place he loves so much!) he settled into the excitement of the snow day with everyone at home. Here in Virginia, a few inches of fluffy white snow is enough to shut the world down. Nonetheless, I am southern enough now to no longer own a snow shovel (I used a dustpan on my front stoop) and to not really like these below freezing temperatures enough to brave the great outdoors. Plus we have all been fighting some runny noses around here so bringing the snow inside seemed like a great compromise this morning. Whether you're shut in or laughing at everyone who is, whether you approach a snow day with anticipation or trepidation, we've got you covered here at Play-a-Day for some fun snow day play!

Inspired by some recent posts from northern connections enjoying snowy sensory sensory play indoors, I scooped up a generous portion of our front stoop snow collection into our sensory bin and added in a couple of ice cream scoops, some plastic dishes, an empty plastic ice cream cone and some jars of colored water (red, blue and yellow food coloring added to a bit of water) plus pipettes for this Snow Cone Sensory Bin. I encouraged both boys not to actually eat the snow cones. Only one of them listened...

Y got his fill of "snow cones" and moved on to some play time in the living room while S got busy preparing snow cones, snow castles and, with the addition of a baby carrot nose, two pretzel sticks for arms and a couple of raisin eyes, even a tiny little indoor snowman! I love using pipettes for fine motor and transfer practice and S absolutely adores them as well. He played for over an hour in our Snow Cone Sensory Bin before he got hungry for some raisins and pretzels for snack (coincidence?)...

Variety is the spice of life and with just the right amount of snow, the possibilities are as limitless as patterns in a snowflake. Here are some more indoor and outdoor snow play ideas...

Both boys adore a great fingerplay and action rhyme. S has been a fan of "Five Little Snowmen" since he was just a baby and now Y is following suit...

He particularly likes hearing this while eating
pureed carrots...another coincidence? 

Meanwhile, S really has enjoyed making paper snowflakes this year. There are many great ways to make paper snowflakes and one of my favorite ways to introduce the activity in a pretty fool-proof method for early learners is with white paper coffee filters. This year I set an activity basket with all the materials for creating colorful paper snowflakes and visual directions I created and printed. S did the activity with me the first couple of times, but has returned to the basket repeatedly to do it on his own. He feels so proud to be able to fold the paper in half and in half again and in half again... It combines two of his very greatest loves: cutting with scissors and spraying with spray bottles!

We used white coffee filters, washable markers in a variety of cool tones, scissors,  a dark washcloth for placing under the work and spray bottle of water and a wooden tray for collecting small scraps before they are thrown away.

 I used photos to create visual directions for S so even after being walked through the activity with support the first time, he would have a reminder to do it independently in the future. We begin by coloring the coffee filter. I always inform my young artists that the appearance of their artwork will change after cutting and spraying so they do not become attached to a carefully planned illustration only to have it altered at the end! Next we fold the filter in half and in half again and again...and begin to cut out little shapes along the folds and center... S experimented a few times before getting the hang of this. I welcome "mistakes" as they are how we learn best and S did not become frustrated with this either. When we are done cutting, we set the folded coffee filter on top of a dark colored washcloth (so color will not stain) and spray a few times with water until it is completely saturated. I fold the washcloth over once to press out any excess water before carefully unfolding and revealing the resulting snowflake. Once dry, they can be hung in a window, strung from the ceiling or displayed wherever you like!

Some of our other snow day favorites are visiting our U-Pick-a-Project Basket, a collection of craft kits or simple projects for days or times that beg for something fun and exciting on a whim. S has been really into woodworking kits with his Tatty. Today they built a tzedakah box that we hung in our kitchen at his level. He was so excited to put in one penny, one nickel, one dime and one quarter after doing almost all of the hammering himself! You can find great arts and crafts kits on discount at craft supply stores after certain seasons, at Dollar Tree Stores or Walmart, or even create your own when you have leftovers from home or school projects. Some of our other favorites are making bookmarks, using coloring, paint or sticker books, and let's not forget playdough!

Snow days are great days for warming up in the kitchen. Whether you prepare something to eat or to play with, cooks of all ages love to join in! Perhaps you might make some Arctic Slime to play with or try your hands at another science experiment... S gets a kick out of popping popcorn on the stove-top and enjoying the resulting snack. And even Mommies who love to play need a little play break now and then...this is when I put some freshly popped popcorn into a movie style popcorn bag and set up a video for a bit!

A snow day at home is a welcome interruption to our usual routine here today, but I think we are all hopeful that school will open again in the morning! Until then, check out some more inspiration for snowy day fun at home and, as always, happy playing!

Don't Throw Away That Box!

We made a big day trip this past Sunday and by the time we got home, I had no energy left to set up and prepare for a day of home preschooling the following morning. I wasn't too worried about it--we would find a way to spend the day for sure and perhaps after a day of being stuck in the car and dragged to kosher grocery stores and restaurants, a day of play would be a good thing. And then I saw it, sitting unpretentiously on our front stoop. The holy grail of childhood rainy days and indoor play. A huge cardboard box! Actually, it was a huge cardboard box containing our monthly Amazon Subscribe & Save order and thanks to having two kids in diapers now, it arrived in a perfectly toddler sized box. "Don't throw away that box!" I instructed my husband as I foresaw a perfect Monday up ahead--with two freshly diapered tushies AND a giant box to provide hours of entertainment.



My toddler was so excited to see the big box in the living room the next morning, it was hard to get him (out of the box!) to eat his breakfast.

What is it about a box that is so inviting? I have my own childhood memories of amazing cardboard creations--from DIY costumes to a whole neighborhood of cardboard houses after we made a family move... And most parents have a memory (or two or three) of those early birthdays and holidays when our children were far less interested in our carefully chosen gifts than the boxes and wrapping they came in. This great article by the National Association for the Education of Young Children explains why this is from a developmental standpoint. That said, even well past my own early developmental stages, I still find a recycled box to be a treasure in the making!

 We began our adventure with some markers. For very young artists, a cardboard box can be a wonderful canvas that simultaneously invites and contains their creative expressions. If you're concerned about wandering marker strokes and painty handprints, a cardboard box is a great place to plop your little Picasso for some messy and artistic fun! You can even bring the activity outside to altogether avoid any indoor mess. (Bonus points if it's warm enough to hose 'em off before you come back in!) I helped cut a window on one side and position the box. My little artist wanted to share the fun and doodling and had some specific requests for commissioned work. He wanted a dog, two butterflies and flowers drawn on! From there, the experience took off entirely from his imagination as I watched in awe and nostalgia!

His box became an office (and yes, he's wearing a tie...)

...a shul...

...and throughout the day, a bakery shop, a snacking spot, a reading nook and a parking garage...

The options were as endless as his imagination and he was eager to return to it again today. Nowadays we have a plethora of amazing DIY ideas to do with something as simple as a cardboard box. Peruse Pinterest for a while and you'll find loads of amazing posts on the topic. And yet, very little is as simple and enjoyable as providing the most basic materials and letting your little ones take the lead. When a toddler's imagination travels outside the box, the results can hardly be contained! Our little house/office/shul/bakery/parking garage may not last so long before it makes its final journey to the recycling bin, but until then we will be happily playing. And after that, we can look forward to that next diaper delivery!

Beyond the Book: The Snowy Day

We recently had our very first snowy day! My toddler was so excited to finally put a sticker in the snowy section of our weather chart and even more excited to bundle up and play outside. He has been asking to read Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day again and again since I first brought it out during our Winter Theme. In fact, as you'll see in the picture below, this has been a longtime favorite book of his! He was so eager to take his very own winter walk outside with his Tatty. Sometimes when it snows, we've brought toys, colored water and other accessories outside to play and explore with. This time, we kept it simple. He had an amazing time exploring the snow with an icicle! He loved looking for icicles, holding them, writing in the snow with them...

The next day, my husband took him on another winter walk. He learned how to make a snowball and throw it.
By today, warmer temperatures had begun to melt our snow away. We bundled up in snow gear and got ready for one more Winter Walk. Today I let my son lead the way! He was really curious about what was happening to all of the snow. He could still make snowballs, but as he rolled and shaped them, grass showed through. He wanted to find an icicle, but they were no longer hanging from the rooftops and cars! He led me on a neighborhood walk to look for icicles. Along the way, he learned how to make footprints in the snow. He observed different sized footprints and even footprints of other species. Could he find places where dogs and cats had walked through the neighborhood? We listened to the sound of water running down the gutters and observed puddles forming where ice and slush had been. We saw the sun shining in the sky and talked about how it warmed up the snow and ice, melting it away.

I could tell he was sad to see it go (even though I was rather pleased to have the roads and walkways more commutable)! We got a ziplock bag and labeled it and he helped me collect just one more snowball. My son is always asking to do science activities and during this winter walk, he would get to set up his own experiment. We collected our snowball sample and sealed the bag shut. We talked about how Peter's snowball had melted in his coat pocket in The Snowy Day and came up with some ideas about how we might have different results in bringing a snowball inside to keep. What would happen if we put it in our coat pockets? What if we left it on the table? We concluded those places are too warm and that the snowball would quickly melt. So where was the coldest place in the house? Where do we keep popsicles when we have them? The freezer!

So now my freezer is adequately stocked with one very special little snowball. He loved observing it later that day and seeing that it was, in fact, still there! And with very little time and very few materials, we were able to do a bit of science while simultaneously preserving the whimsy and magic of a snowy day beyond the big melt and beyond the book!

A blast from snowy days' past!

Winter Theme: Arts & Crafts

There are so many cute seasonal arts and crafts projects this time of year. You can certainly purchase winter-themed craft kits on the cheap at local craft supply stores, Dollar Tree and even big box stores. There's a lot you can do, however, without any kits at all right from the warmth and comfort of your own home. Here's a peek at some of our favorites from Winters past:

We especially loved this Invitation to Create a Snowman last year. Using white paint and a plastic cup for stamping as well as some construction paper accessories, google eyes and buttons to glue on, my son and I each built our very own snowman indoors. His was melting I think!

As much as I love an uncluttered house and am careful about selecting what I save, what I donate and what I toss throughout the year to keep it that way, I have a hard time parting with artwork my students and son have created. I may or may not need a little more time to part with the 5,624 paper plate turkeys I have from the last few years and I may or may not just serve Thanksgiving dinner on them next year and avoid the whole mess of dishes afterword. That said, selecting a few projects throughout the year to do on canvas creates a beautiful and finished look that children and parents alike can feel proud of for years to come. They make wonderful gifts and keepsakes. Last winter we did this masking tape resist snowflake painting on canvas, adding coarse kosher salt at the end for a gorgeous and realistic icy texture. We don't have enough wall space to accommodate endless amounts of artwork and we also don't necessarily want to look at snowflakes in July. Rather, we have some set areas where we hang artwork that gets rotated throughout the year. This is a fun way to reminisce as well as to welcome a new season or theme. I'm looking forward to swapping this one in again soon!

 And here are a couple less traditional "canvases" your artist can work from! Using pipettes, squeeze bottles or recycled condiment bottles full of colored water, you can create beautiful snow paintings outdoors in indoors. It's also a fabulous hands-on way to explore color mixing and snow melting!

Another version of coarse kosher salt on paint--my little guy painted this polar bear "ziplock bag style" when he was still a baby. Sprinkling kosher salt on top gives it the "frosty" look!

Ice prepared by freezing water in plastic containers overnight made the "canvas" on this watercolor painting. I did this last year both with my son and with my pre-k students. It provided a lengthy amount of fun and exploration as the colors mixed and settled into the ice. It's surely an activity we will pull out again here this year and it doesn't even need to be wintertime at all!

Lastly, fear not the mess of arts and crafts in the home! Never underestimate the power of a ziplock bag when it comes to very young painters or you just don't want to clean up hands, clothes and any number of other surfaces. Painting inside a bag still provides a great sensory experience for little hands and produces beautiful artwork to boot. Here my then little baby painted a snowflake. And speaking of snowflakes--my favorite fool-proof way to cut paper snowflakes and teach children to as well is with white coffee filters. The circular shape is a perfect one to begin with, they come in packs large enough to accommodate plenty of fine motor practice and they can be beautifully dyed by coloring with washable marker and spraying with or dipping in water. Once they are dry, they can be hung in the window for a colorful decoration to brighten the season.

Happy crafting!

Winter Theme: Snow Play and Snow Days!

Ah, Winter! I no longer live in the incredibly snowy climate of my own childhood (and cannot say I miss it either), but we do get some here and the whole season just has a whimsical and playful feel to me. There is no playground like the one you can make yourself from a perfect, wet snowfall. And when you get too cold and it's time to come inside for a break, there is plenty of seasonal fun to be had indoors! As I gradually set up our learning and play-space for the Winter season, I keep a few things in mind.

Snowman Bowling Set--created from styrofoam
cups and permanent marker. Five minutes of
preparation time and yields several times
that amount of time in tossing a "snowball" (we
used a small rubber ball) and re-stacking!

• I favor toys and materials that encourage abstract thought and imagination. This is often a season of accumulation (and I don't just mean in feet of snow). There are a LOT of toys on the market and it can be hard to sort through what's a must-have for all time and what's just the newest trend this season. [I still want a Tamagotchi, I don't CARE what you say!] For what it's worth, I continue to try to purchase only toys that don't have a short developmental shelf-life--that is, they are things my child can grow with and continue to use as he gets older and/or things that will stand the test of time and play to be functional for future little ones. 



We ended up with a LOT of these packing peanuts last year. They are
great for crafts (they stick together with just water) and sensory play!

•  Use what you have! In addition to being particular about what types of toys we invest in or suggest to doting grandparents this time of year, I also make a lot of our playthings and learning materials. There are a lot of fun activities you can prepare for and even with your children using items you already have in your home. Hitting the kitchen together on a cold day is a great way to warm up and spend time together--and you can cook up things to eat as well as things to play with while you're there.

• ALWAYS BE PREPARED! As a kid, I used to listen for the sound of plows driving by while it was still dark out because that most certainly meant a snow day when the snow came up. As parents, we often live in fear of the dreaded snow day. What will we do now? I keep a keen eye toward a play-space that is conducive to longer (even unexpected) stretches of independent play. I also keep a stocked U-Pick-a-Project Basket of easy to set up crafts and activities that can be pulled out for such an occasion. Toy rotation and a playroom set up with a minimalist approach also means that in a pinch, you can get an old activity out of the closet and it will have that just-like-new feeling again. And if like us, you sometimes feel the amount of presents at the holidays and birthdays is too overwhelming to rip into all at once, you can put a few away for those unexpected sick-at-home or snowed-in days. 

Do you wanna build a snowman?

I love flannel boards and felt sets for story telling and play. I have an area of our house with a lot of empty low wall space that is covered in felt just for this purpose. I also frequently create temporary flannel board spaces, like this poster board wrapped in felt and hung on a door front. Most of my felt sets are homemade but I have also found some great ones at thrift stores. With the set-up pictured below, we've had a lot of fun over the years building and accessorizing our own snowmen and penguins. The doorknob made a great place to hang the felt pieces not in use and to store the set between play and story telling sessions.

Speaking of building a snowman indoors...never underestimate the fun that can be head playing with and exploring snow INSIDE. Whether it's too deep, too cold or just too much to get outside in the snow, using a plastic bin indoors filled with snow can be a fabulous alternative. Throw in some shovels for digging, some containers and buckets for filling or even some colored water for "painting."  It's guaranteed to be a winner without the stress of stuffing everyone into snowsuits.

And when you do have the patience, energy and climate conditions to stuff into snowsuits, there is definitely a whole white world of fun waiting out there. Don't be afraid to bring along some spray bottles with colored water to paint that world a different color or two!

This blast from the past photo is here to remind you to Stay Warm and Happy Playing!

Mad Science Monday: Snow in August Small World Scene

We are continuing on our Un-planning, Un-themed, Unadulterated End of Summer Fun with this favorite Unseasonably fun Science/Sensory activity I'm now calling "Snow in August."

Here's a photo of the first time we tried out this activity, on an actual snow day in January!

Before I go into setting up this playful Arctic scene, I'd like to give a shout out to the great source I received the idea from: 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids by Asia Citro, MEd, author as well of the wonderful blog FunAtHomeWithKids.com. This activity can be found in the small worlds section of the book, under the title "Penguin World." 

Small world play describes activities that often combine sensory materials with figurines, small dolls or other small toys to encourage imaginative play and storytelling. Older preschoolers can truly begin to delve into the abstract end of this and develop strong storytelling skills while even the younger ones can benefit from the earlier development of dramatic play skills not to mention the fine motor practice and sensory skills. Earlier on, small world play may require adult involvement to encourage role-playing and story telling and different ways to use the materials. More and more, adults can step back and little ones can delve into their creative play scenes. These activities can fill a fifteen minute time slot or captivate for hours! Although this one has the potential to be quite messy, they can also be composed of dry (and less messy) materials. For the messier ones, I do recommend use of a drop cloth beneath your work space for easy clean up. When it comes to miniatures and figurines you might add to a small world scene, you can go out and purchase sets of animals and dolls to use for a range of costs, but you can also find a lot of these items at thrift stores, dollar stores, party favors and the occasional box of cereal. In other words, it need not break the bank--better yet, use what you have and don't go crazy, less is often more in small world play. Remember--little ones only have two small hands to play with!

Snow in August Small World Scene

You will need:

• a large plastic bin, baking dish or container to work from
• water to prepare your ice (see below)
• blue food coloring or liquid watercolor
• cornstarch
• glass gems (optional, can be found in the floral department of craft or discount stores)
• plastic penguins, polar bears and other desired Arctic animals

Prepare ahead:

Prepare any or all of the following ice options:

• Using any plastic storage container, fill with water and add a few drops of blue food coloring or liquid water color. Freeze, preferably overnight for your iceberg (which my son calls an "iceburger").
• Fill and freeze an ice cube tray as well for additional blocks of ice for building an igloo!
• Partially fill and freeze water in the base of your plastic bin or baking dish for an ice sheet.
• You can also have a lot of fun adding crushed ice.

Time to PLAY:

• Using a shallow bin or baking pan, set up your iceberg and ice blocks as desired. Pour a generous amount of cornstarch over the ice.
• Add your figurines and Arctic animals and glass gems if using

As little ones play and explore, they will enjoy the soft texture of the cornstarch snow and the cold, slippery ice. The added science bonus that earned this post its Mad Science Monday slot is that as the ice melts, the water will combine with the cornstarch to create a non-Newtonian fluid commonly known in the world of early childhood as Ooblek. This mixture behaves like a solid under pressure but a liquid when left to its own devices and can inspire hours of exploration on its own. In that sense, you can leave the activity for a while if your junior scientist is done playing or you need to tend to something else and then return later to enjoy the Ooblek. Alternatively, if you'd like to reach the Ooblek stages a little bit sooner, you can do what we did this time and add a bit of water to the scene.