Cloud dough and play dough

Last week we had so much fun making our own homemade cloud dough and play dough! Projects like these can be pretty messy, as you no doubt figured when you saw your child's red hands, but they're so much fun! It's great for the students to have had an active hand in adding ingredients, stirring, and watching the items transform into something totally different!

If you aren't familiar with cloud dough, it's kind of like moon sand--it's a powdery substance that holds together when pressed but is easily "re-crumbled" (is that even a word?) and never dries out! There are a couple of different recipes for homemade cloud dough; the one we used called for flour and vegetable oil (plus we added orange tempera paint powder and pumpkin pie spice). It smelled so good! You can also make it with corn starch and baby oil.

Happy kiddos enjoyed stirring the ingredients.

The homemade play dough is even more fun because there's a bigger transformation. Each child got to add an ingredient and stir it in, and then Mrs. Connie and Mrs. LeeAnne heated it up using the electric skillet. 

Stirring together flour, salt, and cream of tartar.

Adding a little bit of vegetable oil ...

We sprinkled in some red kool-aid powder for color, and apple pie spice for the wonderful scent. 

What a transformation when we added water! 

More water!

We stirred and stirred, and at first it looked like a soupy mess. But within a few minutes of being heated, it solidified to create play dough. It was hard waiting for our play dough to cool off, but we had so much fun playing with it once it was ready!

It almost seemed like the students had more fun with our homemade play dough than they do when we play with the store-bought stuff. It really makes a difference when they're able to take an active role. What fun!!

Digging for dinosaurs

Since last week was D week, we dug out our sensory bins and filled them with dried rice and beans. We buried dinosaurs large and small, then let the children go to town digging them out.

Some children enjoyed running their hands through the rice, while others grabbed small spoons from the play kitchen and fed the hungry animals!

This bin was loaded with sand and "precious" stones. 

All About Me posters

The conclusion to our "All About Me" unit came with a fun family project ... our All About Me posters! The students and their parents worked together to create a wonderful introduction to each classmate. Some were fancy and some were simple, but all were heartfelt and a really fun way to learn more about our new K3 friends.

We presented our posters a few at a time, over several days. The kids loved sharing about their families, their pets and friends, and their favorite foods and toys. After each presentation, we invited the class to come take a closer look at each poster ... they enjoyed the Ninja Turtle stickers, the glitter, and all the photos of people they recognize! 

Taste test

One of the great ways to experience our sense of taste is to, well, taste different things! Mrs. Connie brought in lots of different things--popcorn, marshmallows, BBQ chips, oranges, lemons, salt, sugar, and sweet/unsweet chocolate. The kids had a great time tasting everything, even though not everything tasted good!

We compared the appearance of salt and sugar -- the same! -- versus how each of them tasted. 

Then we gave each child their own sample of the other items. We compared the ways lemons and oranges are the same (both have thick skin, both are fruits, both are juicy) and then tasted them. The kids' reactions to the sour lemons were hilarious!

But the most disliked food of all had to be the unsweetened baking chocolate! Granted, this was kind of a dirty trick ... the children bit into it, expecting candy, and got a very unpleasant surprise. After this, it was hard getting them to try the Hershey bar! One little boy even spit his out. 

Finally, we went outside for our final taste event ... popsicles! 

Hearing and touching test

As part of our "All About Me" unit, we've been learning about the five senses. To illustrate this even more, we've done a lot of fun, hands-on testing. First, we blindfolded each child and had them identify certain sounds.

To demonstrate the sense of touch, we did a touch test. Using our classroom puppet theater, we placed various objects on a table behind the curtain. Students had to reach through, touch the item, and guess what they were feeling.

Spiral pasta noodles

Their reactions were hilarious! 

Other items included corn starch, marshmallows, and sandpaper. What fun we have in K3!

Teddy Bear Picnic

While studying the letter B last week, we celebrated our annual Teddy Bear Picnic. We brought our favorite bears from home, and we snacked on B items like berries and bananas. It was so much fun!

A special treat was our B treasure hunt. Mrs. Connie had hidden things that start with a B, and we got to find them!