Colour Mixing - Follow up!

So today we revisited our colour mixing activity and it went well! 

We each took turns using the droppers and mixing the colours. We got the desired result with no difficulty. The children followed the colour chart for mixing the correct colours. (As seen in the previous post.)
We had reviewed the colours we knew so that the younger children would be able to help identify the colours we were using. In a toddler classroom we have children at different skill levels, so reviews are always important.

Some of the children could use the droppers independantly and others required a bit of assitance, but everyone was anxious to mix their own colours.  

Once we finished with the droppers we moved to the light table to view colour mixing through the baggies of coloured water. At first the baggies had too much water in them, and the colour change was so faint we could hardly see it. So we had to dump out some of the water.

My light table is on an angle it does not lay flat - a flat one would have been better.

Still too much!

OK it was getting there!

We liked this result!

The blue and yellow to make green was really cool!

Neat eh?!



Colour Mixing

This activity was really fun!

We used the droppers to place coloured water into the small dishes and observed the mixed colours. We also lined the clear bottles up and shone a flashlight through them and viewed the colour they made on the surface of a white piece of paper we placed behind them.

I wasn't blogging when we did this - so I will repeat this activity to take pictures and show you our results.

Some colours did not mix when we shone the light through the bottles. I was told by 'Science Bob' that the rounded bottles threw my experiment off. He said I should have tried putting the colours into ziplock bags and hold them up to a window for better results. He also said to experiment with how much coloring to use for the best effect.
OK this weeks activity! :) This will give me a good reason to use my new light table!

The blue and yellow to make green worked great - so did red and yellow to make orange - but not as well - the blue and red to make purple did not work at all.

Here are Science Bob's Links:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/sciencebob
http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/
http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/

Update to follow! :)

Practical Life Montessori



These are a few of the Practical Life activities that I have in my classroom. It's amazing how popular they are, considering they are not fancy or expensive. Just goes to show you children want to learn new skills and task oriented activities are a great source of entertainment as well.

This was set out at Christmas time - the children used pincer grasp to transfer the pompoms to the icecube tray one by one.

This one is out all the time - the children use the squirt bottle to wet the mirror and then they use the cloth to dry it off

This is also out all the time - ironing and hanging clothes with clothes pegs.

An occasional activity - The children dump the beans onto the tray and then sweep them up with the dustpan and broom.

Dry pouring - I change the containers to match the season or theme, but it's always out as an activity. Here I have used small top hats and rice for St. Patricks Day.

In this activity the children will scoop up the rice with the spoon and then put it through the funnel into the plastic tub. We do this in different variations.



Bonjour - French in the toddler classroom

When I started my employment at the Montessori School where I now work, I was pleased to find out they had a French teacher who was employed full time. She taught French everyday. However I was then disappointed to find out that the toddlers would not be having any French classes. With some discussion and a bit of proding, we got our French class. At the beginning, only 15 minutes once a week, then 15 minutes once a day.  Definitely not long enough, especially since the toddlers caught on very quickly, and loved the experience of learning a new language. With a little more proding we now have a 1/2 hour class everyday. Our toddlers know the names of many fruits and vegetables - they know body parts - several songs - they can count to 20 - they can name animals and vehicles - the list goes on. I am so proud of my toddler class for doing so well!

Here is our wonderful French teacher doing a finger play about '5 fingers'!

(ma main a cinq doigts,le pouce,l'index, le majeur, l'annulaire l'auriculaire /

My hand has five fingers, thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger)

Sometimes it's hard for a little guy to stay awake - but he really does love French class! LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y3cb9VFJrM&feature=relmfu

This is one of our favorite action songs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S5PvD9rP2g&feature=related

Traditonal favorite!

We must keep in mind that toddlers are capable of learning up to 4 languages at the same time, so why not ensure the opportunity to do so is in place. During the day the teachers in the classroom also support the french the children have learned. They encourage the children to repeat french words and sing the french songs they have mastered.

Simple Pleasures - Bubbles

Joy comes in many forms - today joy was in the form of a bubble! Chasing bubbles on a bright sunny morning puts a smile on our face! Activities for toddlers do not need be complicated - relying on the simple pleasures make the best fun!

Another added benefit - the children were all really sleepy at nap time! :)

Chasing Shadows

As an extension of discovering things about ourselves the children were made aware of their shadows. Today was bright and sunny  - perfect for chasing shadows.

Identifying their own shadows.

Can we touch it or pick it up?

Hey it's disappearing!

It's going away!

Stomping on shadows.

Chasing our shadows!



We all have a voice!

There are times in a toddler classroom when we need to encourage children to use their voice - to communicate thier needs, however some children don't have the confidence to speak. They are still unsure of themselves and how they will be understood. Today we brought out a tape recorder to tape the voices of the children so they could hear themselves speak and to encourage those who don't speak - to speak. We will be continuing this exercise for awhile.

Listening intently to how the tape recorder will work.

                                    Listening to the teachers voice but not sure what to make of it.

                                                   Belting out a tune to record our voices.

                                            The reaction to hearing their voices was priceless!

The little boy in orange didn't want to speak into the mic at first, but as you can see he got right into it very quickly - when he saw his friends having so much fun!