Holograms

Today we explored insects via holograms!

I have a 3-D Mirascope which reflects images in the form of a hologram.

I purchased it at a local hobby shop. Approx. $8

A small object - like this plastic lady bug are placed in the centre of the concave mirror.

The cover is put on - which is a convex mirror with a hole in it.

The image is reflected out the hole in the form of a hologram.

It's really cool!

Magnetic to Sensory

We are moving from Magnetic March into Sensory Spring!

So we did these creatives to overlap the two:

We used a steel ball to drag around on an egg shaped piece

of cardstock, with a magnet wand underneath.

It was taped onto a tin cookie sheet

I had to hold up the tins for stability.

 

We added another colour and another ball.

The result was successful!

Then we glued alphabet letters, which we dyed previously,

onto and egg shaped piece of cardstock.

The texture was effective.

It looked very pretty!

Nice eh!

Hey what's in there?

This week we made a mystery box.

We sealed a box (taped it up) &  painted it with acrylic paint.

Then cut a hole in one side - large enough to put our hand in.

Then covered the hole with a felt 'drape' , to deter peeking.

Objects were selected to 'hide' inside.

As we created the box I described to the children how it would be used.

The object of this activity is to put your hand in and select an item,

then describe the item without looking and before taking it from the box.

It's very hard not to peek when you are 2 or 3 years old, but over all the tots did well.

Next week when we use it I will toss in a chocolate Easter egg for them to find - without looking! :)

It rained on our classroom!

Yes it rained in our classroom!

Demonstrating how rain falls from a cloud!

Shaving cream - food colouring and a clear jar of water is all you need for this demonstration.

Spray some shaving cream on top of the water and then drop on a few drops of food colouring.

Voila - it's raining! It takes a few seconds for the food colouring to makes its way through - be patient.

I saw this HERE and quite a few other places - I knew we had to try it!

More Magnetic ideas!

Preparing for back to school next week!

We are continuing our Magnetic March.

Week One went like this!

Topped off with this fun activity!

Here is some of what we will be doing when we return:

Magnetic exploration box.

Magnetic fishing.

Matching magnet numbers.

I took pictures of the numbers - prepared the matching sheet and laminated it.

Then taped the matching sheet to a tin cookie sheet.

We will add one of our new activities from Toys, Tools & Treasures

Then we will be doing this 'trick'!

See the paper clip laying in the bottom of the bottle?

Now it's floating to the top!

Magic! 

Here's how we did it:

Poke a hole in the bottom of the plastic bottle.

I heated a metal paper clip with a lighter and pushed it through.

Then insert a long thin string - tie on a paper clip once it's through - and make it the length of the bottle.

Tie a knot in the end of the string so it does not go back through the bottle.

Add a dab of hot glue to secure it further. 

Now hot glue a magnet into the lid.

Glue it onto the bottle.

Then you show everyone the bottle - with the paper clip laying down inside.

Then turn it gently upside down and then turn it upright - showing everyone the floating paper clip.

Our next magnetic activity

You will need a magnet and some pennies.

I discovered not all pennies are magnetic.

Check them first to ensure they will indeed be attracted by the magnet.

Now see how many pennies you can attach end to end.

Then take a straw and gently blow on the last penny in the link.

It will spin!!

This should be a fun magnetic week!

Today we flew a kite! INSIDE!

Yup it was windy out - but we flew this kite when we came back inside!

To do this you need:

String - paper - paper clip - a bead - a small clay pot - glue - scissors and a magnet.

Tie the bead onto the string and then poke it through the hole in the bottom of the pot.

Make sure it's bigger than the hole so it won't go through.

Then glue the paper which you have cut  into a kite shape (2 pcs)

onto the sting - ensure the string is between the 2 pieces

with the paper clip at the top of the 'kite'.

Ta Da!!

 
This proved to be great fun!

Magnetic Moments - Week One

Magnetic March has begun - here are a couple of things we started with.

This is a take out container with a clear top and black bottom - filled with nuts and bolts.

The children placed the wand underneath to move the objects around the container.

The container is glued shut for safety.

I brought in an magnetic board where the small circular objects could be moved into place - creating a pattern - with the magnet stylus. This is good for hand eye co-ordination and fine motor control.

In this 'experiment' we tried to see if a metal object could be attracted by the magnet through water. We got the similar idea from Here.  

                                                                                                                              This was hung in the jar.

This is a large plastic jar with metallic and non metallic objects inside.

The children used the wand to bring objects up the side from the bottom - to determine if they were magnetic or not.

The cue card was used to assist in this activity and record the outcome.

There are two sides to the card to make it more interesting.

Container glued shut for safety!

In action.

Above and below - new magnets for our magnet board.

Always popular!

Magnetic tic tac toe!

Magnetic drawing board!

Loads of stuff for week one - stay tuned for the following weeks of magnetic fun!

Experiment Fun!

We saw this link today and tried it out right away!

We filled the Ziploc with water.

Poked in a few pencils.

No leaking - too cool!

Then we took out the pencils - Geyser - that was fun!

We did this over and over until the holes were just too big to be effective.

Good wet fun!