Science

Melting Ice

Ice play provides a thrilling sensory experience. With the varying textures of ice, along with the cold temperature, this activity helps stimulate children’s growing senses and fosters their sensory exploration and cognitive development. Ice play also offers an opportunity for social interaction and communication as the children engage in collaborative ice exploration together. (Please click for the full photos and more information.)

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Water Absorption

Squeezing and releasing a sponge while transferring water from bowl to bowl strengthens the small muscles in the dominant hand and wrist while refining eye-hand coordination. The child also notices the scientific concept of absorption. Moving from left to right indirectly prepares the child for reading and writing. (Please click for more information.)

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Snow Dough

The children are molding and shaping cornstarch mixed with some oil to retain its shape. Sensory play enhances the senses, fine motor skills, and eye-hand coordination, and stimulates intellectual development and curiosity. (Please click for full photos and more information.)

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Sink or Float?

Young children have a natural curiosity for the world around them. The children had fun engaging in our sink or float science experiment, which helps children explore the concept of buoyancy. Science experiments encourage children to explore their environment and to question how and why something happens. (Please click for full photos.)

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Pumpkin Volcanoes!

We experimented with creating Pumpkin Volcanoes. We carved and cleaned pumpkins, and touched and examined the flesh. We made predictions about what would happen when we mixed various ingredients together and determined which ones worked best to “explode.” Please click for more information and full photos, and to find out which mixture came in first place!

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Caring for Fish

In the U3 community, we have an aquarium and the children can watch, feed, and help keep their home clean. Observing, caring for, and feeding living things teaches children compassion, respect, and patience as well as responsibility and caretaking. It can be therapeutic, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and improve mood. (Please click for full photos and information.)

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Erupting a Created Volcano

The children enjoyed creating a volcano using modelling clay, painting it and then predicting what would happen, before spooning baking soda and pouring vinegar inside the volcano. It was so exciting to see the results of their creation! Science appeals to young children’s inquisitive minds as they try to make sense of the world and how things work. (Please click for more information.)

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Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve the coordination of small muscle movements between eye, hand, wrist, and fingers. A variety of fine motor activities are accessible daily to the children in addition to programmed learning opportunities. Children can be seen using creative, sensory and cognitive activities that encourage the use of fine motor skills. (Please click for the full photos.)

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Dinosaur Eggs!

The Casa children explored a fun dinosaur egg experiment outdoors during our dinosaur themed week. The children each received a dino “egg” made of baking soda and frozen water. To uncover the dinos, the children used eye droppers and “magic water” (diluted vinegar) to dissolve the “egg” and reveal different dinosaurs inside!

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Germinating Seeds

The process of germinating, planting, maintaining, and growing a child’s very own seed is a great way to encourage a love of nature. The children placed their bean seeds into clear cups with paper towel and added a little water daily. They watched as their seeds began to germinate, sprouting roots, a stem, and leaves. We potted the small plants and were excited to see how big they grew! (Please click for full photos and more information.)

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