science

Chinese New Year Sensory Play

January 14, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Chinese New Year sensory tub with red and gold accessories in a dyed chickpea base.

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Have you ever dyed chickpeas? I finally gave it a try, and it is soooo addicting! I made the first batch red to use for Chinese New Year sensory play.

In experimenting, I thought the chickpeas looked nice in a combination of dark red, speckled red, and natural hues. All deep red chickpeas seemed overpowering in the sensory tub.

Chickpeas dyed with varying amounts of red acrylic paint.

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How To Dye Chickpeas

A quick and easy way to dye chickpeas is with acrylic craft paint.

Supplies to collect:

large bag of chickpeas
red acrylic craft paint
measuring cup
tablespoon
large sandwich bags
plates or trays

Scoop one cup of chickpeas into a large sandwich bag. Add a tablespoon of red acrylic craft paint. Seal the bag well and knead the chickpeas for a few minutes until they are covered in paint.

Open the bag and set it on a table. After ten minutes, pour the chickpeas onto a tray or plate. They will be completely dry in another ten minutes.

Chickpeas dyed with red acrylic paint for sensory play.

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To get a speckled paint look, add half a tablespoon of paint to one cup of bagged chickpeas and knead well. Repeat the drying process.

Then color a cup of chickpeas with one-quarter tablespoon paint.

Leave some chickpeas undyed. This will give you four color varieties to add to a tub or bin for Chinese New Year sensory play.

To have enough chickpeas for a group sensory tub, dye more of them!

Note: Acrylic paint washes off hands, tables, dishware, and cutlery easily. If it spatters onto your clothes, wipe the paint off with a wet cloth before washing.

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Chinese New Year Sensory Tub

The tub for this sensory activity is a tulip-shaped punch bowl! Up to four children can gather around it to explore the contents. But a bin in any shape will work fine.

You can add undyed chickpeas, all red chickpeas, or chickpeas dyed with different amounts of red paint to the tub. Then look for gold and red items to include.

Red and gold accessories complement this chickpea-based Chinese New Year sensory tub.

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This tulip-shaped, chickpea-based tub holds:

chickpeas infused with varying amounts of red paint
red and gold buttons
gold stars
metallic gold pompoms
gold and red bead garland strips
red diamond acrylic gems
wooden ladle
red bowl
chopsticks
small cups with Chinese calligraphy

A chickpea-based Chinese New Year sensory bin.

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Your early learners will love scooping, pouring, and manipulating the red and gold pieces in this Chinese New Year sensory play invitation.

Dyed chickpeas in a tulip-shaped punch bowl with red and gold accessories.

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Color Explosion Science Experiment

January 1, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This dramatic color explosion science experiment is one of the simplest ones you will find. It uses ingredients you probably have in your home, is easy to set up, and shows stunning, instant results.

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Supplies To Collect

serving tray
milk
food coloring (1 – 4 colors)
liquid dish soap

Kitchen supplies to carry out the color explosion milk experiment.

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Conducting The Experiment

Pour a thin layer of milk into a serving tray placed on a table. I use an inexpensive 12-inch x 12-inch tree-shaped vegetable tray to add interest to the experiment. About three cups of milk will provide a nice layer in a serving tray this size.

Squeeze drops of food coloring in different parts of the tray. Use one, two, three, or even four colors. Primary colors work well.

Squirt a little dish soap in a few color pools.

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Pools of food coloring in the color explosion milk experiment.

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The food coloring immediately explodes to the tray edges, blending and making new colors.

Try adding a bit more food coloring, and one more squirt of dish soap. I add a little more blue, red, and yellow to the bottom right section because most of the color has moved to other areas of the tray. I squirt a tad more soap on top. There isn’t a noticeable change right away. In fact, after the initial color burst, nothing much seems to happen.

A second dose of food coloring and dish detergent are added in this color explosion milk experiment.

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But wait! The experiment doesn’t end here. Leave the tray on the table undisturbed, and check back a few times over the next half-hour. The food coloring slowly moves through the milk and fills the tray.

Each time you look, new color designs are visible on the surface of the milk.

A monster appears in this color explosion milk experiment.

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Gradually, the whole tray is color-infused.

Red, blue, yellow, and green colors fill the tray in this color explosion milk experiment.

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This color explosion science experiment is perfect for introducing to a group of early learners. At preschool, I like to set it out just before snack time and have students take a second look at what has happened after they are done eating. Then everyone has another look at the tray just before going home.

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Related: Pumpkin Color Changing Milk Experiment

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Color Explosion Experiment Take Two

In the above demonstration of the science project, I use 2% milk. Below, I show the results of the same experiment done with 1% milk. This time I add drops of color and a squirt of dish soap only once. The food coloring added is generous.

Food coloring pools in the color explosion milk experiment.

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In checking back in ten minutes after the initial explosion, the color has moved away from the edge of the tray towards the center.

Bright colors start to spread from the edges of the tray in this color explosion milk experiment.

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In twenty minutes the tray looks like this:

Color spreads on the surface of a milk filled tray after dish detergent and fat molecules bond. The food coloring shows the movement of the molecules.

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The colors spread further.

Bright colors take over in this color explosion milk experiment.

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Finally, they settle in pastel shades.

Pastel colors settle in this color explosion milk experiment.

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Tip: Save milk that has expired for this experiment. I successfully use milk five weeks past the expiration day for this second demo.

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The Science Behind The Color Explosion Experiment

Although milk is made of mostly water, it also contains fat and protein. These are both sensitive to changes in the milk. When dish soap is added to the tray, it breaks up the surface tension of the milk and is attracted to the fat molecules. The fat molecules try to scurry away but end up bonded with the soap molecules. The movement of the food coloring makes this process visible. As more and more soap and fat molecules bond, the color movement slows down and eventually stops.

Since fat content in milk is super important in this experiment, homo milk works the best. But as seen above, 2% and 1% milk (which I had handy) also show stunning results.

Color-changing experiment using milk, food coloring, and dish detergent.

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Pumpkin Color Activities

November 23, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Pumpkin facts and color activities. Anatomy, color matching, and art activities.

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Although orange pumpkins are traditional, and most grocery stores focus on selling them, these dramatic fruits come in many other hues. Diversely colored pumpkins can be scouted out at farmer’s markets and garden centers in autumn. They are intriguing in pumpkin color activities for little learners.

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Pumpkin Display

First, set out pumpkins on a shelf for little ones to view. The contrasting colors make a striking display. Discuss pumpkin color, size, shape, and texture.

Pumpkins in mint, cream, black, yellow, and green colors.

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Color Matching

Move the pumpkins to a table and invite early learners to add color words.

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Pumpkin Anatomy

Display a cross-section of each variety collected, and talk about pumpkin anatomy.

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Notice that some pumpkins have larger cavities than others, and certain pumpkins contain more seeds. Study flesh colors together, and invite little learners to feel the pumpkin insides.

Black pumpkin cross-section showing pulp and seeds.

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Spider Web Crayon Rubbings

Have children do a spider web crayon rubbing on a uniquely colored paper pumpkin. A few spiders hanging around add excitement to the activity.

Crayon rubbings of spider webs on colored pumpkins. An all-ages art activity.

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Pumpkin Painting

Offer tempera paint for little ones to slather on a small pumpkin. Have everyone generously sprinkle on gold glitter for a finishing touch. The decorated pumpkins make showy take-home art, perfect for displaying on front steps or a porch.

Tempera painted pumpkins sprinkled with gold glitter.

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10 Fast Pumpkin Facts

Pumpkins are native to Mexico but have been embraced all over the world.
Pumpkin harvest season peaks in October.
Pumpkins come in various shades of orange, but can also be white, black, deep green, light green, yellow, blue, soft pink, cream, striped, or speckled.
Uniquely colored pumpkins have different purposes. White pumpkins are perfect for art projects.
Cinderella, Blue Doll, Baby Bear, Crystal Star, and Midnight Black are some of many creative pumpkin names.
Some pumpkins are smooth. Others feel rough and may have warts.
The world’s heaviest pumpkin weighed 2323 pounds.
Water makes up 90% of pumpkins.
Pumpkins are treated as a vegetable in many recipes but are actually a fruit.
Pumpkins are a source of vitamin A, C, and E, and zinc, folate, potassium, and fiber. They contain antioxidants.

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Pumpkin Vocabulary List

Download a list of pumpkin vocabulary words to use with your early learners.

Pumpkin Vocabulary ListDownload

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To get more ideas for pumpkin color activities, view a slideshow from Better Homes And Gardens entitled: Types Of Pumpkins.

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Thanksgiving Printables

Shop Thanksgiving printables in my Etsy shop “Skills N Smiles“:

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More Pumpkin Activities

Eye Dropper Pumpkin Art

Pumpkin Painting Process Art

Pumpkin Tablescape Pretend Play

Edible Playdough Pumpkins

Pumpkin Playdough Activities

Pumpkin Collage Art

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Beet Science And Sensory Activities

November 22, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This fall at a greenhouse a display of golden beets caught my attention. They weren’t on my list to buy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about them after I got home. So on my next visit to the garden center, I purchased golden beets and a red bunch too. The showy vegetable-inspired beet science and sensory activities can be introduced on the fly.

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Beet Washing Station

Set one or both kinds of beets in a tray with water and a vegetable brush. Invite your early learner to scrub the beets to make their color shine.

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Red and golden beets in a beet washing station.

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Size Ordering With Beets

Encourage your little learner to order golden beets from largest to smallest.

Size ordering golden beets from largest to smallest.

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Growing Beet Greens

After removing the greens, set two beets upright in a small, clear bowl of water. In the following days, observe the earthy vegetables with your early learner. You will be amazed to see glossy new beet leaves growing, and a tangle of roots!

Science experiment to see if red beets can grow new greens.

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New greens and roots growing on beets placed in a container of water.

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Beet Recipes

Beets are filled with nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, manganese, folate, and potassium. They are a source of fibre and contain antioxidants that are especially good for the eyes. And… the greens are equally nutritious. After your little one participates in beet science and sensory activities, try the following recipes:

Thanksgiving Beets Recipe

Christmas Beets Recipes

Cooking is science too!

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Fall Scissor Skills Activities

November 12, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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One of the things preschoolers are most excited about when starting school in the fall is using scissors. It’s an activity many early learners have not yet had exposure to, so they are delighted to have permission to cut. Offering beautiful materials with unique textures enhances fall scissor skills activities.

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Fall Scissor Skills Supplies

Collect art supplies in yellow, orange, red, and brown hues, and sort them into a tray with compartments.

Fall scissor skills tray with red, yellow, orange, and brown craft supplies. Invitation to cut materials for collage or a sensory base.

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Gathered for this tray are:

feathers (yellow, orange, red, and brown)
fluffy yarn
yellow and orange foam pieces
brown tissue paper
red straws
fade-resistant construction paper in fall colors
orange crepe paper
red thin ribbon
gold thick ribbon
orange and yellow pom poms

Round up fall-colored craft supplies you have available for your little learners to cut. Leftover scraps from other crafts are perfect for this activity.

After your charges have had a blissful session of cutting craft supplies into bits, store them in a resealable plastic bag or covered container to use as a base in sensory trays.

Snipped craft supplies for a fall sensory tray base.

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Forest Sensory Tray

The cuttings make a rich base for a fall forest-themed sensory tray. Rocks, pine cone trees, and forest animals round out this inviting tray for your little ones to explore.

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Related: Scissor Skill Snow Cutting

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Fall Scissor Skills Party Tray

Change things up by arranging supplies to cut in a party tray. Fall craft leaves and card cut-outs are the highlights of the tray below.

Scissor skills party tray with fall-themed craft supplies. Invitation to cut materials for collage.

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Pumpkin Collage

Energize the offerings with black and green craft scraps. Encourage your early learners to cut shapes and glue them onto a paper pumpkin. The completed collage projects will be striking.

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Craft supplies to cut and glue for a pumpkin collage craft.

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Pumpkin collage craft with textured green, yellow, orange, and black supplies.

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Note: For tips on teaching children to use scissors, view my post “Santa’s Beard Scissor Activity.”

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