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Color Explosion Science Experiment

January 1, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

A simple color explosion science experiment with dramatic results. Just three kitchen supplies are needed to carry out this experiment.
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A simple color explosion science experiment with dramatic results. Just three kitchen supplies are needed to carry out this experiment.

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.


Supplies To Collect

serving tray

milk

food coloring (1 – 4 colors)

liquid dish soap

Kitchen supplies to carry out the color explosion milk experiment.

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.


Pools of food coloring in the color explosion milk experiment.

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.

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.

[Read more…] about Color Explosion Science Experiment
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Filed Under: Christmas, preschool, science, sensory, trees Tagged With: colors, experiment, trees

Christmas Tree Decorating Center

December 23, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

This festive Christmas tree decorating center for early learners features mini trees and child-friendly, nonbreakable decorations.
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This festive Christmas tree decorating center for early learners features mini trees and child-friendly, nonbreakable decorations.

This Christmas tree decorating center has been a staple in my preschool classroom for many years. I introduce it every year in place of setting up a large Christmas tree. The center is effortless to put up, and the supplies store in one tub. During the festive holiday season, decorations on the tree get put up and taken down by little learners on a regular basis.

In preparation for this tactile center I purchased a variety of small Christmas trees one year just after Christmas Day. They were deeply discounted…around $5.00 Canadian per tree. Now every December I place them on a table covered with a soft white tablecloth and add child-friendly decorations.


Setting Up The Christmas Tree Decorating Center

After arranging the branches on the Christmas trees, I gather small baskets and fill them with non-breakable Christmas decorations.

Baskets of child-friendly decorations for a Christmas tree decorating center.

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Filed Under: Christmas, display, preschool, sensory, trees Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas tree, sensory play, trees

Christmas Tree Art

December 21, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Dazzling, easy to do Christmas tree art painting activity. An all-ages art project.
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Dazzling, easy to do Christmas tree art painting activity. An all-ages art project.

This Christmas tree art is quick to set up and simple to do. And it gives early learners a chance to explore color shades and brightness.


Supplies to Collect

green, yellow and white tempera paint

12-inch x 18-inch sturdy paper

paint palettes

paintbrushes

paper towel squares

metallic green star confetti

gold and green Christmas gift bows


Making The Christmas Tree Art

Cut long, narrow triangles from large sheets of sturdy paper. Shown below is manila paper.

Pour dark green, medium green, yellow, and white tempera paint into artist palettes. This color scheme works well when children keep the colors separate or do a lot of blending.

Invite your early learners to paint a triangle. They will embrace painting a unique shape.

Christmas tree art set up with white, yellow, and green paint hues.

A paper towel works well to dab excess paint from the brush before switching to a new color. This is a helpful tip from Patty Palmer’s book “Draw, Paint, Sparkle.”

Painting technique to use when switching paint colors.

Next, have your little charges sprinkle on metallic stars while the paint is still wet. They will loooove doing this too!

Painted triangular tree ready to be topped with a Christmas gift bow.

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Filed Under: art, Christmas, preschool, trees, winter Tagged With: Christmas tree, painting, trees

Maple Leaf Activities

November 1, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Maple leaf paint print activities. Art, math, and display ideas for maple leaves.
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Maple leaf paint print activities. Art, math, and display ideas for maple leaves.

Maple trees flourish in eastern Canada and turn vibrant colors in autumn. But I happily settled for these deep green maple leaves from a tree that can survive our harsh Alberta winters. When painted, they produce striking leaf prints. The prints look stunning displayed but can also be used for other maple leaf activities.

Green maple leaves.

Maple Leaf Activities

Leaf Prints

Early learners can join in making maple leaf prints. Set out orange, yellow, and red tempera paints, paintbrushes, and large pieces of sturdy paper. Invite your little learners to paint the leaves, turn them over, and press them onto the paper. Encourage them to gently rub all over each leaf before removing them.

Invitation to paint maple leaves to make leaf prints.

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Filed Under: art, autumn, Canada Day, display, Math, preschool, trees Tagged With: counting, leaf prints, leaves, maple leaves, printmaking

Celery Science Experiment

October 14, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

Celery and food coloring science experiment.
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Celery and food coloring science experiment.

This classic and colorful celery science experiment is easy to do and has quick results. It works well as a “color-changing celery tree” activity in autumn but is awesome to perform at any time of the year. Your early learner will be thrilled with the speedy and dramatic results of the experiment.


Supplies Needed


leafy celery stalks

glasses or jars

food coloring hues

pitcher with water

knife

cutting board

Celery and food coloring experiment supplies.

Procedure

Cut the bottoms from celery stalks.

Invite your early learner to generously squirt food coloring hues into glasses or jars, and add about 4 centimeters of water to each one.

Have your child place a celery stalk in each container, and use it to stir the liquids.  

Set the jars or glasses with celery on a table or windowsill.

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Filed Under: autumn, gardening, science, sensory, trees Tagged With: celery, color, experiment

Ninja Theme Facts And Activities

October 24, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Ninja theme featuring sensory, small world, art, large motor, and pretend play activities. Ninja facts and picture book inspiration included.
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This ninja theme draws inspiration from the picture book “Wink, The Ninja Who Wanted To Nap”, written and illustrated by J. C. Phillipps. The book is filled with energy, wisdom, and tidbits about Japanese culture. For young children, the story is a captivating read. The illustrations provide inspiration for multicultural story extensions.

Ninja theme featuring sensory, small world, art, large motor, and pretend play activities. Ninja facts and picture book inspiration included.

In the story, a little ninja named Wink is excited that he is a famous circus performer.  But he cannot get in a much-needed nap because his fans follow him everywhere!  He walks through a garden of cherry trees, and moves through and hides in different parts of town, but his followers persist.

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Filed Under: book theme, pretend play, sensory, trees Tagged With: Japan, ninja

Book Inspired Tree Art

August 14, 2018 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Tree Art inspired by the storybook "Wow! Said The Owl" by Tim Hopgood. Papercraft art using a variety of colors and textures.
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Tree Art inspired by the storybook "Wow! Said The Owl" by Tim Hopgood. Papercraft art using a variety of colors and textures.

Inspiration For The Tree Art

Trees are a popular art theme, and I love using tree art in a mosaic pattern on a bulletin board display.

Over the years I’ve done a few tree displays celebrating our four Alberta seasons.  This year I chose an art project based on the storybook “Wow! Said The Owl” by Tim Hopgood.  In the story, an owl stays up past his bedtime one summer night and notices the beautiful colors of early morning, midday, and dusk.  The owl loves all the color schemes but decides the night colors are still the best.  As I read the story, I was saying “Wow” right along with the owl, because the illustrations featuring the owl and tree throughout the day are gorgeous!

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Filed Under: art, book theme, literacy, trees Tagged With: owls, paper crafts

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Hi, I'm Annette Kaminsky. Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you find inspiration and leave some for me! Feel free to stay awhile!

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puttingtheprettyin.preschool

Penguin sensory tray with a snowflake confetti bas Penguin sensory tray with a snowflake confetti base. See the confetti base used for three different winter sensory trays in my latest blogpost. Link in profile.

The confetti base is inspired by @places_spaces_wonder_delight . Check out that beautiful account!

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How I spent my afternoon.

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Glitzy, easy to make New Year’s craft. Link in p Glitzy, easy to make New Year’s craft. Link in profile leads to art and math New Year’s activities and resources for home or the classroom. 

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Season’s greetings to all. 

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Christmas tree decorating center with miniature Ch Christmas tree decorating center with miniature Christmas trees.  Keep a lookout for after Christmas sales to purchase little trees for next year. 

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These handprint Christmas crafts are all done usin These handprint Christmas crafts are all done using paper bags as a base. Click the link in my profile for a blogpost featuring the crafts.

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Sending a little angel your way today. #angels # Sending a little angel your way today. 

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Squish painted Christmas dove. Click the link in Squish painted Christmas dove.  Click the link in profile for a blogpost on dove Christmas art, and to snag a free dove printable. 

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Butterfly Christmas decorations. #Christmasdecora Butterfly Christmas decorations.  #Christmasdecorating #Christmasdecorations #butterflydecorations #iteachprek #prekteacher #teacherofig #teachersfollowteachers #preschool #kindergarten #homeschooling
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all those celebratin Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all those celebrating. This post is inspired by the Frozen II based storybook “We’ll Always Have Each Other.” The line “life may get harder sometimes but we’ll always have each other” seems even more fitting today than when it was written in 2019.

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“Spot The Turkeys” sensory tubes.

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This pumpkin playdough recipe smells so nice. The This pumpkin playdough recipe smells so nice. The recipe and a few activities are now on the blog. 🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿🐿

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Recent Posts

  • Chinese New Year Sensory Play January 14, 2021
  • Winter Sensory Trays January 10, 2021
  • Color Explosion Science Experiment January 1, 2021
  • New Year’s Countdown Activities December 30, 2020
  • New Year’s Crafts December 29, 2020
  • Christmas Tree Decorating Center December 23, 2020
  • Christmas Tree Art December 21, 2020
  • Scissor Skill Gingerbread Man Craft December 19, 2020
  • Handprint Christmas Crafts December 18, 2020
  • Handprint Angel Craft December 16, 2020

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