Rain cloud in a jar

The rain just won't let up in these parts! And today it came down harder than usual.

So it is not a surprise that making a rain cloud in a jar was top on our agenda for the afternoon.  I had seen this activity circulating around the kids' craft blogosphere and thought it looked fun, not to mention educational. Although not technically an accurate simulation of a rain cloud, it provided a platform to highlight basic points of what causes rain to happen.

It was the perfect rainy day activity!

Materials we used:

• Colorations Liquid Watercolor in different colors (I got this from Discount School Supply)
• Glass Mason jar- quart size
• water 
• Shaving cream
• 3 glass dishes to hold watercolor
• Eyedroppers

Step one: Flll jar 3/4s way full with water. Add dollop of shaving cream. Be sure not to fill it too high (as I did), or the colored water will spill over the sides of the jar.

I explained to Bode that the shaving cream represented a cloud, and that we are going pretend that the water in the jar is air. Then I explained to him that a CLOUD is made up of lots and lots of water droplets, but that these water droplets are so tiny and light that they float. 

Step Two: Have child use droppers to apply watercolor to shaving cream. I chose to use 3 colors, although of course one color would suffice. We have been on a roll this month using the color theme in our projects, so I decided to continue in that vein (I couldn't resist the idea of rainbow rain!). Have child keep repeating application. Eventually the colored liquid seeps through, and can be seen as striations of color below the "cloud".

As my son kept adding more and more liquid to the shaving cream mass, I asked him, "What do you think would happen if more and more water is added to a cloud?
The cloud would get really heavy, right? And it would no longer be able to hold up all that water, and so the water would fall from the cloud."

We then observed the watercolors come down in striations, like rain. Bode was fascinated.

I took this opportunity to talk to Bode about the term PRECIPITATION.  "Precipitation is different forms of water falling from the sky. Rain is one form. What do you think other forms of precipitation are?" He guessed "snow" right away. I talked to him about hail and sleet also.

Pretty rainbow striations! I know, a perfect lead-in to talk about diffusion and circulatory displacement. But he is 4. Maybe in 5 years!

Thanks for visiting!

Colorful window art on contact paper

This activity was inspired in part by Teach Preschool's post here and my determination to do something with the leftover plastic report covers from my post on Shamrock Color Viewers.

This activity was a BLAST! It was VERY ENGAGING and FUN! (I happen to know,  because after watching my son be in complete bliss partaking in it, I just had to jump in on the action!) Believe me and Beware! It is a little addicting!). I think this activity is suitable from toddler-age kids all the way up to 10 years, or even older! It was lovely to see the daylight shine through from behind and enhance the color.

The best part (that is, for the parent or teacher, who doesn't participate. LOL!) is that it was super easy to set up AND there was hardly any clean up!

Materials needed:

• Colored transparent plastic sheets in different colors (I used plastic report covers that I found at the college bookstore in town)
• Clear contact paper
• Packing tape
• black electrical tape (optional)
• scissors

Preparation: Adult tapes sheet of contact paper onto window, and peels off backing so that the sticky side is facing out.  Also adults cut report covers into strips, or in different shapes - circles, stars, squares, squiggles, etc. - it is, of course, open ended...

Have child start sticking colored plastic onto sticky surface. Let him or her explore designs, and placement. I was pleased to observe my son sink into a semi-trance as he carefully considered the placement of each piece - placing one for a moment in a certain spot, and then lifting it up only to place it somewhere else.

 

After some time had past, interestingly, I noticed that Bode had consistently placed the strips either vertically or horizontally, which gave me the opportunity to talk about what those words mean (surprisingly enough to me, he knew already...go figure!).

As I observed him being very involved and noticing things on his own, like how the overlapping colors made a different color, I found myself taking a backseat to his own self-motivated learning process; like for instance, it was he who was telling me "LOOK Mom, Look what happens when I put this one over this one! (TRANSLATION: the red over this blue makes this super cool purple!).

The Artist's work is done! The furry onlooker is none-too-pleased though, I am sure, as the artwork didn't miraculously spout out any kitty treats its way!

I am very pleased with the new "artwork" decorating our home. I put a black border of electrical tape around it so that it has a more finished look to it. I think it will grace our house for awhile to come.

If you liked this post and you want to stay informed of more kid activity ideas I post or find around the blogosphere, remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page! Thank you! Have a wonderful day!