Time Beads

Make a fashion statement by creating a portable time bead necklace! Kids can practice telling time wherever they go! Plus, they can flip over their numeral beads to help them tell minutes on an analog clock. The small beads help them figure out exactly what the minute hand is on. They just count and slide!

materials: yarn, plastic beads, construction paper, markers, and pipe cleaners

Numeral paper beads: Cut 24 squares or rectangles out of construction paper. Write numerals on them (1-12) and (00-55 - counting by fives). Staple the squares that match back to back (12 and 00), so you can string it on your necklace. 

Necklace: Alternate stringing your paper number beads and your plastic beads. Once beads are strung, tie a knot to make a necklace.

For the hands, use pipe cleaners or anything else you can find! If you're at a restaurant, grab 2 straws! Kids lay their clock on a flat surface and create a time on their clock. Then, they figure out what time they created! They can cheat and peek, if they're not sure what the minute hand is on.

Fraction Treasure Hunt

Sensory Box activity / fraction game from FlapJack Educational Resources! Kids hunt for fraction tokens (reducing, improper to mixed, or fractions to decimal). Check out the post here for instructions and free recording sheets!

Note: You can fill your sensory container with anything to hide your tokens. Kids dig and try to uncover the hidden treasure! I recommend using one large, deep container for a math station.

Spelling in Braille

Practice your spelling words in braille from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry! You will need dried beans (or round cereal), glue, construction paper, and a braille chart (for each student). Write the spelling words on pieces of scrap paper and toss them into a paper lunch bag. Have each child choose one word from the bag. Tell them to keep their word a secret! Students write their word in beans, using a braille chart, by pasting them onto a piece of construction paper. Then, they trade their bean braille with a friend and try to figure out their friend's word. Remind them to keep their eyes closed and try to figure out each letter, rather than the whole word at once. They use their braille chart to help them.

Play Doh Rock Cycle

Demonstrate the rock cycle with play doh! Visit East Tennessee Wildflowers (featured below) for instructions (scroll down), as well as other hands on common core activities!

- Click here for more science (and math) play doh projects

- Check out other hands on geology activities here (including crayon rock models, soap rocks, and candy rocks) 
- Visit Science Matters for a Plate Tectonics play doh lesson

Play-Doh Math and Science

Have fun with play-doh while learning math and science!

States of Matter
First, make a hypothesis and a prediction, will the volume or weight of play-doh change after it is played with? Ask kids what state of matter does play-doh belong to? Is it a solid, liquid, or gas? If play-doh is smushed, is that an example of a chemical or physical change in matter? Explanation - Changing the shape and form is an example of a physical change in matter. Play-doh can take on many forms and return back to its original form.

Geometry
1. Take play-doh out of the canister and keep it in its cylinder shape. Now, find the radius of your circular base. Then, measure the height of your cylinder.
2. Figure out the volume! 
3. Have fun with your play-doh, mush, smash, roll, and bend it for at least 10 minutes.
4. After playing with it, return it back to its original state by putting it back into its container.
5. Once it's a cylinder again, take its measurements and find the volume. What happened? Is the volume still the same?

Experiment with finding the volume of various 3D play-doh solids (cubes, rectangular prisms, etc.). Visit UEN or Science Buddies for instructions.

Weight for younger kids
Weigh play-doh before and after playing with it. Did the weight of the play-doh change? Weigh the play-doh in a variety of shapes and irregular forms. Does shape make a difference in weight? 

More Math Activities
1. Measure the length and width of play-doh straight out of the canister. Create play-doh shapes and sculptures and measure. Compare your measurements to the dough straight from the canister. See who can make the longest piece of play-doh using only one canister of dough. Combine your play-doh snake and measure!
2. Use play-doh on ten frames. Kids pinch off pieces and roll pieces into balls to represent numbers on a ten frame. 

More Play-Doh Science: 
1. Make an electrical circuit with play-doh, while learning about insulators and conductors! 
2. Visit Andy Brain for a play-doh buoyancy activity!

Volcanic Slime

Combine the classic volcano experiment with gak to create exploding, sensorial fun! Kids can play with the gooey lava after the volcanic eruption!

materials:

1. watered down glue: 1-1/2 cups glue and 1-1/2 cups of water 

2. 1 tbsp of borax per quart of water (4 cups of water)

3. red food coloring

4. baking soda

5. vinegar 

DIY Magic Sand!

Magic Sand is sand that doesn't get wet! Regular sand absorbs water. Magic sand repels it! 
Visit Weird Science Kids for instructions and the science behind it!
Don't want to make it, you can buy magic sand at Steve Spangler Science 

H2O Band

Let children explore with sound and water, combining science with music.



Get creative with your materials, listen to changes in pitch and tone. Explore rhythm, pattern, and tempo. For the science behind this, as well as a list of materials in the video, visit Child's Play Music

Cotton Ball Rocks?!

They start out soft and fluffy and end up hard like a rock! Count, sort, stack them; kids will have a blast with cotton ball rocks! They can create a rocky dinosaur land with them. Also, they can have super heroes throw them with their super strength and power! Visit Delight in the Days for the baked cotton ball recipe!

via delight in the days

Gem Goop

photo via livin the yeh life

Livin the Yeh Life mixed up gem goop that kids sculpt and mold to create one of a kind works of art! Check out their site for the recipe! 

Non-Newtonian Glop aka Oobleck

Non-Newtonian Glop, Oobleck, Cornstarch Quicksand, they're all the same strange substance that make us question: Is it a liquid or a solid?! You can smack it, walk on it, punch it, and try to roll it into a ball. Yet, it still drips off of your fingertips. 

Now, are you ready to make your own?! You can find instructions at Steve Spangler.

Steve Spangler tested oobleck on a speaker and it danced! Above is a photo from Housing a Forest's experiment. They added color to their oobleck! Visit Housing a Forest and Steve Spangler for instructions!

DIY Floam

photo via e-sling.net

Beyond Satire recreated floam! Below is the recipe:

materials:

2 tsp. borax

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup elmer's glue

food coloring

ziploc bag

1 and 2/3 cup of polystyrene beads. 

"You can substitute 2/3 cups micro-beads (1 mm from Jo-Ann Fabrics) and 1 cup bean bag filler (1/8"). You can also grate styrofoam cups or packing peanuts."

how to:
1. Mix borax and 1/2 cup of water. 
2. In another bowl, mix glue and 1/4 cup of water. Add food coloring.
3. Pour the glue solution into the bag. Then, add 3 tbsp of the borax solution, do not mix. 
4. Add the polystyrene beads.
5. Seal bag and knead by hand until mixed. Let the bag stand for 15 minutes. Then knead for a few more minutes. 

Discovery Bottles

Discovery and exploration in a bottle, set up your own science lab! Dr. Jean and Preschool Play constructed the bottles featured above. Below are the instructions:

1. Magnetism- Can a magnet work through plastic? What happens when you add water?
2. Static Electricity- Tear pieces of tissue paper and styrofoam. Then, rub the bottle on wool, your head, or the carpet. What happens?
3. Waves- Create waves and motion in a bottle. (1/2 cup corn syrup, drop of color, and glitter)
4. Bubbles- Mix up 1/2 cup water, drop of dish detergent, and food coloring. Shake, what happened? 
5. Mud- Can water and dirt make mud? (1/2 cup dirt, 2/3 full with water) Classify the water and the mud.
6. Sink / Float- What objects sink / float? (Beach Bottle in photo: Fill bottle with 3/4 cup sand, add water, drop of color, small objects, and a balloon.)
7. Numbers- Roll the dice and find the sum of the 2 numbers. Estimate how many objects are in the bottle.
8. Story- Put objects in a bottle and create a story from them!

visit Dr. Jean for more bottle ideas!

Moon Sand, Space Putty, and Galaxy Dough

Moon Sand

materials:

6 cups of play sand

3 cups of cornstarch

1 1/2 cups of cold water

instructions:

1. Mix the water and cornstarch together 

2. Mix in the sand, one cup at a time. You'll need to really work it in with your fingers. 

3. Play with it!

When you're all finished, store in an airtight container. 

When you play with it again, add 2-3 tablespoons of water

Space Putty

materials:

2 1/2 cups of liquid starch

1 cup of Elmer’s glue

Silver Glitter

Food coloring

instructions:

1. Stir the glue and 1 cup of starch together in a bowl.

2. Add a few drops of food coloring (optional)

3. Cover the bowl and let it stand overnight.

4. The following day, mix in 1-1 1/2 cup of starch, add glitter and play!

sillyputtyrecipe.org

Galaxy Dough

Visit Fairy Dust Teaching

Plastic Milk?!

photo via Austin Kids

Plastic Milk
One cup of milk
4 teaspoons of white vinegar


how to:
1. Heat up the milk until it's hot
2. Pour the milk into a bowl
3. Add vinegar to the milk and stir for 1 minute
4. Dump milk through a strainer 
5. Rinse the chunky milk in water and start molding it.
6. After you have made a design you like, let it harden. Then, you can paint it.

explanation: "When milk and an acid mix together, the milk begins to change properties. The milk begins to separate into a liquid and a solid. The solid material consists of minerals, fat, and a protein called casein. This protein is made of long molecules. Those molecules allow us to bend the lumps like rubber until it hardens and resembles plastic."  - AustinKids.org

Soap Souffle!

Ivory Soap is the soap that floats! It contains air pockets. The microwave heats the air and water inside of it. The water vaporizes and the air expands, changing its physical state. You can conduct an experiment with Ivory Soap and another bar brand. Ivory puffs due to the air inside, while others will simply melt. (Microwave for 90 seconds to 2 minutes on a plate). Another experiment you can try is testing Ivory soap against another bar brand in a bowl of water. Ivory will float, while others will sink. You'll need 2 fresh bars of soap. Legend behind floating soap @ Ivory. For more science behind the experiment visit Steve Spangler!

Slime Experiment- Elmers Glue/ Borax

Use Elmer's gel glue for translucent slime. For a matte slime, use regular Elmer's. Visit Steve Spangler for directions! Click here to see how you can use slime to simulate the movement of a glacier!