Remember the groovy days? ..or maybe you are too young to actually remember them but still appreciate that era in time. Anyway, here is a fantastic and easy science activity to do with preschoolers or even school age kids for that matter!  This project would work well for a class demonstration. I did this with my kids at home and they totally loved this project. I guarantee that kids (and adults too!) will go crazy for this activity! Extra fun tip: Do this activity dressed up in Groovy clothing and end the session with a dance party complete with music from the 60’s and 70’s!

To make a lava lamp all you need is:

Clear container  ( can use glass jars or empty pop bottles)

Water

Food colouring

Cooking Oil

Alka Seltzer tablets

Directions:  Fill the container 3/4 full of cooking oil. Fill the rest of the way with water. Add a few drops of food colouring. Let the children drop in the alka seltzer tablets to watch the lamps sizzle! For added effect turn off the lights and put a flashlight behind the jar!

Peace!

Children love to explore nature. By doing so a whole wonderful world of imagination and creativity can begin to develop and grow. Here is a  fun way to incorporate your nature walks with a little bit of imagination!  Collect pebbles, sticks, seashells, moss..anything that a fairy might use to decorate his or her house with!  We purchased affordable dollar store bird houses and painted them up first.  Once the paint had dried we were able to glue on the nature items as well as gems, sequins, feathers  and buttons. For very young children using stickers is easier for tiny fingers to manipulate. We found jeweled stickers in the scrapbook area of the dollar store that worked perfectly for this craft. To get the imagination sparks flying, read a few fairy stories before going on your nature walk. This will ignite the fire to get the children excited about their project and get them to look at nature in a whole new way!  Who knows..they  might even see a fairy or two hiding in the trees waiting for their houses to be built!   If you are interested in purchasing some Fairy Books here is link to my dear friend Mary Murphy’s children’s page. Well worth checking out!  http://www.marymurphy.ca/the-childrens-page/

After the houses are all set up in the garden, sprinkle a little “fairy dust” (glitter!) when children are sleeping to show that the fairies have been there and watch the excitement begin!  This craft is suitable for all ages and can also be used as a great birthday party, summer camp or classroom activity for both boys and girls!

Here’s a new take on the old Dr. Seuss story of One Fish Two Fish.  My daughter Moriah came up with this idea and my preschool class LOVED it!  To accomplish this adorable felt story you will need a felt Dr. Suess hat which can be either sewn or purchased. If you are like me and wish to skip the sewing bit, you can purchase the felt hat for a reasonable price at most Party City locations. Sewing instructions for the crafty can be found here: http://mamalusco.blogspot.ca/2011/03/dr-seuss-day-cat-in-hat-tutorial.html
We cut out various shapes and colours of felt to represent the fish in the story. For the circle time we told the story by placing the fish on the hat. Because the hat is made of felt, the fish stick! The kids loved this and wanted to do it over and over. For a variation, we took turns letting them place the fish on the hat themselves which is a great way to reward happy listeners in the circle!  Here is our finished product! Simple, fun and one felt story kids will want to do over and over!