Ice Excavating

We spent the week learning about the different seasons with Mother Goose Time. There was definitely a heavier focus on Autumn for us since that is what we are currently experiencing. We have done so much leaf crafts and baking. Last weekend we went apple picking and this weekend we are going to a pumpkin farm. It has been getting colder here and winter is definitely letting us know that it is just around the corner. It was also nice to take a day out of the week to focus on the warmer seasons and help us remember that spring and summer will be coming back. We read so many great books snuggled up under warm blankets, and we did some great art all while having the delicious smells of something we baked that day to comfort us.

I think our favorite activity this week was another of the STEAM stations that are found in the beginning of the Teacher Guide. So far this month Mother Goose Time has really been bringing a lot of fun with their STEAM stations. This one was called Icy Artic Animal. A few days before I wanted to do this activity I selected several of my kids little animal figurines and froze them in containers. We didn't have any arctic animals so ours was Icy Jungle Animals, but whatever you have laying around works. When I brought out the blocks of ice and gave them to my kids they were very surprised.

 

I gave them little bowls of hot water, salt, a little wooden hammer and chisel that I had left over from a bug dig kit my son got as a gift (I knew someday I might need those again), a pipette, and a paintbrush. I told them that they had to rescue their animals out of the ice and that they could use those items however they wanted to help them. They had so much fun, even my daughter loved this. It was so fun watching them try different things to see what would melt the ice fastest. My son got right to work, he dumped hot water on the block of ice, then tried covering it with salt, then he used the brush which didn't have the results he was looking for so he used the pipette. 

He found that layering on the salt and then using the pipette to squeeze water around the edges of the animal worked really fast and he was able to rescue his animal pretty quickly. 

My daughter took her time with hers, she was really savoring the fun. She tried different ways to melt the ice as well but with less urgency. It was really fun to watch them come up with different ways to use the materials, also I loved that there was some collaboration between them as well. They told each other their ideas and shared what worked and didn't work. They even left their little stations to go over to see the others work and talk about their findings. And this all happened on its own. I just set out the materials and gave a little instruction on what the activity was about and then I sat back and watched. I also acted as assistant and resupplied hot water and salt as needed. I love projects that bring them together and make them work together to find a solution. I feel like since the weather has been cooler and its been gloomy lately they have been bickering a lot. This was a perfect activity to get them working together. There was no fighting at all during this. Only happiness, helpfulness, and learning through play. When they asked me if they cold do it again I said go find the next animal you want to save next! I now have a spider and a frog freezing in my freezer. I will keep this idea in my mind and use it again on a rainy cold indoor day. 

*Mother Goose Time has generously provided this curriculum to us in exchange for our stories and honest opinions*