Rain, Clouds, and Bubbles

Summer is here and camp is already bursting with fun!

This week we spent some time exploring rain, clouds, and bubbles.  

Monday was a bit of rainy day, so the solar prints planned for the day did not happen, but in it's place we had fun making a little rain cloud for the classroom.

This was inspired by a picture I saw on pinterest.

The children simply beaded as much as they wanted to on a string, and then it was threaded through a cloud made of cotton batting.  Simple, fun, and great for their fine motor skills.

We continued our discussion about rain with a science experiment.  The children were given a cup of water, and then sprayed shaving cream on top to make their "clouds."  I talked about how when clouds become too heavy with water, they release that water and it starts to rain.  It is a basic, simple description that the children understand.  To demonstrate how this works, they dropped blue water into their clouds.  At first it sits for a little bit in the cloud of shaving cream, but then it slowly releases the colored water, very similar to rain.

You can tell some really got into making their shaving cream clouds.

After they felt that they had made it rain enough, they then took their experiments over to the sensory table and poured in their solutions for more exploration and fun.

Later that afternoon some children created a cloud on the plexi-glass easel.  This entertained them for about 45 minutes.  They sprayed the shaving cream on the easel and dove right in.

Some pictures of little hands at work from the opposite side of the easel.

A little friend catching me taking pictures on the other side of the easel.

Even the clean up was fun.  They simply took the squeegees and were able to clean off most of the shaving cream unassisted. 

By the end of the week the sun was out and the weather was perfect, to celebrate we explored bubbles.

My assistant had the wonderful idea of having the children go inside a bubble, so of course we had to do it!

We used half bubble solution and half water and Seventh Generation dish soap, it was a success!

At first we helped the children, but soon discovered  that they were much better at bubble making than the adults.

Success!  How neat to be sitting inside of a giant bubble!

And fortunately no one was afraid of a bubble as was the case of this monster in the story that was shared.  It was a very fun week of camp, can't wait to see what next week will bring. 

Post Office

Recently my Kindergartner's began drawing pictures for each other and running out into the hallway to put them in each others cubbies.  This got me thinking about the small mailbox cubbies that I had in the classroom, but no one had been drawn to play with.  I realized they needed a spark, and so, we now have a Post Office, and everyday since the Post Office was established, the children  LOVE playing in it.

We have been reading different books about the Post Office, and I also went to our local Post Office and took some pictures of mailboxes and items used in the Post Office.  Many of the children have their mail delivered to their homes, so seeing the mailboxes at the Post Office, brought to life delivering the mail to their personal mailboxes at school.

Some pictures of our Post Office.

I love having scales in the Post Office, it adds a whole new dimension to the play because they are learning about weight and how packages are charged according to how much they weigh.

An example of packing slips and boxes, and our school packing slips.

It is fun because there are many roles the children take on when they are playing Post Office.  Some gravitate to the making of pictures and filling out envelopes to mail, and others love working the front desk, and then some love going to the window to mail or pick up a package.

The children happily at work making letters and cards.

The Busy work of the Post Office!

Working the Front Desk and Mailing Packages.

Delivering the Mail.

Look, even Superman is lending a hand!

Ringing up sales

We even received some extra special packages that we made sure were handled with care.

These surprise packages were opened up to reveal a kitty and fire fighter hidden inside!

This is why I love and value Dramatic Play.  These children were thoroughly enjoying their play, and all the while they were learning.  They learned how to mail packages, how to address envelopes, how to weigh a package, and that it cost money to mail items.  They learned about the different ways mail is delivered, the joy of giving and receiving a letter or drawing in the mail.  They learned how some people receive mail in a Post Office box and others have their mail dropped off by a person, some who walk to deliver the mail and others that drive.  They learned where to put a stamp on an envelop and how to play cooperatively.  So many wonderful life lessons, and all communicated through play.