Bev Said, "Do This On Monday!" - Oil, Water, and Salt

I know that some of you are dying to hear what I have to say after spending the day with Bev Bos and Michael Leeman a couple of Fridays ago. Don't worry, I will have plenty to share in good time....  (that master's project is almost done... I'm just a few weeks away.....)

That Friday was a great day, I traveled to Chicago to attend the training session. 

Who wouldn't have a great day when it starts off in a place like this?

 I don't feel like I necessarily learned a lot of new things while I was there, but it was very affirming. We have very similar philosophies on a lot of topics, and it is always nice to cross paths with folks who share your love and concern for the children and those who work with them. (I did pick up a great resource book, a book on finger plays, and 5 new cds! All of which are being heavily used!)

One thing that Bev encouraged us all to do right away on Monday was to set out some supplies and let the children mix.....

Glass Jars
Cups of Oil
Water
Salt
food coloring (optional)

Those of you who have attended my science workshops know that we like to do this with alka seltzer. I didn't realize that it works so well with table salt!  You might want to make sure that you set out a thick layer of newspaper or a drop cloth. I didn't, but it does make quite a mess.

Give each child a glass jar to experiment in. Glass jars are real, and children will take care when using them. If you use plastic ones, they may be too cloudy to see what is going on.  Allow the children to do the experimenting. Let them pour. (Remember that most children will not yet be able to conserve, so plan for overflows...)

Give them small cups or containers of oil. I used baby food containers and had them sitting on the table with all of the the other supplies.

I also had bowls of table salt sitting out. Some of the children poured the salt in, others added it pinch by pinch.

It was a great day for mixing, why don't the oil and water mix.... I know.... it is because we need a spoon. We need to stir it up!

Stir, stir, stir.....

When you stir it fast enough... you get a whirlpool! 

(Sorry for the lack of photo quality today, I was using my phone instead of the good camera...)

What happens when you add the salt?

bubbles!

Lots and lots of cool bubbles!

The photos really don't give this activity justice, you'll just have to try it yourself and see!

Can we save this? I think they will mix on Thursday and I have a cool experiment to try with them on Thursday.  So, our jars sit until Thursday. 

Bev allows the children to bag up their experiments and take them home. I had bags on hand, but none of the children asked to take them home, so we didn't bag ours up. 

Some of the children needed to use too much food coloring. squeezing the bottles is great for their fine motor skills. You don't have to make it available, and I would recommend adding it later, after the children have had the opportunity to see what happens when you mix the other ingredients.  When they use too much, the water gets dark and it is more difficult to see the bubbles, but please don't let that stop you from letting them do it! They need to use too much before they learn to use just a little. Also, make sure you have an ample stock of supplies. They will want to try this over and over and over again....

I will have more photos and videos of our exploration up on our Facebook page soon!