Tuesday, June 17, 2014

More Nature Sensory Tub Fun - Changing Rock Colors with Water

My daughter loves water play. Anything and everything wet us her favorite activity. One afternoon I needed to tend to the garden and she of course wanted to help. Once we decided to play with water, I remembered wanting to do this activity with her.

My sons and I have been collecting rocks, beach glass, driftwood and fossils, from our many beach visits along Lake Michigan. Yes you can access a beach in the middle of the United States! We have 3-4 nut containers full of our finds.

One fascinating aspect of these rocks is many of them change color when wet. So we explore each rock, one at a time, and guess what color it will be when it's wet. We also had some porous rocks in our collection and baby girl was guessing if it would "float or sink."

She's only two years old, but amazingly gets concepts quickly! I simply would say "look that rock sinks to the bottom." I said this several times. Then I intentional grabbed a porous stone and dropped it in the water tub, "look, this one is different! It floats!"

She was thrilled - for each rock after that we'd say "float or sink?" This initial 10 minutes of play had her interested for an additional One Hour!

I got to weed and mulch and she enjoyed playing (and learning).

Reminder: This picture looks only partially shaded. It was late afternoon and the tree shades this part of our patio completely - within 10 minutes of this photo being taken. Remember to place your water play in the shade so kids tender young skin doesn't burn. Also be cautious with the water levels in the tub / container of water. If your kid trips or falls in, even accidentally, water levels need to be considered!

Enjoy time with your kids. See more of our play and learnings at areyousureaboutthatblog.blogspot.com

Make mistakes. Breathe, reflect, and Laugh.Out.Loud

No comments:

Post a Comment