Erupting Moon Rocks

Kindergarten Moon Unit Study

We were done with unit two of My Father's World Kindergarten, a study of the moon, when I saw this foaming volcano that you can build, paint, and erupt from Fun at Home with Kids.  Immediately I knew that I would use her method to turn our moon dough into moon rocks.  Better yet, moon rocks that erupt.

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Quick Sand Paint Recipe

Homemade Sand Paint Recipe - Art for Kids

Almost every week we try out a new homemade paint recipe.  Our quick paint recipe continues to be at the top of our list.  Why?  Because like the name implies, the paint recipe is quick and simple to make.  What's not to love about quick and simple?  We've made sand paint before both with play sand and also a scented version with Kool Aid.  These quick sand paints, not to be confused with quicksand, took two minutes to prep and provided an hour of sensory play and art for my kids.

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Gross Motor Game to Learn the Phases of the Moon

Kindergarten Moon Unit Study

We are almost done with our My Father's World Kindergarten moon unit study, but before we wrap it up I decided we needed to add in a gross motor game.  I am a firm believer in the power of active learning, or combining gross motor movement with educational activities.  We made an erupting moon cake to learn about the phases of the moon, and I thought it would be fun to play a gross motor game to see what J-Bug remembered.

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Water Science for Kids

Top 10 Ways to Learn with Water

Last summer I shared the Top 10 Ways to Learn with Sidewalk Chalk as part of the School's Out series put on by kid bloggers around the world.  This year I am taking part in the 2nd Annual School's Out series, and I am excited to be sharing the Top 10 Ways to Learn with Water!  A large part of JZ's first grade science lessons centered around learning about water, and I put together our favorite ten water science activities for kids.

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How Does the Moon Give Us Light?

Kindergarten Moon Unit Study

I feel like we could spend months learning about the moon.  There are so many ways to learn and play with a moon theme, and we are loving this unit of My Father's World Kindergarten.  We've especially enjoyed the sensory play aspects of learning about the moon including making moon dough, our moon dust paint recipe, and an erupting moon dust prewriting tray.  Of course, in addition to sensory play we've done many activities to learn facts about the moon.  One of our main focuses is on how we get light from the moon.  The theme for our moon unit is "I am the Light of the World".  You may remember from our study of the sun that our theme was "Jesus is the Light of the World".  We are the light of the world in the same way that the moon gives us light.  To demonstrate how the moon gives us light at night J-Bug and I did a simple activity.  All you need is a dark room, a flashlight, and a mirror.

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Erupting Sand Foam Dough

Sand Foam Dough Eruptions - Recipe for Play

Did you happen to see our erupting candy corn foam dough last fall?  It is one of my very favorite recipes for play that we have created.  Why?  It is so simple, and it erupts.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I think all play recipes should end in erupting fun.  Wouldn't you agree?

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Watermelon Slime Recipe

Watermelon Slime - Summer Fun Recipe for Play

We've been enjoying our favorite summer sensory activities and having a ton of fun with watermelons!  Last week we made erupting watermelons, and today I have a new summer fun recipe for play to share:  watermelon slime.  It's an ooey gooey, slippery, slimy slime recipe that smells just like fresh cut watermelon, and it is too much fun.

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Learning about Water Pressure

Water Science for Kids - Water Pressure

We're back with more hands on water science for kids.  Today I am sharing our recent water pressure demonstration.  This one is tricky, and JZ (6) was surprised to see what happened.

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Erupting Paint Recipes

Erupting Art for Kids 

Who doesn't love a good eruption?  No matter how many times we do the old baking soda and vinegar trick my boys are mesmerized and beg to make it happen again and again.  We especially enjoy combining these eruptions with another one of our favorite hobbies, art.  Activities that combine art and science are always a a huge hit around here, and we are especially fond of erupting paint recipes.

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Water Power Demonstration

Water Science for Kids - Water Power

Going along with our hands on water science activities for kids, we made a simple water fountain to demonstrate water power.  Setting up this demonstration literally took less than five minutes.  The hardest part was finding an empty soda bottle, because we never drink it!  I finally just bought a cheap one from Walmart and dumped the Coke down the drain.

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Erupting Watermelons

Vinegar Free Erupting Watermelons - Summer Fun Recipe for Play

It's no secret that we love making eruptions, and we are partial to vinegar free eruptions.  Don't get me wrong, we use vinegar on a regular basis, but the smell of our vinegar free eruptions really can't be beat.  These summer fun watermelon eruptions smelled incredible.  I highly suggest having a big bowl of watermelon to gobble up after making this recipe for play, because the craving won't quit until you satisfy it.

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How to Keep a Tissue Dry in Water

Water Science for Kids

We are back with another fun water science project for kids!  So far we've made a needle float, explored color theory with ice, learned about surface tension, studied evaporation, put a twist on the classic sink or float game, and today we are demonstrating how to keep a tissue dry in water.  This simple water science experiment is sure to delight kids of all ages.  The best part it, it takes only a few seconds to set up.

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Dough Recipes

The Best Dough Recipes 

It's no secret, we love coming up with new recipes for play, and dough is high on our list of favorites!  Dough is so versatile.  You can truly create any texture, color, scent, and sensory experience you want.  There are so many materials for creating doughs, and most of the dough bases are common household materials ranging from flour, cornstarch, and baking soda to oils, food coloring, and salt.  Of course those are just the basics!  Here are over 50 awesome dough recipes for kids.

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Moon Dough Recipe for Play

Kindergarten Moon Unit Study

We've been having too much fun with our kindergarten moon study to go along with My Father's World Kindergarten.  So far we've made moon dust paint, erupting moon dust, an erupting moon cake, and today we are sharing a new recipe for play, moon dough.

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Water Evaporation Demonstration

Water Science for Kids - Evaporation

It's been awhile since I'v shared one of our fun water science experiments for kids.  We love water science and do little experiments and demonstrations regularly.  This simple water evaporation demonstration is perfect for children of all ages to learn about the water cycle.

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Exploring Color Theory

Color Mixing Activities for Kids

We are all about the hands on learning around here, and lately we've been having fun with color mixing activities.  There are so many simple, hands on ways to explore color theory.  I've compiled a few of our favorites along with several from around the web to bring you my twenty-five favorite ways to learn about color theory.

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