Rainy Days and Dancing in Extended Day

Rainy days can be seen in two ways- either as a day when the mood is dampened and we can't  play outside, or as an opportunity to learn and explore.  

Last week during extended day we explored and created with wind. This week we decided the explore the rain that we had been having the past few days. 

Why does it rain? And where does the rain come from?

We set up an experiment to find out. 

We filled up a clear jug with water and then filled up four additional cups. The children then helped to color each one with a different color. 

Then we added a "cloud" of shaving cream to the top of the water jug.

We pointed up to the real clouds in the sky and discussed that the reason why it rains is because the cloud slowly gets more and more full with water, until it gets too full that it can't hold anymore, so it starts to let some out- and it starts to rain. 

We used this experiment to experience this visually. The children all carefully started putting some of the colored water into the shaving cream cloud. We saw that it was getting more and more full until the colors then starting 'raining' out!

They had so much fun added more and more colors and watching it slowly raining out of the shaving cream. 

The more colors they put into the 'cloud' the more 'rain' came out, and after using up all the colors, the jar was full and dark and looked quite like a thunderstorm! What a cool way to visualize the rain process!

On a separate note, the extended day girls who participated in dance class had their end of year dance recital on Thursday! The adorable little ballerinas did such a great job showing us their pointed toes, passe's and plie's to name a few!  

And let's not forget the Extended Day boys who sat so nicely and quietly throughout the whole thing, and of course made sure to applause at the appropriate times! Enjoy some pictures below. 

The Walking Colors in Extended Care

While painting during an Extended Day project one day, the concept of color mixing came up, and we started discussing the concept of Primary Colors and Secondary Colors, and how only mixing certain colors will you get the results you desire.

What better way to properly learn and grasp something than through a hands-on experiment! 

We started off with three empty jars

Then, Dovid and Ari helped to fill two of the jars with water.

We then counted how many we had full, and how many empty

Then, Mina helped to color one jar with red coloring, while Leba help to color a second one with blue.

Ilan then helped to fold a paper towel and place one end of it in the red jar, and the other end in the empty jar. Noah helped to do the same with the blue jar. 

We now had three jars, one with red water and a paper towel going from it into the empty jar, and one with blue water also with a paper towel going from it into the empty jar.

We asked the children if they knew what color you get when mixing red and blue, and Ilan correctly answered "Purple!" 

Then we asked if they thought it was possible for the water to be able to get to the middle jar without us doing anything! Most seemed pretty skeptical, but we waited and watched to see what would happen. 

Suddenly, the children started to notice the colors were crawling their way up the paper towel!

Slowly, Slowly, the more the waited and watched, the further along the colors were crawling, closer and closer to the empty jar! They were getting pretty close and we wondered if they would actually go all the way. 

We also tried guessing which color was going to get there first. Dovid guessed that it would be the red one.

Noa was very intently keeping an eye on the jars, and keeping everyone informed about the progress. Suddenly, she called everyone over- she had noticed that the paper towels had started dripping into the empty jar! The colors were starting to mix and were turning into purple!

It was still taking its time, so we decided to make another one in the meantime. We used a different type of paper towels this time, hoping that maybe it would cause it to go faster. We also used blue and yellow the second time, which Ilan correctly told us makes green!

We left our experiments in the classroom and went out to go play for a bit. The children kept on eagerly asking if we can go back and check on them. We went back a short while later, and Sammy and Annabelle came with us to check them out too!

We noticed that even more of the purple had collected, and the blue and the yellow had indeed mixed to make green!

We then left it overnight, to let it fully progress. The next day the purple and the green jars had filled up until all three jars water levels were equal to each other. 

We brought them out for the children to see, and they were so fascinated how the water had traveled by itself through the paper towels, and how the two colors had mixed to form another color.

It was amazing to see how engaged and excited the children were, how great their observation skills were, and the great questions and theories they posed. We can't wait to expand on this experiment, and continue exploring the fascinating world of colors. 

Have a Shabbat Shalom!