Listed below are some neat projects to do at your family child care home:
Blowing Bubbles Recipe
1/3 cup of dish washing soap or baby shampoo
1 1/4 cups of water
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 drop of food coloring
Combine ingredients and pour into an unbreakable bottle. To blow bubbles, experiment using plastic straws, slotted spoons, pipe cleaners formed into circles, strawberry baskets, and other forms.
Flutter Tree
Tie things that make interesting sounds in the wind such as chimes, silverware and foil pie tins to a tree limb. Items that move freely in the wind work best. Ask the children to close their eyes and listen to the sounds. Talk about the sounds with the children.
Ice Galore
Fill various containers (ice cube trays, margarine tubs, funnels) with water and freeze. Add a few inches of water to the water table. Empty frozen shapes into the table. Give the children plastic things to play with (turkey basters, measuring cups, spoons, film canisters). Notice how the sun reflects on the ice and how the ice floats. Ask the children 'why' questions such as: why does the ice melt and which pieces will melt faster?
Where is All the Garbage?
Label four glass jars as a) organic, b) renewable recyclable, c) nonrenewable recyclable, and d) nonrenewable hard to recycle. Fill halfway with soil. Choose an item you were going to throw away that day and put it in the jar accordingly. Some examples are a) an apple core, b) a cereal box, c) an aluminum can, and d) a toothbrush. Set the jars aside and wait about 2-3 weeks. Ask the children to predict what will happen. Observe periodically and discuss their predictions with the results. Discuss what happens in a landfill. Ask the children to list four different items that can be recycled.
