Summer play is in full swing here! Recently, the kids and I put together a simple, fun science activity on the back porch. It was a bit dreary and rainy, but we made the best of it with a sand volcano. Well, it’s our version of a sand volcano, despite the fact that we don’t have a beach (or a sandbox) nearby.
a fun science activity for summertime
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Our sand volcano was inspired by Kids Activities Blog‘s new book 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest, Ever! I’ll share more about this awesome resource after our fun science activity!
To start everything off, we put the main ingredients inside a reusable water bottle. As you likely already know, these ingredients included baking soda and red food coloring. 101 Kids Activities has a “secret ingredient” to make the reaction frothier, and that was added too. (Shhhhh . . . it’s a dab of whipped cream!)
While I keep calling it a sand volcano, it’s neither sandy nor a volcano. We used our homemade play sand as the base of this activity. We’ve been playing with the play sand and its coconut counterpart a lot this week, so it made sense to use what we already had.
I placed the filled water bottle inside a tub of the play sand, then let the kids at it. They made a volcano shape around the bottle, adding glass gems along the way. The bottle was kind of tall, so the volcano turned out a bit on the skinny side. I offered to make some more play sand so they could fill out the volcano a bit more, but the boys didn’t want to wait!
Once everything was to the boy’s liking, they added the vinegar into the top of the water bottle. Exclamations of “Oooooh! It’s erupting! Watch out!” could be heard. They kept going until we ran out of vinegar, then played in the “goopy lava” for almost an hour afterwards. Definitely a successful and fun science activity for all of the kiddos!
Before I delve into my review of 101 Kids Activities, please know I received a free copy in exchange for my honest thoughts about the book. As always, all opinions are my own! The book was sent to me thanks to Holly and Rachel, the ladies behind Kids Activities Blog. I’m happy to know them as part of the Kid Bloggers Network, and they’ve both been immensely helpful and generous towards other bloggers (myself included).
When the book first arrived, Engineer helped me open it. He saw it had my name on the envelope, but he pointed out “Hey! It’s a kid book so I can have it too, right?” He and I went through it together, pointing out different ideas to the other. Needless to say, he already has a TON of activities on his to-do list for the summer.
For me, I think 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest, Ever is a great resource for anyone around kiddos. There are (obviously) over 100 ideas, with sections for boredom busters, games, crafts, and simple science. I love the large, beautiful photos that are paired with the straight-forward directions. There are also ideas for adapting each activity for both older and younger children. I teach preschool, but my son and his buds are in elementary school – so it’s nice to have ways to make each idea appropriate for different age-groups.
On top of all that, I am a dork and love that it lies flat! The binding is such that I can open it to a page and the book’s pages stay put. Engineer would read an activity, then run off to see if we had the right materials, and the book didn’t close up. All in all, this is a book that’s going to get a lot of use here at home and over at my preschool!
Check out Kids Activities Blog‘s giveaway . . .
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Hands-On Science Materials
Everyone learns differently. But young children seem to be more interested in learning when they are able to connect with the subject. And that’s where hands-on science comes in! I find that letting children experience hands on science gets them excited to explore various science topics. With that in mind, you might want to keep your classroom stocked with some great science materials.
Check out this list and decide which items will work well in your classroom (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Science magnet kit
- Magnifying glass set
- Kid-friendly tongs
- Jumbo eye droppers
- Sensory tubes
- Safety goggles
- Pipettes
- Science mix and measure set
- Sensory bottles
- Sensory bins
- Butterfly net set
The children are going to absolutely love learning about these science tools. And I know they’ll love getting to use them even more!
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!
Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the image below to learn more about some of our favorite products!
Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!
The volcano experiment is “oldie but goodie”. I also got 101 Activities for review and loving it. There is only a small problem of finding time to do all the activities from this book I want to do!
Interested in purchasing the book. Love the volcano and sand idea.