water, sunlight, and mirrors

This was supposed to be a lesson on refraction, but there wasn't much sun today so we had fun with reflection instead. I love taking the curriculum outside whenever possible. Sunlight is always preferable to fluorescent light and an added bonus was dipping our hands in cold water on a hot day.


I filled up some smallish white  tubs with two sizes of mirrors. One tub had clear water and one tub was tinted a pale purple. 

Later I added some colored translucent shapes to spice things up since there wasn't any direct sunlight. 

I didn't document any of their thoughts today because my hands were busy in the tubs as well! 

The end! 

transparent and translucent plastic on the light table

Time to change up the light table.

I added various transparent and translucent plastic items (bubble wrap, bottles and caps, jewel cases, etc) from the recycle room to the light table along with markers.

I let the children draw as they saw fit.

Here are some of their creations displayed in the nearby window:



Ms. Erin: What do they remind you of?

K: Car lights, all day long. A bowl.

M: These are water bottles.

K: Look, a button!

A: This is for my mommy.

B: I made this for your baby, Ms. Erin.