This is a fun and exciting activity for your wee ones to try.
You will need kitchen roll, water, a plate or shallow dish and washable markers ( any water soluble marker works).
Fold a paper towel in half like a card.
Create your own design on the front of the paper towel, then inside add more details and colours.
Drop the paper towel into the water and watch the colours spread and designs appear!
Got access to a dead old computer or keyboard?
Whatever it is, tinkering with real-life tech is a fabulous
thing for your curious children. When you allow your child to take something apart, put items back together and figure out how things work it encourages them to problem solve, try another strategy or use different materials or tools.
What you need:
• An old computer
• Different kinds of screwdrivers is the best
thing for your curious preschoolers.
What to do:
1. For children of this age, an adult will most
likely need to remove the larger components
from the computer.
2. Once you’ve got some smaller components
out, allow your children a bit of free
reign with the screwdrivers.
3. The focus that you’ll see in children with
tasks like this is like nothing else, and
there’s nothing more fascinating for a
curious tinkerer than to get to see the
inside workings of a giant computer.
Children love nothing better than mixing various materials, creating potions or experimenting with water. Some great science experiments on the link below.
Make some hidden letters on white paper and let
the children paint over them, revealing the letters
before their eyes!
What you need:
• White crayons
• Watercolour paint
• White paper
• Paintbrushes
What you do:
1. Take the white crayon and draw some
random letters or short words on the
white paper. Don’t worry – you shouldn’t
be able to see anything just yet.
2. Hand the paper to your wee one and get
them to paint over the paper with their
watercolour paint.
3. Watch as they are fascinated by the
shapes that start to appear before
their eyes!
4. If your children are interested in the
activity, why not show them how the
magic is done? If they’re engaged, then
it’s a great opportunity to improve their
mark-making and maybe even get them
to try some letters of their
own.
Make this fascinating substance that is both liquid and
solid all at once and you’ll have yourself endless hours of
multi-sensory messy play.
What you need:
• Corn flour
• Water
• Food colouring
What to do:
1. Mix together 2 parts corn flour to one
part water with a few drops of food
colouring. Here your children can learn about
colour mixing, counting and measuring,
using tools, collaboration, and more.
2. You’ll now have a slimy substance that
goes solid when you apply hard pressure
and is more liquid when you apply less.
3. The children can explore the way the goo
feels and moves, and understand ideas
like cause and effect. For example, when
they hit the goo fast it will be hard while
it will turn to liquid when they move
more slowly.
4. You can also practice language skills as
they describe the texture, look, and smell
of the goo, and you can develop fine motor
skills by hiding objects in it.
5. CLEAN UP ADVICE – You don’t want to
just pour everything down the sink and
clog up your drains. Wash little hands
and tools in a big bowl and then leave
overnight. Eventually, the corn flour will
settle to the bottom and you can pour
the water from the top down the sink
and the corn flour straight into the bin.
Submerge some numbers and have the children pick them
out using tongs to improve fine motor control while
working on number recognition!
• A substance like jelly or Oobleck, shredded paper, pasta or rice
• Bowls
• Plastic numbers
• Tongs
What you do:
What you’ll need:
• 1. First, take a bowl filled with your substance
of choice and submerge a few plastic
numbers in it. That might be a liquid
substance like jelly or Oobleck (see how to make this on the next post) or a solid substance like
pasta, rice, or shredded paper.
2. Once you’re ready to start the activity,
give your child/ children tongs and show
them how to pick up the numbers using
the tongs
3. As the children are getting stuck into the
messy play, ask
questions about the numbers, helping to
improve the children’s number recognition.
Can you use a piece of paper to make a boat?
Will it float?
How many passengers can you fit inside?
I know, it’s a late night but you could maybe film it or take pictures to show your wee ones. On Monday 20th at around 10pm look up at the sky to see Starlink, a satellite constellation moving across the sky. On Tuesday 21st look up to the sky to spot the Meteor shower!
It’s another beautiful day!
Why not make a paper aeroplane? This encourages children to use their imagination and the folding technique improves concentration, spatial awareness and fine motor skills. You could draw windows and decorate it then try it out to discover how far it can fly!
