Messes are good.

Yes! Messes are good! Even great! If you saw our classroom this last week you would have seen an explosion of white stuff. But it was also an explosion of learning. The white stuff is "ooblick" which is very simple to make. Just mix water and corn starch together until there is this odd mix of liquid and solid that will ooze through the fingers. This is one of those substances that can be a solid and a liquid at the same time. We allowed the children to mix it themselves and they discovered the changes happening right in their fingers. Then as the ooblick took on it's characteristic slime/solid feel we talked about what is liquid and solid and the differences. This is science fun! To play with ooblick also took some courage for some. One child actually took a deep breath before plunging her little hands into the white blob. The best thing about this particular mess is that it easy to clean up! It simply washes right off the hands and hard surfaces. If it gets on the clothes (and it will) just use a little water. On your carpet? Wait until it dries then scuff it off and vacuum. This is a fun mess to have outside when it is so pretty and spring like.

Speaking of spring and changes we also talked about the changes that is happening out in their yard and in the playground garden. The students talked about the flowers, the flowers on the trees and even new leaves. This is a great time of year to take your children out for walks and listen to the birds and notice all of the changes that are happening in this new season.