Homemade Silly Putty

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of cornstarch
1/2–1 cup clear liquid soap (Method hand soap works best*
Food coloring or gel colors
A small bowl and spoon for mixing

Add the cornstarch and 1/2 cup liquid soap (use the lesser amount to start with) into a medium-sized bowl and mix.

Add a couple drops of food coloring and mix. Add a little more color if desired (you shouldn’t need a lot.)

Mix the ingredients together with the spoon until it is too hard to mix, then use your fingers.

Add more soap if it’s dry. Low humidity in the air will cause you to need more soap.

When your silly putty is moldable and a bit slimy, but no longer sticks to your fingers, it’s ready!

M & M Rainbow Science!

 To make an M&M science rainbow, you will need the following materials:

• M&Ms
• Plate
• Water

Start by putting some M&Ms onto a plate.

Then arrange the M&Ms in a large circle at the outside edge of the plate.

The next step is to gently add enough water to the middle of the plate until the water is touching all of the M&Ms. Be careful not to add the water too roughly or it will cause some of the M&Ms to move out of the circle.

Then just watch. Over the next few minutes, a beautiful rainbow will form right before your eyes!

Solar S'Mores!

This is not only a tasty treat, but it’s a fun experiment, too.  Grab your kids and supplies and have fun making Solar S’mores together! 

Supplies:

• Cardboard box
• Foil
• Tape
• Plastic wrap
• Graham crackers
• Marshmallow
• Chocolate bar

1)  Line the inside of a cardboard box with foil.

2)  Place the chocolate bar and marshmallow on top of the graham cracker.  Cover the top with plastic wrap and tape it down.  Try to move the box carefully or the marshmallows will fall off!

3)  Place the box in the sunshine for one-half to two hours (depending on the temperature outside and how direct the sunlight). 

4)  Allow your child to feel how hot the box is and see the effect of the sun on the chocolate and marshmallows.  Then, eat your Solar S’mores snack!

Thanks to Motherhood on a Dime blog for the yummy idea!

Sunography Prints

Here is a fun activity to try outside on a sunny day-make sun prints! You can use sunography paper (which you would have to buy) or you can try a dark color construction paper. Choose a few objects that won't blow away and leave them out in the sun until you have a nice print!

On the next sunny day, try this idea if you have a baby pool and it's still too cold to fill it with water!
Make it a cozy place to read, write, draw, or have snacks!

Here is a fun idea for you to try while you are at home!

All you need is a rock or two, a few leaves and some paint.

Paint one side of a leaf and then press the painted leaf onto one side

of your rock.

Let it dry and you have beautiful leaf print rocks!

Hi Explorers! 

Here is another hunt you can go on outside in your yard or in 

an outdoor space near where you live.

If you have a printer click on the picture and you can take it with you.

Or you can copy what you see and then go creature hunting!

Here is a great list of books about gardening for kids. You may be able to find them online or at your local bookstore. The link below the picture will let you read more about each book on the list.

Enjoy!

https://www.themeasuredmom.com/books-about-gardening/

Be An Explorer!

Want to be an explorer? You can observe things inside and outside with these cool binoculars you can make at home!

Have a grownup help you glue together 2 toilet paper rolls, add some yarn or string and you're ready for exploring!

If you have a sketchbook or notebook you can draw what you see! Have fun!

Hi friends! When the rain stops here is a great list of fun things to do outside in your yard or driveway!

Hi Davis School friends! 

Even though we can't get into the garden at school, we can still think about

plants and what they need to grow.

If you have plants growing outside in your neighborhood you can observe them 

and see what helps them grow.

Below the worksheet are word cards to help you.

If you have a printer you can print out the worksheet and cards

or you can write on a piece of paper the things plants need.

Have fun!

Float and Sink in the Kitchen!

Let's have some fun while we're stuck at home! Get an adult to help you with this sink or float science experiment!

You can use items straight out of the kitchen for our sink float water science activity. Grab different fruits and vegetables, aluminum foil, aluminum cans, spoons {both plastic and metal}, sponges. You could also test peeling your vegetables or slicing them. Plus I am sure your child will be able to come up with other fun things to test! This is so simple but very engaging for young scientists.
A couple of interesting things we tested in our sink float water activity were the aluminum can and aluminum foil. We noticed the can floats, but when pushed under will sink. We could see the air bubbles coming out that helped it to float. The aluminum foil floats when it is flat, when it is crunched into a loose ball and even a tight ball. However if you give it a good pound to really flatten it, you can make it sink. Removing the air will sink it. 

Have fun in your kitchen sink!

Davis Gardeners

Here are some Davis friends working in our garden last year! Hopefully we will soon be back at school and can work in our gardens again!

Spring Is Here!

Hi families! Here is a chance to do some spring writing! 

Copy and paste this sheet so you can print it out and

do your writing right on it.

If you can't print, use the ideas and do your spring writing

on a plain piece of paper.

Feel free to add some spring drawings if you want!

If you can, have an adult take a picture of your writing, email it to me and 

I will put it on our blog.

Growing Vegetables From Scraps in the Kitchen

Regrow Spring Onions in Water!

Don’t have a garden where you can grow spring onions outside?  That doesn’t matter.  You can actually regrow store bought spring onions, as long as they have a some of the roots left on each plant.

1. Trim the tops of the onions and place them in a glass of water with the water just above where the onions start to turn green. You will want to be able to see what is happening as the spring onions regrow.
2. Change the water when it starts to get dirty. Keep the container near a sunny window if you can, so that the onions get some light.
3. When you need spring onions for cooking or eating, just cut off the green part of the onions above the water line and leave the base in the glass. 
3. In a few days, the onions will start regrowing from the cut area. You can re-cut again and again!  Shoots should appear in about 3 days.  

         

Virtual Garden

Hi gardeners! Since we aren't at school right now and can't work in our garden yet, here is a little garden game you can play from home! It's pretty easy but lots of fun!
Don't forget the things a plant needs to grow when you play.



                                 https://www.tvokids.com/preschool/games/get-growing

Garden Visit

I went to Davis School today and took off all of the classroom numbers that were on the garden beds.
Many of the teachers have new classroom numbers this year so we decided to change how we number them. When we all come back to school the beds will be numbered from 1-20 and your teacher will be able to help you find your garden. If your class worked in your garden in the fall, you still have the same exact garden bed, so don't worry! Here are a few pictures I took while we were there!

Make a Simple Bird Feeder

Many birds are migrating right now and are hungry and looking for food! Here is an easy bird feeder you can make at home to feed them!

                step 1-get an empty toilet paper roll. Spread crisco or another sticky substance on the roll.

                                             

step 2-spread it all over the roll so it's covered. 

step 3-roll the toilet paper roll in bird seed.

step 4-tie a piece of thread or string through and tie it in a knot.

step 5-hang your bird feeder outside on a branch of a tree or bush.

You can also just stick your bird feeder on a branch without hanging it!

Just be sure to put it where you can observe the birds that come and eat!

This is a robin. They migrate and are now back in Massachusetts for spring!

Kids in the Garden!

Before school was closed, some kids got to go outside and explore their garden bed! Looks like they loved being out there!

Garden Planning!

Hi teachers and families! When we return to school it will soon be time to plant in our classroom garden beds. I have attached a garden plan for kids to draw their ideas for their class gardens. It can also be used to design a garden at home if your family is thinking about doing some planting together.
Have fun! Any families who want to share their child's garden ideas, take a photo and email to me at
deborah_davies@bedfordps.org and I will post them on the blog. Happy planning!

Click on the photo above to copy the planner into a word document and then you can print it out!

What to do Outside With Your Kids!

Spring is Coming!

Spring is almost here and soon we will all be back at school and can begin working in our beautiful Davis garden once again! Last year due to the construction at Davis the garden wasn't accessible but this spring we have a dedicated group of parent volunteers who are excited to help us clean out the beds and get them ready for our eager gardeners to get planting!
Tasks parents will help us with are: clean out the classroom garden beds if teachers want help, clean up the paths in and around the beds, clean up around the garden's fence inside and out to make it easy for kids to do some planting and anything else we need to do to get ready.
I'll try and keep you updated on our spring garden progress so stay tuned to our blog!