Little Scientist: Bubbles

So really, who doesn't love bubbles! It's a HUGE stress reliever for us grownups and the kids love them, too! So why not make our own bubbles!

Story portion:

We centered the storytime portion around bath time since children could associate bubbles with that part of their life.

Intro: Bread & Butter

Sign: Bath

Book: Bathtime Piggy Wiggy by Christyan and Diane Fox

Rhyme:  Bubble (we did this multiple times, the children loved it!)


A small bubble (make a circle with your hands)
A medium sized bubble (make a larger circle with your hands)
A great big bubble I see (make a large circle with your arms)
Now let’s count them, are you ready?
1 –2 – 3  (make 3 circles again)
POP!  (clap hands loudly once)

Flannel Board: Five Giraffes in the Bathtub

One Giraffe in the bathtub going for a swim.
Knock, Knock, (Clap twice with “Knock, Knock.”)
Splash, Splash, (Slap knees twice with “Splash, Splash.”)
Come on in! (Motion with both hands to come in.)

Two Giraffes in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Three Giraffes in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Four Giraffes in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Come on in!

Five Giraffes in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
Then they all fell in!

Song: This is the Way We Wash (scarves)

This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our hands, wash our hands.
This is the way we wash our hands
So early in the morning.

(knees, arms, toes)

Book: Bubbles, Bubbles by Kathi Appelt

Now came the fun part! Making the bubbles. I brought in some pitchers from home so it was easier to pour the solution into the bowls for kids to use.

Wands:  We used two types of homemade wands.  I saved some recycled water bottles and cut off the bottoms. This type of wand made BIG bubbles. We also handed out pipe cleans so that the children could shape their own wands (although I did explain that even if they made a heart want- the bubble was still going to be a circle.)


Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup liquid dish soap (Joy or Dawn works best.  No ULTRA)

6 cups water (distilled water works best)

1 tablespoon glycerin OR ¼ cup light corn syrup

     Directions:

Pour dish soap into container of water.  Slowly stir until the soap is mixed in.  Try not to let foam or bubbles form while stirring.

Add glycerin or corn syrup.   Stir until combined.

For best results, cover and wait 24 hours before using.

 (We didn't wait the 24 hours but we let the mixture sit for a minute. We sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider while we waited.)

What happens:

The soap mixture on the outside of a bubble is made of three very thin layers: soap, water, soap.  This sandwich is called a soap film.  A bubble pops when the water that is trapped in
between the layers of soap evaporates.  The glycerin or corn
syrup mixes with the soap to make it thicker, keeping the water from evaporating as quickly.

This was another one of those programs where the adults had more fun than the children!

Crafty Kids: Space

Intro: Bread & Butter

Book: Aliens Love Underpants by Clare Freedman & Ben Cort (Really- who doesn't love stories about underpants???)

Rhyme: Galaxy Bend & Stretch

Bend and stretch, reach for the stars
There goes Jupiter, here comes Mars
Bend and stretch and reach for the sky
Stand on tip-e-toe, go so high!

Flannel Board: Astronaut, Astronaut (space version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

Stars, astronaut, rocket, planet, clouds, moon. Then we see children and the children see all of the objects again.

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (with Star puppets)

Book: Star Climbing by Lou Fancher

Activity: Space Bingo

Picture bingo games are really easy to make for preschoolers. Your calling cards are the pictures and they cross out the picture on their card with an erasable marker. We laminated the cards so we could just wipe off the marker and use them over again. We've had space bingo for a few years and use it with the preschoolers and the school-aged children. Here's one of the bingo cards:

Craft: Space Painting – children used space themed cookies cutters of planets, stars and the moon to paint the night sky

Activity:  Moon Rock Hunt

After they were done with the craft, children could look for moon rocks hidden in the Children’s Room. Moon Rocks were made of Model Magic, poked with holes from the cap of a highlighter and then painted gray.

Crafty Kids: Eggs

Who knew kids would like a storytime about eggs?

Intro: Bread & Butter

Sign: Egg

Book: Roly Poly Egg by Kali Stileman

Song: I Know a Chicken- Laurie Berkner with shaker eggs

Flannel Board: Where is the Chick?

So I  borrowed this idea from Read It Again. I made 10 eggs (only 8 fit on the flannel board)  of all different patterns from scrapbook paper, laminated them. and put felt on the back. Then I made different Ellison shapes to put underneath: snowflake, star, butterfly, heart, boat, dinosaur, flower, apple, fish rabbit and chick. We flipped the eggs until we found the chick. They loved it!

Book: Mama Hen’s Big Day by Jill Latter

Activity: Non-traditional egg hunt. I took large plastic Easter eggs and put two of the same letter on each egg- one on top and one on the bottom. Each child got a top and had to go look for the bottom with the matching letter in the Children’s Room. The teen volunteers hid the bottoms while the story portion of the program was going on.

Craft: Hatching Chick