The New Year has started off with lots and lots of fresh white snow. While we began our exploration of this natural substance in December, we’ve truly been able to explore and engage with it as more has fallen to the ground. We’ve watched as the children in the group have started to build bricks out of snow using brick builders, dug giant holes in the snow hill, and used the cones to pack and mold towers that enhanced their structures.
Although these experiences have been engaging and enriching, we wondered how to expand on this play further. Could we incorporate other elements of learning into their snow play? Yes, we decided, we could. We challenged the group to create volcanoes out of the snow and then we could erupt them with baking soda and vinegar. This challenge was well received and the children quickly got to work.
Elowyn decided she was going to work on her own and began to gather up some snow to build with. She packed it into a small mountain, leaving a small gap in it that would represent the top of the volcano. She struggled to find and gather the snow herself and decided to keep her creation small. We added some baking soda, food colour, and vinegar to it and watched as it fizzed and bubbled. Elowyn thought her reaction wasn’t as big and exciting as she anticipated it to be.
Liam and Sophia Rose, meanwhile, worked as a team to construct their volcano. Liam discovered that if he dug into the snow, he could bypass the frozen layer and find the loose powder underneath, which was easier to pack. Sophia gathered this loose snow into a pile and formed the mountain. They agreed on a size and shape, worked to build it up, and once they were pleased with it they used a cone to make the hole in the top of their mountain. “We need lots of baking soda,” Liam said, “because the hole is so big.” We added a significant amount of baking soda, dripped some food colour, then poured the vinegar in. “We need more,” Sophia decided after the initial reaction. “And we didn’t have enough food colour- I didn’t see it at all!” We added more baking soda and colour, and a little more vinegar, and watched as their volcano erupted, flowing over the top.
Since this reaction appeared to be so engaging we brought the vinegar and baking soda into the room and spread a layer on a tray. The children were able to add some vinegar to it, then used Popsicle sticks to spread it around as it fizzed. Once the reaction slowed down, Sophia, Sairen, Poet, and Alexandra enjoyed exploring the sensory feeling of the mixture, stating “it feels like slime!”
Combining natural elements and science exploration invites us to explore the outdoor environment in new ways. We enhanced the interest and play that the children were already engaged in, and took it one step further, bringing an extra layer of excitement to our outdoor time, and continued it indoors when we saw how much the children enjoyed it. This shows that we are meeting the children’s needs in terms of interest, and inviting them into activities they’re excited to do. We explored chemistry, mathematical concepts, and even social skills through team work!
We hope to bring more scientific activities into the environment!
