Just a few updates on what happened to our theme on Nursery Rhymes so far. We continued with Humpty Dumpty on Tuesday & Wednesday. It was fun, learning together with the children.
What we did on Tuesday?
EGGS - SINK OR FLOAT?
We did a simple experiment of floating and sinking eggs. First, I had two raw eggs and two jars of fresh water. I put an egg into one of the jars and the egg sank. I asked the children (between 3 and 6) how ot make the other egg float. One boy aged five asked me to put salt in it. He probably saw the salt in my bowl!
I put in tablespoons of salt into the second jar. The egg started to float and was suspended in the middle of the jar. It was like magic and the children were fascinated. I continued to put more salt but the egg remained suspended in the jar. I asked the children how to make it float further. (I thought of putting in more salt, but it has reached a point where the salt can't dissolve anymore). One boy GKW said - "stir the salt." Aaahhhh.... good idea! I stirred the salt and voila, the egg floated to the top.
It was magic to many of the children and a good learning experience for me. This shows that children can sometimes be more knowledgeable and have more common sense than adults. In fact, I have wasted too much salt ... could have just stirred the solution instead!
MAKING RUBBER EGG
We proceeded to make rubber eggs next. I had two raw eggs, let the children feel and touch the hard shell. I also showed them that although the shell is hard, it can crack easily when we hit it on the floor.
Next, I took out a jar of vinegar and told them that the vinegar is strong and will eat away the hard shell - something that acid rain does to buildings and statues (did a unit on this when we discussed Earthday, Everday earlier). I put two eggs into the jar of vinegar - one egg is Humpty Dumpty, the other one Himpty Dimpty (named on the spot to accompany Humpty, supposed to be his sister). It was quite amusing and provide yet another opportunity for rhyming. Will discuss the outcome in my next post.
EATING HARD-BOILED EGGS
We cooked hard-boiled eggs for all the children to eat. We tried to give them for breakfast, but not all liked it. This time around, all the children ate, probably because of Humpty Dumpty! Another trick is to let them peel the shell themselves (good for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination) and to serve them with grade F eggs - the smallest in the market. This way, it takes shorter to deshell and not so imposing to eat. Some of course, liked the eggs and ate two.
MAKING HUMPTY DUMPTY COLLAGE
Lastly, we used the egg shell to make a collage of Humpty Dumpty sitting on the wall.
It was a good day and the children, teachers and I enjoyed ourselves very much!
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