A House for Eyeore

I found myself in the posession of 30 or 40 rolled up newspaper "sticks" and no apparent use for them. Our class had recently become the proud owners of a boxed collection of "The House At Pooh Corner", some of the classic Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A.Milne. As luck would have it, one of the girls brought in a large stuffed Eyeore on the same day that we decided to read In Which a House Is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore. The only reasonable plan of action for the morning was to take the newspaper sticks and build a house for our visiting stuffed Eyeore.

I whipped together the box frame and "roof" shape using a stapler and some tape, then I let the kids go from there. They added more sticks with tape, and even taped on some paper walls (their own idea).

Squealing with delight, they bowled each other over crawling in and out of the tiny house. This necessitated some serious reconstruction, but all together the house was not completely destroyed until about four thirty in the afternoon.

Future Topics on Preschool Learning is Fun

Topics I would like to cover on Preschool Learning is Fun:

~Table Toys Center
~Math Center
~Dramatic Play Center
~Art Center
~Science Center
~Blocks and Transportation Center
~Library Center
~Computer Center
~Legos and Tools Center
~Closet Library
~Window Art
~Letter of the Week
~All About Me Box
~Holiday Projects
~Farm Week
~Wipe-Off Boards
~Easel Painting
~Crayons vs Markers vs Pencils vs Chalk vs Water
~Kid Initiated Games
~Kid Initiated Art
~Trains
~Strategies for Sharing
~Clocks and Time
~Handwriting Without Tears Program
~Free Play Art Center Fads
~Cardboard Boxes
~Newspaper Houses
~PomPom Accorns
~Tricycle Teamwork

Goopy-Goop Recipe

Goopy-Goop Recipe

~ 1 part white glue
~ aprox. 1 part liquid starch
~ (optional liquid food color)
~ (optional glitter)
~ (optional googly eyes)

Pour glue into a large ziplock bag. Add starch and close bag. Gently knead bag until your fingers pass out and the contents appear to be a stringy nasty mess. Continue mushing the bag (perhaps get someone else to oblige) until the contents form into silly putty. Take it out and feel it with your hands. If the ending putty is sticking to your hands, add more starch. If the ending putty appears to be slimy with starch, that's ok, just stretch it and knead it with your hands until it is all mixed in.

The basic recipe makes white goopy-goo. You can easily color it by adding a few drops of food dye, some sprinkles of glitter, or both! Green is a classic color for the goopy stuff, though my class has usually opted for a blueish goo. You can also just pour glitter on the table, and let the kids "mop it up" with the Goopy-Goo. They love this, especially with different colored glitter.

Adding a handful of plastic googly eyes to the Goopy-Goo was an awesome idea that predicated hours of monster making, as the eyes can be used over and over again with each new Goopy-Goo creation.

I have found that storing the goo works best in a ziplock bag. It dries out very slowly, and can be left on the table for an hour or two with no ill effects, but does need to be air-tight for overnight. 

When I first made goopy-goo, I anticipated it being a fun afternoon activity that would be roughly equivalent (in fun and clean-up) to play-dough. On the contrary, it was explosively popular, and clean-up was ridiculously easy. Over the past few months, the Goopy-Goo is the only "toy" that is played with every single day by multiple kids. 

How long does it last? Well, interestingly enough, after a week or two, I noticed that the volume of the substance seemed to have decreased, and the weight of it seemed to have increased. It became thicker, and stiffer, and instead of dripping slowly, had to be pulled to stretch and shape. The slow change in physical properties of the Goopy-Goop actually appeared to contribute to the kids' lasting interest in it. After about a month, I kneaded some water into it (which took forever) to try and rehydrate it. The end result was a sticky mess that flowed too freely, and got everywhere.

When (not if) it gets stuck on the kids clothing, you might be able to pull it off quickly if it hasn't been on too long. If it has, it will be impossible to get out with your fingers, but will dry like white glue, and come right out in the wash.

I highly recommend installing Goopy-Goo into your classroom. The kids learned quickly how to keep it away from their clothing and hair, and it is also a favorite with parents when they come to pick up their kids. As a side note, if you ever run out of tape or sticky tac for hanging up paper projects on bulletin boards, tiny balls of goopy-goo work great. They stick like sticky tac, and then over the next day they dry like elmers glue. This makes the papers really easy to pull off of a painted wall or contact paper bulletin board. I wouldn't recommend it for a butcher paper bulletin board, though I have not personally experimented with this.

 Twisting it can actually take a bit of hand/arm muscle and coordination and concentration.

 Goopy-Goo can be stretched into really long strings, and used to draw letters, or make whole houses. Unlike play-dough, which seems to require copious amounts of cookie cutters and play-dough "toys" to keep the kids entertained, Goopy-Goop is great fun on it's own, or with the addition of a handful of plastic googly eyes.

Notice that this boy is using both hands to push and shape the Goopy-Goop, working his whole upper body in the process. As silly as it sounds, even four year olds should be exercising their upper body and core muscles. And with the amount of time this boy spends kneading, stretching, and fine-motoring this goo, he is going to be in great shape to begin his life healthy.

Somebody likes her Goopy-Goop a little too much...

Fingerpaint Recipe

Fingerpaint Recipe

~ 1 squirt of washable paint
~ 1 large squeeze of shaving cream

Mix together for a textured non-drip foamy paint. Perfect for fingerpainting at the easel, on the table, or wherever you are willing to clean up after. We usually "make" the fingerpaint in disposable bowls so clean-up is easier. 

Here are a few pics of the stuff in action.

Cinnimud Recipe

Cinnamud Recipe

~ 1 container of ground cinnamon
~ 1/2 cup to as much as needed unsweetened applesauce

Mix together with your hands until you have a thick clay-like mud. This works great in large quantities in a sensory table. The cinnamon smells great, and the "mud" will dry into breakable clumps and lumps that are equally fun to crumble, mash, and pour in the sensory table for the next week or so. The mud can also be cut with cookie cutters and let dry into brown clay-like cinnamon-smelling ornaments.

We made Cinnamud in my class this week, producing some great cinnamon holiday ornaments, as well as hours of sweet smelling sensory table fun. Whenever the cinnamon in the sensory table became too dry and powdery (and liable to go flying through the air and on the floor and in the kids' eyes), I added more applesauce or water to wet it down, and stick it together again. During the week, we also added glitter and dry oats to the mix to add sparkle and texture. The kids loved using dishes from the kitchen center and a rolling pin I provided to measure, pour, and "bake" a variety of imaginary culinary perfections.

As with all sensory table activities in a four year old class, make sure the sensory table is out of the regular flow of classroom traffic, and expect to be sweeping the floor on an hourly basis.

Here are a few pics of the ornaments and sensory table set-up. I'll try to take some of the kids playing in it tomorrow if I remember.