I might have mentioned before that I homeschool my boys.
They are 3 and 4 so it is not hardcore yet but I like to have a topic of study for each month to make it easier on me.
This month is Volcano’s.
Something I have come to realize about teaching a 3 and 4 year old is my expectations of what they will remember were set WAY too high.
If they remember that a volcano shoots something out of it, then I am doing good.
If they remember that lava is hot, then I deserve a gold medal.
And so forth, and so on.
We were reading the Magic School bus book on volcanoes and when I saw a recipe for making a volcano and I thought “sure, why not?”.
So I asked my boys if they wanted to make a volcano and of course being typical boys they said, no.
Yeah, right.
So I got to work figuring out what we had lying around to make a volcano.
I could have gone to the walmart but I am cheap and lazy…
And hey, we needed it NOW!
So this is what we had.
Old vanilla bottles(I think they are cute so I never get rid of them)
Vinegar
Red food coloring
Baking Soda
Playdough(they recommend modeling clay but I did not have any)
Dishwashing Soap
Patience is not a virtue my 3yr old possess yet.
Dish washing soap and red dye next.
Then some playdough for the outside.
My son and I had to have a little talk about the word dye vs. die.
When I told him it was dye on his hands he started crying saying he did not want to die…
I probably should have been helping more and taking pictures less.
I was yelling(while taking the picture), TAKE IT OUT!
A little tip.
Use a nice washable tablecloth(like the one I had in the closet) so as not to stain the tile table.
I asked my youngest what he was doing with his hands.
He said, “the people are dieing and need to go in the ambulance”.
Maybe a little too much PBS.
I am hearing this the whole time, “help, help, it’s getting me”.
Boys…
We of course had to do it again.
More people in need of an ambulance.
I was really surprised that my oldest was not playing in it also.
When I asked him why, he said he did not want to be burned.
I quickly told him it was not real lava…
My poor son thought I was trying to burn him.
No, I do not let my children play with molten lava.
Awesome post Danielle! I laughed right out loud several times. Thanks for the idea too.
!! Loved this Danielle!!! Laughed so much I love the way you tell stories!!!
Such fun! And neat-o pictures 🙂
I’ll have to try this with my students soon–I’m sure they would get a kick out of it! Thanks for sharing!