Clubhouse ABC's Revisited

*This is a post I wrote awhile ago when I had no idea how to attach a printable. I've had a flurry of emails recently asking for a printable of the letters, so here is the post revisited, printable included...

In the past I have been asked how I teach Preschoolers ABC's, letter recognition, and ultimately writing their name. The answer is simple. Here at the Clubhouse, letters are everywhere, and the Clubhouse Kids manage to teach themselves.

Sure, I help them a long.

That's what I'm here for, right?

I start with a basket.

Clubhouse Water Bead Pool

We have had a lot of fun with water beads here at the Clubhouse. From shrinking them to freezing them, from putting them in sensory bottles and baggies full of a variety of liquids, to putting them in sensory tables full of "worms". You name it, and we've probably done it when it comes to these bouncy little beads.

One thing had been left undone though, and after a few weather setbacks, we finally got to check it off of our list...

Clubhouse Flag

After looking at several photos of the United States flag in books, we decided to use a few different ingredients and make a flag of our own.

Clubhouse Tray: Water Bead Style

We have a blue tray in the Clubhouse Classroom, and the activities on the tray are ever changing.

Whatever is on the tray is a one kid operation, and the Clubhouse Kids are really good about that. They like knowing that once the tray is in their hands, it's all theirs, so they take turns accordingly. Yes, even in Preschool.. it can be done!

The tray activities are not only one-kid operations, they are also usually very meticulous activities. Sorting small items. Lacing beads. Tongs. Patterns. Gardens made of "crayon dust" with small scoops and sticks. The tray is about details, and often requires precise movements. All in the name of working on those fine motor skills. The Clubhouse Kids can incorporate anything else from the classroom when they are working on the tray. Actually, I love when they do that and I often place the tray in a part of the classroom that is close to other objects I think they may like to incorporate with that particular tray.

So what do water beads have to do with fine motor skills?
Aren't they for big, squishy, bouncy sensory play?

Well just take a look at that pincer grip.

Clubhouse Plumbing

Did you know that Rainbow Water Beads actually does sell a pack of Rainbow water beads? I popped a pack into a bowl of water to hydrate, and then drained them. Placed them next to the Waterway Pipe Builders set. Done.

"We need a big box to catch them when they come out!"

This was true, I'm glad he thought of it. 

Had I really not thought of it myself?

  

Of course I had. I know how bouncy these little things are.
Sometimes I like to leave "something missing" and watch the Clubhouse Kids come up with their own solutions;)
After fishing out a big Styrofoam container from the pile of "just in case we can use this" recyclable materials, he was all set. 

He started with just a funnel and watched them drop into the container.  Realizing they go right through, he started constructing.

Clubhouse Beads, Bottles and Baggies

As anyone who has used water beads knows, they last awhile if they are stored properly. You can use them in a sensory table, over and over again, and they will be fun every single time. Here at the Clubhouse though, we like to use them in as many ways as possible. Most recently, adding them to a few sensory bottles and baggies.

The first sensory bottle was easy, we already had "fully grown" black water beads from our "can of worms" sensory table, so we added a handful of those to some water. I then added a few green beads that had not expanded yet. Seeing them grow in the bottle was part of the fun.



Immediately this bottle was rolled, shaken, and rolled some more.

Actually, there was a lot of rolling involved with this one...

"Look at how the beads bounce all over when I roll it!"

As the green beads started to grow, that made for even more shaking and rolling. This was one popular bottle!

Next up was a bottle filled with oil, water and

Clubhouse Worm Diary, Day 5

"Today is May One Ms. Liz, just like in the book!!"

Well look at that, they really do pay attention in the morning when we change out our calendar days. 

Conversation easily led into discussing good manners (comments recorded into their own Clubhouse Diaries, of course).

"That's when you say please, thank you, and no way!"

"When you fart you say excuse me..."

Real Gentlemen we have here at the Clubhouse ;)

On to today's sensory adventure. 

I can hear you now... finally they get to touch worms!!

Clubhouse Thank You, and some Bead Science!

We started our adventures in water beads about a month ago, and we are thoroughly enjoying all of the fun ways they can be used in the Clubhouse Classroom for everything from sensory play to Science!

We want to take a moment to thank Rainbow Water Beads for hosting our recent water bead giveaway. We were incredibly excited when we received this in the mail to distribute to our winners.

They have a variety of packages, and 15 different colors to choose from.

Our favorite option is the Designer Water Beads Sampler Bundle which brings 15 packets of water beads, one in each color. The cost is only $18.95, making it about $1.27 cents per packet. The best part, free shipping!!

The colors are labeled clearly, and I have found that just half of one packet makes for enough beads to engage in a great sensory experience, or plot another Science experiment...

Which leads us to our most recent experiment with water beads. We know they grow in water, but do they grow in anything else?

We took two jars, filled one with water and one with vinegar.

Will the beads in the vinegar jar grow?

"Yes, they will grow... but not big."


"They won't grow, they are waterrrr beads and that is not waterrrr!!"

We added blue food coloring to both, and decided to use the white color beads for an added element.

Will the white beads absorb the blue color?

"They will all turn blue!"


"Maybe a little blue, but not a lot."


We recorded our theories into our Clubhouse Science Journal, and then added the water beads to the jars.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

The Clubhouse Kids are great with time lapsed projects. We go about everything else we have planned for the day, with the added excitement of "Can we go check on our beads?!" every 10 minutes. They also enjoy how all of their thoughts, ideas and theories are recorded into our journal as the process unfolds.

On to the process. The jar filled with water is on the right...

"They are both growing, but the water ones are growing fastest!"

"The ones in vinnygurr stopped growing!"

At this point we moved the jars, for viewing purposes. 

The water jar is now on the left...

"The water beads only growed big in the waterrr. Told ya!"

Closer observation was required to see if the beads had in fact changed color. We started with the ones that had been soaking in blue water.

"They did turn a little blue!"

On to the vinegar beads, where we noticed an interesting "side effect" that we never guessed...

"THEY'RE STICKY!!"

They did grow, slightly. They did absorb the blue color. They were also sticky, sticky, sticky! They stuck to each other, to little hands, to anything they touched. If you have played with water beads before you know that once "full grown", they are bouncy and slippery. Not in this case. The Clubhouse Kids enjoyed that interesting reaction. They went on to ask, "Do you think they will grow if we put them in water now?" So we did, and they sat... and sat... and sat. Three days later, even in the water, they still hadn't grown. Our experiment was then concluded. Once added to the vinegar, the beads will not grow again even if soaked in water. 

The final consensus?

"Don't put waterrrrr beads in vinnygurr, they don't turn out right!"

Another successful water bead experiment, enjoyed by all.

In case you missed it, read about how we studied dehydration by shrinking water beads, what happened when we froze water beads and observed how they melted, and how much fun we had simply by putting water beads into a squirt bottle.

We will continue or Clubhouse Adventures with water beads, so join us! We would love to hear all about what you are doing with water beads in your home/classroom. Also, if you try any of the experiments we have done, let us know your results! Just stop by Fit Kids Clubhouse on our Facebook page and share. We will be tracking all of the fun!

If you still haven't gotten your hands on these little sensory wonders, be sure to head over to Rainbow Water Beads and place an order! Tell them Fit Kids Clubhouse sent you, and who knows... maybe we'll have another water bead giveaway in our near future ;)

Did I mention I'm done with vinegar for the month?

Ms. Liz

Linked up with:

Clubhouse Paint, Slimy Edition

As water bead week continues here at the Clubhouse it was inevitable that this week's new paint recipe be...

some water beads, and some liquid washable tempera paint.

Mix it all together, and let them dive in.

Mixing the colors was fun. Everyone wanted to have a turn squirting the paint and mixing the color with the beads.

When it came time to dive in though, we had some pretty mixed reactions.

"Ewww, this is so slimy!"


"I don't want to touch it!"


"Gross!!"

Really? (That was me...)

I was surprised.

The Clubhouse Kids are loving getting elbow deep in water beads this week.

They also thoroughly enjoy when we toss paintbrushes and other tools aside and use our fingers to do the painting.

Combine the two though, and the effect was apparently a little much for this crowd.

The classes here at the Clubhouse vary, different kids on different days at different times. One thing is pretty much the same across the board though, they love sensory experiences. From sticking their whole arms into hair gel for our DIY Sensory Bags, to insisting on turning our  puffy paint recipe into a finger paint recipe. There has never been something they deemed too "gross" to touch. Until today.

Here is the final product though, completed by the one who could tolerate the "slime paint"...

It actually dries pretty nicely, leaving behind a textured painting that even sparkles a little. The white would make a pretty good snowy painting, perhaps by December the kids will want to try it again.

I say if you have kiddos that like slimy sensations, and finger painting, go for it!! Here at the Clubhouse, I think we'll make a fresh batch of puffy paint to redeem ourselves ;)

Then again, I bet they all ask to try it again tomorrow...

Ms. Liz

Clubhouse Spray Bottles, Water Optional

We always have spray bottles available at the Clubhouse. 

On a hot day, they have been known to cool tiny toes.

On a particularly adventurous afternoon, a couple of Clubhouse Kids ran around on the hunt for thirsty lizards that could use their assistance. 

Between the running, jumping, and squirting, 

they tackled both fine and motor skills activities for the day.

Armed with "special green water", this concoction was mixed up to make the "tree" they created grow. This "tree" made up of everything they found around our outdoor space, was the center of dramatic play for quite a few days. 

Hence, that spray bottle was always ready with the special green water.

They have squirted, spritzed, refilled and done it all over again. The spray bottles are hardly ever not being used. Who would have thought something so simple could lead to so many different ideas and adventures?

So of course, since we are in full water bead mode.. we just had to fill up our bottles with water beads and see if they would squirt. I wish I had had the camera ready when they were filling the bottles, because they were definitely having fun getting the slippery little beads through the small bottle opening. Coordination and focus at it's finest, and a lot of laughing. 

Once the bottles were full, they observed closely. 

"Do you think it will squirt out a bead?"

"It squirts bead juice!"

I squirted a few times myself and noticed that the bottles filled with water beads required a little more effort to squirt. That didn't stop the kids though, they squirted, and squirted, and squirted...

"The bead juice is slimy."

"It's shiny too!"

I have a feeling they will be filling their bottles up with "bead juice" for some time to come now.

As water bead giveaway week continues, I definitely have to share how Train Up A Child used water beads. Adding plastic eggs and lights, she created a spectacular Easter sensory experience!! Looks like I know what I'll have in the sensory table next week. Thanks Allison!

Don't forget to keep the entries coming in for the water bead giveaway! If you aren't sure how to enter, check out the details on our Facebook page.

I wonder if Lizards like Bead Juice?

Ms. Liz

Clubhouse Science: Dehydration

"The marble is the same size as the beads!"

We put a handful of water beads out on some wax paper in the Sunshine, and added a few marbles to the mix. They were just about the same size, the beads looking very much like marbles at this point. Out came the Clubhouse Science Journal, as we started yet another experiment with water beads! We have seen them grow in water, now what happens when they have no water?

The Clubhouse Kids love experiments that involve observation over an extended period of time. From soaking eggs in jars full of varying substances over a period of a week, to observing different ice cubes melt throughout a day, we definitely have a lot of little Scientists over here who enjoy making predictions and observing changes.

"I think the beads will stay huge!"

"They will get smaller!"

"They will disappear!!"

Let the games begin.

After about an hour:

"The bead is shrinking!!!"

After about 3 hours:

"The Sunshine drank up all the water in the bead!"

Oh how I love when a child makes a comment that I can expand on, teaching a valuable lesson. The water beads were definitely shrinking, and this Clubhouse Kid presented me with the perfect intro to talk about how important it is for us to drink lots of water, because that Arizona Sunshine likes to drink up the water in our bodies too! Word of the day: Dehydration. Yes, water beads can even expand their vocabulary ;)

"They need waterrrr to grow, just like we do!"

"I don't want to shrink from deee-hyy-drayy-shunn!"

Back into the water they went with the rest of the beads and marbles, 

and soon enough:

"They're all huge again!"

"I like them better when they grow, not when they shrink!"

"Water is good!"

Growing versus shrinking, another look at opposites. Using water to stay hydrated, a bonus Health lesson. These little beads really do make for a lot of ways to learn!!

Take a look at how NurtureStore incorporated Space play with water beads, and how Play Create Explore used clear water beads and plastic diamonds to create a dazzling sensory table! Then be sure to check out Dirt and Boogers (don't you just love that name?) and how they mixed shaving cream with their water beads! We love doing that one around here!

For more water bead ideas go ahead and check out our water bead page here! If you're a blogger, feel free to link up your water bead posts as the fun continues.

Also, thanks to Rainbow Water Beads, we have more water beads to giveaway!! This time it's simple, if you "like" our Facebook page, you're already entered. As soon as we reach 300 likes, we will hold a random drawing and ship off a variety of colored water beads to someone new!! Just be sure to keep them in water ;)

Stay hydrated my friends,

Ms. Liz

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Clubhouse Science: The Art of Melting

Today our fun with water beads continued. First, let's rewind to yesterday when we filled up a couple of ice cube trays to put into the freezer...

One with water,
and one with water beads.

We talked about what we thought might happen. Will they both freeze?

The kids all agreed they would.

"Water freezes when it's cold!"


Lo and behold, this morning they found out they were right:

"They both freezed!"

On to part two of this little experiment. 

Will they both melt?

Which one will melt faster?

Getting the ice out of the trays was a fun little activity in fine motor skills, bonus!

One Clubhouse Kid twisted the trays, poked at the cubes, and eventually got them out, one by one. 

Another twisted and turned the tray and then realized he could just dump the whole thing and get it over with. 

Time to fill the vases, and record our observations throughout the day in our Clubhouse Science Journal. 

"The regular ice will melt faster."

"The beady ice will!!"

"My blue icebergs will melt all the way!"

A little healthy Scientific debate was well underway, and the kids returned to the vases frequently to keep checking on the "blue icebergs".

I'll spare you a montage of photos, because trust me.. the kids wanted me to snap a picture about every 4 minutes to track the progress. The print outs will go into our journal, since they are absolutely certain every picture shows progress. For you, I will simply share the end result:

They both melted, and at about the same pace. Even the kids were able to agree that neither was faster. They moved them around, swished them, smelled them, touched them, everything we do around here for proper observation.

"This is perfect, cold water!"

"This is wet water!"

"This is MUSH!"

"This is cold and gross!!"

"This isn't water!"

Simple, fun, and another day of keen observations. Neither mixture was really colder, nor did either stay colder longer. The vases are still in the classroom, still full of their fully melted substances. Around here, that happens. We don't toss an experiment until the Clubhouse Kids are certain that they are done, and they decided they need to take another look at these tomorrow... ;)

So much can be done with water beads, check out how Here Comes The Sun and Child Central Station use them on their light tables! So beautiful, and what a great way to combine light and water play. Also, check out how Smiling like Sunshine adds a slide to her water bead sensory bin, and how The Imagination Tree creates a picture perfect seaside sensory tub. Last, but not least, many of you have asked if these could be used during bath time... Play at Home Mom did just that, check out the bath time fun!

For more ideas, visit our Adventures in Water Beads page here!

If it freezes.. it will melt,

Ms. Liz :)