Oobleck.
Oobleck is kind of messy. Really, really messy. Like...wow. And then, even when you clean it up, there is a white powdery layer on all your tables. Really.
But, guess what? I LOVED it! And the kids LOVED it! And I will make be making oobleck with my littles next year, and the year after, and the year after, etc., etc. forever and ever. The end.
And I'm sure when I clean the tables for the third fourth time tomorrow, the powdery look will be gone. Right?
Here's what we did:
- Read Bartholomew and the Oobleck - stop reading around the time everyone in the book is REALLY concerned about the Oobleck and how it is sticking to everything!
- I gave each group of kids (4-5 kids in each group)
- 1 bowl
- 1 spoon
- 1 paper drinking cup
- 1 box of cornstarch
- In each group, I assigned the kids a number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) so that when I told the students a step to do, I also said a number so that there would be NO FIGHTING!
- We dumped the cornstarch in the bowl
- We got one cup of water and poured it in
- We got a second cup of water and poured it in
- We attempted to mix it with a spoon
- Step 6 was an epic failure so I picked a number and told that kiddo to mix with their hands [oh, BOY were they excited!]
- Then I told the kiddos to take turns mixing with their hands (screams and yippee's all around)
- Then they got to PLAY! ["Keep your hands over the tables and please try not to make too much of a mess..." - feel free to say this; I did. Also be prepared for your pleas to go unanswered.]
- While they were playing, I went around and talked about how the Oobleck feels, what it's like, etc. (I made sure to hit on that it feels hard at the bottom but if you pick it up, it liquifies!)
Then we tried to clean up (emphasis on tried). We talked about adjectives and words we could use to describe the oobleck [messy, hard, soft, gooey, slimy] and reviewed HOW we made it. We wrote how-to's on this snazzy paper, then finished reading the book! (click on the picture to get the paper!)
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