5. Rain Cloud in a Jar
This fun and easy science activity introduces your honeybee to cloud formations and water vapor. High in the sky, miniature drops of water come together and form clouds. Eventually, clouds get so full of water that they can’t hold together anymore, causing water to fall back to the ground. Know what that’s called? Rain!
• Fill a mason jar just over half-way with water. On top of the water, use shaving cream to create a cloud. Drop blue food coloring into your cloud. When your cloud gets too full, the food coloring will fall to the bottom of the jar, replicating rain.
4. Traveling Rainbow
Who says we can’t find a rainbow indoors?! In this science experiment, your honeybee will see adhesion (molecules that cling to a different substance) overtake cohesion (molecules that cling to each other). Paper towels are made of plants which have cellulose, a sugary compound that can pull water in an upward direction and resist gravity. This process is called capillary action. You’ll use these processes to create a traveling rainbow!
• Fill three jars with water to the brim and add primary food coloring (red, yellow, blue). Alternate water jars with empty jars. There should now be six jars total. Vertically fold 5 paper towels in half and cut an inch from the bottom of your paper towel. Place the end of your paper towel in your first jar (make sure it’s touching the bottom) and place the other end in jar next to it. Repeat until you have dipped the paper towels between all 6 jars (see picture). In a couple of hours check back to see your rainbow.
3. Raindrop Mosaics
Practice those fine motor skills with a mini art lesson! So, what is a mosaic? A mosaic is a form of art where a surface is covered in tiny patterns. Typically mosaic art is made of glass, stone, or tiles. Patterns found in a mosaic can be sporadic or geometrically proportioned. This form of art has been popular for centuries, decorating churches and mosques around the world.
• Cut pieces of shaded blue paper into small tiles. Don’t have blue construction paper? No worries! Color white paper into your desired shades of blue. Once tiles are cut, draw and cut a large raindrop on white paper. Begin gluing small tiles onto large raindrop. Doesn’t matter the pattern; it’s their work of art! Hang masterpiece on window or make a mobile!
2. Cloud Paint
Let your honeybee’s imagination soar with this easy-to-make paint activity! There are many benefits to art in early childhood. Not only does painting help develop muscle control, but it is an outlet for expression and stress relief. Creative activities are beneficial for your honeybee’s overall brain development. Math and reading exercise a different part of the brain compared to the skills related to visualization, imagination, and creativity. It is important that BOTH sides of your honeybee’s brain are exercised regularly.
• Combine 3 cups of shaving cream (foam), 1 cup flour, 1 cup of Elmer’s glue, and desired food coloring to create cloud (puffy) paint. Create a masterpiece on construction paper with paint brushes or fingers. Cloud paint could also be transferred into plastic Ziplock bags, with one corner cut, and piped onto paper canvas. Let their imagination run wild!
1. Play in the Rain!
Let your honeybee explore a less than ideal sensory experience. Let them learn about sensible clothing and how to care for their bodies. Let them investigate the muddy puddle with an imaginary creature living inside. Let them find their balance with the slippery world beneath their feet. Let them fall and get back up on their own. Let them connect with the weather and build a respect for nature. Let them sing, dance, and find optimism during these unpredictable times. Let them be children. Let them make a memory. Let them play in the rain…and join them.
Enjoy the rain!
The Busy B 