Ice gems

Like most of the country, it has been cold here!  We’ve missed several days of school due to snow, ice, and extreme cold temperatures.  Last week, we were fortunate enough to have two back to back school days to explore this awesome process that I am going to share with you today.  Yesterday I showed you how we used pipettes to fill egg cartons with colored water.  Well, what I didn’t tell you was that we left the filled egg cartons outside over night and what we found the next morning was pretty spectacular…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

The children were thrilled to open their egg cartons to discover these gorgeous little ice gems…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

We set out a large metal tray on our table, along with some tweezers so that the children could explore their icy little treasures.  The tray helped to contain the water as the ice cubes melted…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

The children used their tweezers and their fingers to pluck their ice gems out of the egg cartons.  Keeping the slippery little gems in the tweezers was quite a feat…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

For some of our children, this was a test of focus and determination.  They were going to get each and every one of those gems out of that tray, no matter what…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

Once the children had their gems out of their tray, they were free to explore them however they chose.  For many, just getting the gems out of the trays was rewarding enough.  But one little guy didn’t stop there.  He stayed with the gems for the longest time!  He was fascinated by the way the melting gems formed rainbows all over the tray…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

He continued to play long after all the other children lost interest.  We got out paintbrushes for him so he could continue to mix and swirls the colors together…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

He gathered all of the gems into a large pile in the middle of the tray and then began sorting them by colors into cups…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

When he ran out of cups he said, “Mrs. Stewart, we need more cups!”  So we gave him more cups!  The gems were melting, of course, but he didn’t care.  There is just something magical about watching a child so invested in his play.  At the end of the day, he was still so enthralled with those gems that he ended up taking all of the leftovers, that hadn’t yet melted, home with him…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

This was a wonderful process for all of the children, but it’s so exciting to see even just one child who finds the process exceptionally meaningful…

Ice gems by Teach Preschool

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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