Sometimes I will come across an idea that I really love but can’t necesarily decide how I want to implement it in the classroom….
I have seen this idea a couple of times now with the first time being at Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning.
I folded a paper towel into one long strip and then added a few colors of food color across the strip. Then I placed one end of the paper towel in a small jar of water and let it sit for a bit…
The water begins to soak up the paper towel and as it does, the food color begins to bleed across the paper towel…
I got a little impatient waiting for the water to drift across the paper towel so I stuck the other end of the paper towel in a second jar of water…
In the end, my paper towel got pretty soaked and all the colors ran together to make a pretty tie dyed look. I also ended up with a jar of yellow and a jar of blue water…
Then I took the paper towel out of the water and spread it out to dry…
So now that I have tried this at home, I will have a basic idea of what to expect should I decide to introduce the process to the children in the classroom…
There are several reasons to try something like this out before you take it to the classroom…
- You get a sense of how long the process will take
- You figure out what works and doesn’t work
- You get a grasp on how your students can participate in the process
- You can see if there is something more you would like to add to the process
By having experimented with the process on my own now – I will be more relaxed about introducing the process to the children and letting them experiment with the process. I also will want to make some plans for those colorful paper towels once they all dry. They are just too pretty to throw away!