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Whip Up A Shaving Cream Rain Cloud
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Sep 15, 2017 | Social-Emotional Learning
You will need:
- Inexpensive shaving cream
- Tap water with little mixing bowls
- Food coloring
- Several clear containers of various sizes
- A dropper
First, mix up about 10-15 drops of food coloring with about a quarter cup of water. Be sure to stir it up.Grab one of your clear containers and fill it with warm tap water, about three quarters full. Take the shaving cream – this is the big hit with the kids – and create a dense mound of it on top, simulating a cloud. Yes, you want the shaving cream touching the water. The water is acting like the Earth’s warm, wet atmosphere, similar to conditions when it rains.Using your dropper, extract up some of your food coloring/water solution, and begin to drop over the shaving cream cloud.
After a few drops, your child will notice that not much is happening. But as you begin to add more and more drops, the “cloud” becomes saturated. This is the same phenomenon that makes rain clouds occur – when water droplets become heavy enough in a cloud, they fall. Looks like a brewing storm from below!
Experiment with different colors, as well as different shaped containers.
What about different colors all the same container? The same results, just a bit more muddled!
Lastly, try adding shaving cream atop water that is already colored. You’ll get a beautiful mix. Creating a rainstorm in a jar will keep kids fascinated, but more importantly, asking great questions about weather! Learning is Where We Play: 
Celebrate Astronomy Day with Kids
Each year Astronomy Day is celebrated worldwide. The stars have fascinated humanity for literally centuries, and even to this day captures the imagination of kids of all ages. Celebrate this event with them this year and don't worry if you don't own any expensive telescopes. These DIY activities use real life discoveries to inspire your little astronomers!
Track the Phases of the Moon
Bone sticks from across Europe and Africa dating back as long ago as 35,000 BCE that tracked the moon’s phases. Use a simple number line with your kids to track the phases of the moon over the course of a month, from full moon and back again. Do it for several months and see what patterns they begin to observe.
Depict a Celestial Phenomenon
A celestial phenomenon is a astrological event that involves one or more objects. The earliest example depicted was discovered in Germany in 1999. The Nebra Sky Disc dates back to 2000 BC and it depicted a star cluster, phases of the moon and the rising sun.
Use a black paper plate, or even just black paper, and encourage your children to depict their own star formations. If they can’t stay up to observe them at night, project some indoors with this Shining Stars Projector.
Astronomy to Keep Time
The Chinese astronomers kept detailed observations beginning about 600 BC, for the primary purpose of timekeeping. Their records allowed them to predict eclipses, and include the first record of events such as supernovas and comets.
On the other side of the world, the Mayans developed their own astronomical tables for predicting the phases of the moon, eclipses, and the appearance of the other planets. They used these and the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and constellations to establish the Mayan calendar.
All of the above astronomy was without a telescope, and you can still observe these astronomical events with your kids today. Check out this astronomy calendar and pick a full moon, eclipse, planetary event, or meteor shower to observe as a family.
Try this simple astronomy experiment to help kids as young as preschoolers understand what makes night.
Just because ancient astronomers did all of this without a telescope doesn't mean your little ones have to! All of the above activities can be done with the naked eye but if you feel like shooting for the stars check out Learning Resources Big View Telescope. How will you celebrate Astronomy Day?
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DIY Earth Day Sensory Art
Happy Earth Day! A wonderful way to celebrate our one-of-a-kind planet, this Earth Day art project is alive with color. Engaging the senses of even your littlest conservationist, recreate this masterpiece with a just few items you probably already have at home.
You will need:
- A baking sheet with sides
- Shaving cream
- Food coloring or watercolor paints
- Chopsticks or craft sticks for swirling
- White cardstock
- An old gift card or credit card for scraping
On the cardstock, trace circles about 8-9” in circumference using a bowl or plate. Cut out and set aside.
Spray the shaving cream directly into the baking sheet. Now spread the shaving cream evenly in the pan. It almost feels like frosting a sheet cake.
Using a generous hand, drop your food coloring or paint all over the shaving cream in the pan. Then, with the craft stick, swirl the pain around. Be careful to swirl, not mix. This step is rich in sensory for the children – the smell of the shaving cream, the drag of the foam, the mixing of the color. Fantastic!
Grab one of the circles. Gently lay your soon-to-be-Earth on top of the shaving cream, pressing down gently. You want to make sure all the Earth’s surface is touching the paint/shaving foam mixture.
Grab a little section and gently peel up your circle off of the foam. Find a spot to lay it flat.
Next, using the former gift or credit card, begin on one end and scrape the paint off, getting very close to the surface of the card stock. Revealed under all that shaving cream is a beautiful, marbled, Earth-from-outer-space look!
Add some additional paint or food coloring to your mix if you feel like either color is coming through strong enough. It seems like it’s almost impossible to add too much color.
Enjoy this sensory-rich activity with all ages of kids.
Happy Earth Day!
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