Several years ago we were
eating in a Mexican restaurant in October and there were little Halloween toys
in the spice bottles. It was
interesting to watch e adults, children, and families at every table trying to
identify the objects. If you make
this project for your classroom, I guarantee you that your children will be
engaged as well.
What? clear
plastic bottle or jar, salt or sand, small seasonal toys
Fill
the container 2/3 full with salt or sand.
Insert the toys and then
screw
on the top.
Why? visual
closure –Can they recognize the whole from the part?
visual
discrimination
oral
language
writing
arrive
and observe their reaction.
Pass
the bottle around at circle time and encourage each child to
start
a sentence with “I see a …”
Have
each child repeat what the previous child says and then add
something
they see.
First
child: I see a spider.
Second
child: I see a spider and a bat.
Third
child: I see a spider and a bat
and a cat.
Place
the bottle in the writing center.
Children can draw pictures of
what
they see, make a list of what’s in the bottle, or write
sentences
or stories incorporating the objects.
Use
the bottle to reward children who are working quietly or
children
who are resting quietly.
*Make bottles for
different skills or themes. You
might fill a bottle with geometric
shapes, magnetic letters,
different colors of crayons, sight words written on cardboard, etc.
Sticky Drippy Spiders - Your
students will also be delighted with this bottle. Pour about 1 cup of clear corn syrup in a plastic bottle. (The amount you need will depend on the
size of the bottle. I really like to
use larger round containers, but this was the only one I had on hand.) Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring
and swirl around to make orange.
Add a few plastic spiders and watch them do their thing. (I used spider rings and cut the ring part
off. I also put in a few bats.)