Oobleck!

Today, we made oobleck and, for those of you who have not yet had the oobleck experience, it is wonderous stuff. It is not quite a liquid and not quite a solid, it is a substance that changes form, depending on whether it is still or in motion. The Turtles were amazed by it's strange properties.
One noticed, "It doesn't feel like it I thought it was going to feel." Another watch it drip off her fingers, saying "it raining. Hear it?" The oobleck dripped into the aluminum pan, pinging quietly as it hit the bottom.
Oobleck is made from equal parts cornstarch and water, with food coloring optional (and clean-up is a breeze, with a little water it dissolves away!) Besides being a very strange science experiment, it is wonderful for developing fine motor coordination as the children manipulate to hard/drippy/oozy substance. 

Another inside outside day began with a meeting about what we should take outside. The Turtles chose Magnatiles, books, 5 stuffed animals and paper and tape for art and cape-making. The Turtles are very thoughtful about what should go outside and making rules to insure their things come back in good shape.

Part of today's inside activity was a theater production. The Turtles built a big stage and seating for a large audience. The show was quite complicated, with dragons and monsters and a large number of cats. Somewhere in the middle, it morphed into a musical production, with a great deal of audience participation.

We also watched a short video on the Smart Board, where two scientist demonstrated the qualities of oobleck. The Turtles were fascinated when the scientists demonstrated that they could walk on top of it - as long as they kept moving. When one of them fell over, he sunk. See it here:

Time Warp Video of Cornstarch and Water