Dried up Markers

Did you know that dried up washable markers are nothing to cry about? I used to get so mad at the kiddos for leaving the caps off the markers and letting them get dried out so quickly. In fact, markers were banned from the playroom for a really long time because of that.

But now they're a favorite thing here!  One fun activity is to paint with them on coffee filters.  Just get an old ice cube try (less than $1!) and put some water in it... I don't even fill up the cubes - maybe 1/4 full in every space.  Then, the children can dip the dried up markers into the water and "paint" with them on paper.  Coffee filter are extra fun because the wet colors blend together.

There's lot of science here - you're teaching them sequencing (okay, so that's math) by encouraging them to dip the marker in the water THEN color with it. You're teaching color blending (obvious!) and you're even creating color in the water...   with an ice cube tray, there are more possibilities. (When you use a bowl or cup, all the colors quickly turn to mud but with an ice cube try, you'll see the children learning on their own as they dip one color into another color - often finding new combinations to make without your prompting.)

Fun stuff!

I will post pictures another time - right now I'm typing from the playroom computer, and guess what - there's play to be done! Bye!