Every Wednesday throughout the year, the #TeachECE Early Childhood Education Team offers playful learning activity suggestions centered around a weekly theme. This week, we’ll share suggestions for use with a TEDDY BEAR theme! Those cute and cuddly bears provide wonderful inspiration for learning and explorations at home or in the classroom. Purchase a box of teddy bear cookies (or make your own at home) and come discover the wonders of simple preschool science with us!
The Dissolving Teddy Bears – Simple Preschool Science!
Materials needed:
- Teddy Bear cookies (homemade or commercial teddy bear cookies)
- Bowl or other small container
- Milk
- Paper to chart students’ guesses
- Markers OR crayons
- Timer or stopwatch.
Explain to the students that you are going to explore how long it takes teddy bear cookies to transform from a solid and dissolve (melt) in a container of milk.
Have each child make a prediction as to how long it will take the teddy bear cookies to dissolve. Chart the responses/guesses from the children on a separate sheet of paper.
Place the cookie(s) in a container of milk and start a timer. Have the children observe and gently feel the cookies as they begin to dissolve. Explore the following questions with your kids or students:
- What happens to the cookie(s) when they begin to absorb the milk?
- What does the cookie feel like when it is starting to dissolve? Explore descriptive words with the children as they discuss what the cookie feels like (example: mushy, soft, squishy, grainy, etc.).
Stop the timer when the cookie is dissolved (or mostly dissolved) and see if any of the children had a guess that was relatively close.
For younger children, do the activity several times and discuss the concept of “passing” time. Be sure to invite the children to explore the stopwatch or timer and discuss how it works. Compare the timer to the hands (or digital display) on a clock, a watch, or a stopwatch at home or in the classroom. It is fun to explore how different timers work.
Extension idea for older children: Place the students’ guesses in order from shortest to longest time.
For young children: arrange the students’ guesses by seconds or by placing all guesses under one minute in one category, 1-2 minute guesses in a second category, 2-3 minute guesses in a third category, and so on.
Extension idea: Use different types of liquids to see if it has an effect on how fast or slow the teddy bear cookies will melt. Other suggested liquids could include: chocolate vs. white milk, cold water vs. hot water, juice, or hot chocolate.
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate and/or distributor links. Please see the ABOUT page for full disclosures.
TEDDY BEAR BOOKS
These Teddy Bear books are some of our own kids favorites! They make a great addition to the classroom or home library.
The Teddy Bear by David McPhail
The Legend of the Teddy Bear by Frank Murphy
My Friend Bear (Eddy and the Bear) by Jez Alborough
For MORE great ways to play and learn with a TEDDY BEAR theme, please visit the other #TeachECE suggestions below:
Those teddy graham crackers have so many uses! I know my kids will have fun learning with this activity.
I love this idea! Will be doing it this week as a follow up to our gummy bear experiment.
How I wish I had some bears in my pantry! Would be neat to test the difference of dissolving between brands too!
We are definitely going to do this! My son will love it!
What a fun activity – I have some teddy moulds that would be perfect to create some chocolate teddies in
We need to do this (and I need to stop snacking on those bear cookies!)
That is such a fun activity. I know our kids would love it! They would probably feel the need to eat some bear while they waited to see if their predictions were accurate.
: 0 )
I love this! Any good reason to eat Teddy Graham is a good idea to me. Thanks for the inspiration.