LEARNING MATERIALS

ASSIGNMENT
BUBBLES!

Exploration of Soap and Water

Primary Curriculum Content area: Cognitive, Science
This activity is for a small group of 4 and 5 year olds (6 children at
the table). I chose this activity because all children love bubbles! Every
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morning Ms. L, one of the teachers brings bubbles on the playground and
walks around waving the wand in the air. The children love to see how the
bubbles stick to the grass on dewy mornings, and enjoy popping them in the
air, and picking them up with wet leaves. I decided to extend this bubble
exploration and bring them inside for the children to play with and explore
on their own. I added people, animals, and cars a little at a time to extend
their play.
Our exploration of soap and water met many objectives from the Gold
Assessment.
Social/Emotional DevelopmentRegulates own emotions and behaviors:

Follows limits and expectations

Takes care of own needs appropriately

Establishes and sustains positive relationships:

Interacts with peers

Makes friends
Participates cooperatively and constructively in group situations:

Balances needs and rights of self and others by taking turns and
sharing materials (When I add people and animals to a bowl of soapy
water in the middle of the table, the boys shared the materials and took
turns with them.)

Solves social problems by suggesting solutions to social problems (A.S

suggested to M.M. to stay on his tray.)
Physical DevelopmentDemonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination:

Uses fingers and hands when holding the straws, and when
holding people, animals, and cars.
Language DevelopmentListens to and understands increasingly complex language:

Follows directions of two or more steps that relate to familiar

objects and experiences. (I gave directions to blow out, not in, and to
keep their bubbles on their trey.)
Uses language to express thoughts and needs:

Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary by describing and

telling the use of many familiar items. (the children knew that straws
were used for drinking, but that we were using them to blow bubbles.
They mentioned about the dish soap I was using, that it was used to wash
dishes.)
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Speaks clearly- the children working at the table speak clearly,
their speech is understood by most people, and they pronounce words
correctly)

Uses conventional grammar by using complete four to six word

sentences. Some use long, complex sentences and follow most
grammatical rules.
Cognitive Skills:
Demonstrates positive approaches to learning:

Attends and engages by sustaining work on age-appropriate,

interesting tasks; can ignore most distractions and interruptions. (the
group of boys played with the bubbles for over 30 minutes.)

Persists by pursuing own goal until it is reached (MM had a little hard
time blowing the bubbles at first, I encouraged him, modeled, and he kept
trying till he got it.)

Solves problems by observing and imitating how other people solve

problems, and asks for help. (M.M. asked for help blowing his bubbles on
the trey, he watched how I did it, then tried it himself)

Shows curiosity and motivation by exploring and investigating ways to

make something happen, and by showing eagerness to learn about a
variety of topics and ideas. (after a while, I added animals and people to
the table, the boys had to figure out how to get their figure inside the
bubble without popping it. They found out it had to be wet before they
put it near the bubble.)
Uses symbols and images to represent something not present

Thinking symbolically by representing objects, places, and ideas with

increasingly abstract symbols. (A.S makes a family of bubbles, and M.K.
makes a mountain of bubbles)
MathematicsUses number concepts and operations:

Counts: M.J counts his bubbles as he pops them 1 at a time. He counts

all the way up to 23, and states how many bubbles he had. I had 23
bubbles!

Quantifies M.M. recognizes that he had more bubbles than M.K. Look
how many I made, I have more bubbles than you.
Science and Technology
Uses scientific inquiry skills.

Demonstrates knowledge of the physical properties of objects and

materials
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Uses tools to perform tasks.
Social Studies

Demonstrates knowledge about self and families

This learning experience and materials incorporate anti-bias
curriculum principals and respect childrens diversity because no matter
what, all children love bubbles! Bubbles do not discriminate.
For introducing the learning experience, I placed the trays out on the
table. The children were already in their learning centers during child
directed play. I announced if anyone would like to play with bubbles. As they
came to sit down, I told them we were going to use soap and water to make
our own bubbles, and that we were going to use straws to blow the bubbles. I
talked about how soap and water on their own dont make bubbles, but when
you put them together, tada, bubble! You have to blow out of the straw I
blew air onto A.S face. See, out, not in. What would happen if you sucked in,
instead of blew out? I explained that the soap doesnt taste good, and we
want to blow bubbles, not drink the soap.
I expected the children to blow out to blow the bubbles on their
trays. I wanted them to blow big bubbles, or lots of bubbles like blowing into
milk, and roll the cars through them, or put the people inside the bubbles.
Teaching Strategies: I used modeling, positive encouragement, and
interacting with the children during their play. I let them explore on their
own as well. When M.M. kept popping others bubbles, I noticed the children
within arms length of him getting upset. I stated Those are his bubbles, pop
yours, you have yours on your tray. I used positive redirection to redirect
his attention to his own tray. I modified it quite a bit in the beginning. At
first, the bubble mixture didnt work, I just needed more. I also added
people and cars to extend their play after a while of blowing the bubbles. I
asked questions such as what would happen if you sucked in? How could you
get your car to go inside the bubble? And comments such as You have to
blow slow.
Evaluation of the experience: From my documentation and
assessment of the childrens learning though the materials I chose, I
learned that a family theme is always present with this group of children. I
did accomplish my goals, I wanted the children to have an enjoyable
experience, and learn about how different materials mix together. I believe
overall, the experience went well. At first, with the first group of children,
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they lost interest because I didnt put enough soap and water mixture onto
their trays. They got discouraged quickly, and lost interest. However, once I
added more, the second group of children had a good time and played for
quite some time. I considered having the mixture pre-made, but that would
defeat the purpose of having the children mix together the different
ingredients to get their bubbles. I think if I were to do anything different,
I would have some pre-made, but still have the children mix it together on
their own, then add the pre-made mixture to give them more. I would also
let the children explore soap and water separately first for a few minutes,
then add them together.

Gale Spear - CDEC 1413 Curriculum Resources

Godkin

Clara