Fire can be kind of a scary thing for a little one. This project was very daring for some to participate in. However, when we got going it was clear that fire doesn't have to be scary. We started small, with votive candles, and tested all the ways to douse a fire. Water is, of coarse, the most popular answer - so we went into other areas as well. We tested how much air it takes to blow a flame out. We also experimented with smothering fires to put the flame out. It was evident that fire needs air to grow, however, air is also one of the things that can put it out! We LOVE science! All the children were comfortable dousing their own flames by the time the project came to an end :]
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| Miss A testing if just 'a little bit' of breath (air) can put the flame out? Miss M is watching on very intently :] |
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| Mr. H is going to try to smother his flame.... |
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| IT WORKED! Look at that face...he is so excited! |
The smoke patterns rising in the air fascinated the kids too! They watched the curls and puffs - but it was just toooooo tempting, they just had to wave their hands through the smoke trail to make different patterns or even make it disappear! It was so much fun to watch them discover!
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| Miss P and Mr. J having fun mixing the smoke around in the air! |
(i used glass cups for this project because the children would be able to see what was happening as they worked to put their flames out. the glass did not get hot and cleans up very easily. however, the wax is very hot and can burn tender little skin...so we were very careful to not let the wax drop onto us or the friend sitting next to us. so, don't blow to hard! wax will find its way to your finger...ouch.)
We discussed what to do if there is a fire in our home or at school. All the children were quick to learn that you STOP, DROP and CRAWL to the nearest exit. We talked about how smoke rises and being low to the ground will help us to not breathe it in. We are careful to feel the door in front of us...if it's too hot we DON'T open it and start calling for help. If we are on fire we stop, drop and ROLL. We continued to discuss what to do in case of a fire emergency. We read the Bearenstein Bears book "A visit to the Firehouse." I was amazed at how well the children listened and focused. They were very serious about our fire lesson and I was so proud of them!
A beautiful Christmas art project to go along with our lesson about fire! I got the idea from the Oriental Trading catalog. These turned out Super Cute!
Happy Holidays!
Miss Lisa :]
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