Arctic Jello Mold

     As with all of our activities I am always interested in where the children’s imaginations take them within our projects.  The favorite activity of the month being our arctic jello mold excavation.  It intrigued me to watch the children's curiosities as they first studied the suspended toys within the mold.  They weren’t quite sure what to make of the activity.  As with anything “new and foreign” to them they curiously first tried to understand it.  Most of the kids didn’t want to touch the mushy jello.  They analyzed the toys suspended and played eye spy through the mold. Even with the tools for excavation laying out on the table I saw the hesitancy on how to get the toys out of the foreign matter.  With a little persuading the older children started at work peeling away  the little treasures with the tools. Eventually some began to use their hands and weren’t afraid of the strange matter.  Excitement began to build as Elmo began to show his self.  Benjamin was ecstatic to finally hold Elmo in his hands as it took some work and prodding to release him from the jello.  What surprised me out of this activity was the group effort on cleaning the little toys.  The children were a little disturbed that the little toys were “dirty” and immediately formed a clean-up crew at the sink rescuing the toys and restoring them to their natural state.  I loved watching the process and the group effort. In my eyes the activity was a huge success for what it enfolded and taught the children.  I was proud of their teamwork and I was glad I introduced something to them to explore and learn from.  Even with all the mess I would repeat this activity again. After the jello mold was broken into a million pieces I began washing the matter down the drain. I realized I should have saved the broken pieces and used it in our sensory table with water.  What texture! Next time!