Messy Fingers in the Blackstone Valley

Messy Fingers is on the move!

Starting the first week in March, Messy Fingers science programs will be in Douglas and Mendon at their respective local libraries.

If you are interested in joining in the fun - and have a preschooler aged 3-5 years of age - there are still spots available in Douglas. Please contact the Douglas library at (508) 476-2695.

If you want to be on the waiting list for Mendon, please contact that library (508) 473-3259.

Stay tuned for further locations - we have funding for two more sessions in the area and I hope to share those soon!

Go Science!

Bubbles in the cold

With temperatures expected to get into the mid teens this weekend in New England, what better way to celebrate than blowing bubbles!

Blowing bubbles is a great stress reliever as it requires a deep breath before making a bubble and it elicits giggles which are sure to relieve stress.

Check out this video my daughter and I took when it was 19' F.

I dare you to try this at home!  I would recommend two things - use small bubbles like wedding bubbles (these were huge and took a while to cool), and catch the bubble on the wand like we did so your bubble doesn't pop before freezing.

Tell me how it worked.

Messy Fingers is ON!

Despite the large snow banks and school delay in Millbury, Messy Fingers is ON at the Millbury Public Library.

We are going to study color - wear clothes to get dirty.

5 things to do in a blizzard - revisited

A while back, I posted about some fun things to do in blizzard. You can read them here. There are some fun ideas there but with temperatures hovering around 5' here, time outside with a little one is limited.

What is a simple and fun thing to do inside on a snow day?

Magnets - this is such a classic fun science topic. Magnets are one of the unseen forces of nature we can really explore with preschoolers. There are rule to learn like magnets have poles and you can only put opposite poles together. They have force meaning they can push or pull something without touching it. And we can learn these rules because they don't change.

You probably have more magnet toys than you realize. (These photos are from Amazon and Fatbraintoys.com)

• Thomas and other wooden trains are magnetic. So are some Bob the Builder toys from the same company.
  
• Magna doodles 
  
• Magna formers 
  
• Guidecraft - better builder sets - this is one of my favorites with kids
  
• Melissa and Doug - magnetic paper dolls - they have both girls and boys to dress
  
• Magnetic fishing games - wind up travel sized and battery operated larger versions
  
• Magnetic maze games
  
• Wooly Willy - this uses a magnet to move around contained iron filings