Making sandpit volcanoes

The children were great at helping and getting their spades out, ready to begin digging and volcano-making. Scoop by scoop, they added sand onto a pile until they were happy with the height of the volcano, and then we put a hole in the top for the "lava" to flow out. Making our own preschool lava using baking soda, vinegar and red food colouring, we added one ingredient at a time. Now for the best part... the lava reaction!

The children watched in anticipation as the last ingredient - vinegar was added. Once the vinegar hit the baking soda, bubbling lava started to come from the top of the volcano. The children loved seeing this and requested a second and third explosion. Some were so excited they even tried to get into the volcano, which resulted in some vinegar-smelling lava socks.

Through this experience, the children are learning about working together to achieve a shared goal or outcome. In this case, the shared outcome was building the volcano. They worked together to dig and form the volcano, shared spades and made sure there was enough room for everyone to see during the eruption. 

While making the lava, the children were learning about chemical reactions and what can sometimes happen when you combine certain ingredients together.