It began as a simple plop. After all the toys had been picked up, I silently went to work closing the blinds, then turned off the lights one by one. The children were all watching eagerly as they had no clue what was coming.
Once the room was dark, I got out the tubes, opened them and snapped one bracelet....the glowing ooze inside instantly did it's job to a chorus of ooohs and aaaaahs. I quickly handed out the rest to eagerly waiting hands and had them snap the bracelets with me. Five containers of 15 glowing bracelets can easily turn around a gloomy day, and fill a darkened room with vibrant color!
Once all the bracelets were glowing, I took them in my hands and threw them into the air. Then we sorted them back out into their seperate colors. We continued this process a few times before someone noticed that two of the glow sticks had landed like the letter "T". Instantly, more and more letters were created, and sorting was a thing of the past. The shouts of excitment and the pride in accomplishments were everywhere!
Soon, there were amazing pictures being created on the floor with the wonderful glowing sticks. First Bergen made a bird house to which Ty was quick to make a bird that would want to live inside. This story line quickly took on a "The Best Nest Yet" by P.D. Eastman tone (which is one of our favorites right now). A chorus of "I love my house, I love my nest, In all the world my nest is best" was echoing at different speeds throughout the room.
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| Bergen's Bird House |
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| Ty's Bird |
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| The delux bird house |
The most surprising, or unexpected outcome to emerge from playing with glow sticks was the interest in the pictures that were being taken! There was a ton of learning going on while I was trying to capture these awesome moments permanently. They learned that when it is dark, a camera takes a long time to take a picture. They learned you need to stand very still so the picture will turn out. These are simple concepts, and I didn't get into the details of how the camera worked, but it was enough to cause curiosity. Curiosity is a good thing people!!
The most awesome thing we learned about the camera is if it is dark, and you are holding a source of light and you move while a picture is being taken, the light's path will be recorded in the picture. Cole wanted to see what would happen if he moved one stick in a circle the entire time it took the camera to take the photo. To his complete astonishment, a solid green circle was the result.
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| Ty moving a stick in a circle as fast as he could while I took a photo with no flash. |
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| We explored moving different colors at the same time while the camera took the verrrry slow photo |
As the news quickly spread of this amazing picture, everyone wanted a turn. A few were clever enough to try to make a different shape, which all ended up looking pretty much like a circle in the end.
Speaking of circles, we played with the glow sticks as straight lines for at least 45 minutes. Without saying a word, I quietly grabbed a handful and used the connectors that came with them to create some circles, and just nonchalantly placed them around the room to await their discovery. From the moment the first circle was spotted the excitment rose. It was interesting though, the excitment was HUGE, yet controlled and calm due to the darkness of the room. Perfect gloomy day fun!
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| Bergen's version of a bird. |
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| Trying to make enough suns to chase the clouds away! |
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| Cole made a frame. |
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First attempt at a group picture....LOTS of movement. At this point they all realized the glow sticks reflected on the yellow wall of the fort! |
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| Second attempt, everyone tried very hard to hold still -- a MUCH better photo!! |
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| Notice Alayna isn't smiling? That's becuase "it's easier not to move if I don't smile Nita" very smart girl! |
After a good hour and a half of play, discoveries, and loads of learning it was time to turn the lights on and move this party outside for some running and climbing. One final discovery was made...lights steals the magical glow from the sticks!
Once again.....PLAY COUNTS!!!
