Igniting Critical and Creative Thinking

It’s Snow Much Fun To Make Crystal Snowflakes!

 
 

Hello everyone!  I’m linking up with some of my blogging buddies for a Snow Much Fun Blog Hop, so I thought I’d do a post about snowflakes.  What can be more fun than snowflakes?

I love teaching about anything having to do with snow.  I guess part of the reason I enjoy it so much is because as a child growing up in Florida it NEVER snowed. I wanted to see snow so badly.  When we moved to Montgomery, Alabama, I saw light snow flurries a couple of times, but it wasn’t until my junior year in college, that I saw real snow.  I was so excited.  I built my first snowman, and some friends and I got trays from the dining hall and had a blast sitting on them and sliding down hills on campus.

In honor of all things snowy, I thought I’d share with you how to make crystal snowflakes.  Kids love to make these, and besides that, they’re quick and easy to make in the classroom, and they require very few ingredients.  So let’s get started!

 
 
 

You will need:

a wide mouthed glass jar
Borax crystals – you can find these in the laundry section of the grocery story
white pipe cleaners
scissors
string
a pencil or wooden dowel
measuring cup
measuring spoon
blue food coloring (optional)
boiling pan
water
wooden spoon
 

Procedure:

Step 1: Cut your pipe cleaner into three equal pieces.  Connect them by overlapping and twisting them in the center.  Don’t worry if they’re not exactly perfect, because they’re not always perfect in nature!  Attach a string to the tip of one of the arms. Tie the string to a wooden dowel or pencil.
 
Step 2:  Boil enough water to fill the jar.  Next, pour 2-3 cups of boiling water into your jar.  The amount of water you use will depend on the size of your jar.   Add 3 tablespoons of Borax per cup of boiling water.  Add one tablespoon at a time and stir to dissolve the Borax with each tablespoon you add.  You can also add one drop of blue food coloring to each cup of water.
 
Step 3:  Hang the snowflake in the middle of the jar.  The pencil will rest across the top of the jar.  You can turn the pencil to adjust the length of the string.  You need to make sure the snowflake is fully covered by the Borax solution, but you do not want your snowflake to touch the sides or bottom of the jar!  If you do this experiment first thing in the morning, your crystal snowflakes will have formed by the end of the school day.  If you do it in the afternoon, leave your snowflake in the Borax solution overnight.  You will be surprised by a beautiful crystal snowflake the next morning!
 
 
Of course, while snowflakes are fun to make.  It’s important that we teach the students how snowflakes are formed in nature.  I have a fun FREE  PowerPoint that your students will love! It is written in simple language even first graders can understand.
 
Just click on the image to download your free copy!
The Birth of a Snowflake
 
That’s all I have to share with you today!  Your next stop is  Emily Nolan at Munchkins Inc.
Click on her button below to go to her post!
 
Munchkins Inc
 
 
Enjoy the hop! I hope you have Snow Much Fun!
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hey y'all

I'm Susan!

I’m Susan Morrow and I help overwhelmed teachers create thinking classrooms where students discover the joy in learning and achieving.

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