Jakob and the Oobleck

We’ve had to be cooped up in the house all this week because Jake had an issue with his asthma. No fun! And if you live in North Texas then you know why we are very sad about this. The temps have been in the 60s in the am and the 80s as the high. We soooo badly wanted to be outside but Jake’s doctor said no activity so that we could get his asthma under control. Today I got an idea to make oobbleck! I learned about this when I taught Gifted Ed and we loved making this. I would first read the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss and then we’d make it. The kids had so much fun with it and we would do experiments with is as well. So, I decided that Jake was old enough to make it and we could experiment with it too. He couldn’t quite figure it out. (If you’ve never made it it is both a liquid and a solid.) He tried to splash it and dig in it.

Here are some of his comments about oobleck:

It feels squishy and watery
It’s really hard
It won’t splatter

I am big on keeping a spiral and pen with me at all times when I am with the kids. I want to document things they do and say. Jake says the funniest things and this has been very handy for me to write down what he says. Later on after I have written down what he says and I can transfer it to his scrapbooks. I highly recommend doing this. Here is his funny comment about our morning with oobleck.
Jake: “You know, you could be Ms. Frizzle.” (He has seen The Magic School Bus shows.)
Me: “Why?”
Jake: “Because Ms. Frizzle says that word.”

Me: “What word?”
Jake: “Boserbation.”
Me: “Observation?”
Jake: “Yea.”
Me: *smile*
Later on…”You know, this is kind of fun…not boring or anything.”

**If you choose to do this please make sure that you DO NOT dispose of it in your sink. It is cornstarch and water. It will clog it.