Santa Wishes for a New Look!

Santa wishes to have some colorful splashes on his beard. Hope you can fulfill his wishes.

Items required for this activity:

• Cotton balls

• Water color

• Paper cups

• Glue

• Newspaper to cover the floor as it can get messy

• A picture of Santa

Steps:

• Cover the floor with newspaper to keep things clean.

• Fill the paper cups with water and mix a color into each cup.

• Take a cotton ball and make sure that only the tip touches the colored water. Observe how the ball "drinks up" the water.

• Squeeze out the excess water from the cotton ball.

• Let the colored cotton balls dry for a couple of hours to help them stick better.

• Glue the dried cotton balls onto Santa’s beard and voila! Santa now has a brand new colorful look!

What are the kids exploring through this activity?

Color mixing:

Kids get to learn how different colors can be derived.

This is a helpful chart to explore color mixing.

Concept of Absorption:

Start by asking them why they think the cotton balls soak up so much colored water—it is fun to see what they come up with! You might even want to write down their answer as a keepsake.

Next, explain the concept of absorption: cotton balls have lots of tiny spaces inside, which can hold water. Unlike a solid object like a wooden block, these little spaces allow the cotton to “drink up” all the water.

Now, try testing how other materials absorb water, such as paper, wool, and a plastic cover.

Did you know? Cotton can absorb water up to 24-27 times its own weight! This super-absorbent quality is why cotton is used for things like cleaning wounds and making towels that dry us after a bath.