Have You Seen This Yet??? It's Good, CLEAN, Fun!!!

This is NOT Moonsand:

Nope, it's nothing like it at all!  Think soft, moldable, CLEAN (nothing left on your hands), and won't dry out!!!  Amazing, right?

First, I Discovered Sands Alive...

You will fall in love with this!

... at Jo-Ann's Crafts a few days ago and fell in love!  It was soft, moldable, and my hands were clean after playing experimenting with it.  It felt like really soft cake mix combined with cornstarch, but you can squeeze it into an object and it will hold together.  

Then, I Discovered Kinetic Sand...

1 lb is $17.99 or $14.99 on sale.

... at Michael's and, although it felt a bit more "sandy" it worked the same way as Sands Alive when I played experimented with it.  It also came in colors so I bought some in blue and red, which is really pink.  I think my students will enjoy mixing them to create purple.  

Kinetic Sand right out of the package.

So, What's The Difference?

As I said, Sands Alive does feel softer, but I read a review on Amazon that compared the two brands and they said that Sands Alive had a slight chemical smell and left a slight residue on your hands.  

I didn't play experiment with it long enough to feel a residue or smell anything.  I was simply mesmerized!

Here is a link to a Youtube video demo about Sands Alive:

Click Here

The part I like the best is that it doesn't dry out.  There is no water in either of them, so you can leave it out without worrying.  

This is Kinetic Sand.

So, Which One Did I Buy?

I bought some Kinetic Sand (with my teacher discount) because Michael's had some in stock (they told me it's hard to keep it in stock & that they always run out before getting the next shipment) and Jo-Ann's didn't have any in stock.  However, I do plan to buy some Sands Alive because I liked how soft it felt.  :)

And How Will I Use It, You Ask?

Besides having it out as a center for free choice exploration, I also think that this would make a great tool to teach a small group MATH lesson on 3D shapes.  Don't you agree?  

Creating 3D shapes.

It's fun to cut your creations with a plastic knife.

And for SCIENCE we can pour it into a container and compress it until it takes the form of its container to spark a discussion about whether it's a solid or a liquid.  I plan on sharing this when I present my Science Hands-on Workshop at I Teach K this July.  (Use discount code Nat10 for a 10% discount when registering.)  

We can weight it, mix two different colors of the Kinetic sand, and we can form it into letters or numbers.  

My mind is spinning with the possibilities

Have you used this in your classroom?.  

What are your ideas???

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
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See you all tomorrow.

Palma ;)