Materials
Large plastic tub to hold the snow
Pristine snow
Pipettes, or eye droppers
A small, plastic jar for the green water
Green food coloring
Directions
Soon after it snows in your area, collect some clean, untouched snow for your plastic tub. If you can’t or don’t want to do this activity right away, you can save the snow in your freezer for later. Fill your small jar with water and mix a few drops of food coloring into the water until it’s green. Put 1 or 2 pipettes in the jar of green water. Show your child how to pinch the bulb of the pipette so that it fills the shaft with green water, and then release it. Then demonstrate picking up the pipette and pinching the bulb again, squeezing the green water into the snow.
Using pipettes takes a lot of practice to be successful, and it may take quite a few tries to make it work. Your child is practicing the pincer grip when he pinches the bulb of the pipette. The pincer grip improves his ability to pick up a small object with the thumb and forefinger. The development of a good pincer grip helps your child button, zip, hold a pencil or crayon, or snap a snap on his clothing.