Toddler science! Messy coffee grinds play at home and a little science outside.

This was such a simple experiment. I just gave Santino a magnifying glass and took him for a walk! The same day we spent at least an hour an a half playing with the coffee grinds. I remember how much Santino loved it last time, and now I wonder, why didn't I repeat this sooner?

Santino found the magnifying glass in our kitchen drawer, the one with all the mess: little bits and pieces of stuff, that I don't want to discard and don't know where to put. And I immediately had this idea to take it with us on the morning walk!

I simply showed and explained briefly that looking through this glass lets you see objects in a little more details. He started pointing it at everything, exploring the world around him with an energy and thoroughness of a real scientist, preoccupied with a new idea.

He explored in detail the trees, the grass, the path we walked on. He didn't slow down enough for me to show him more details to find, but there is always tomorrow, right? Right now, it's just me nurturing his natural curiousity.

Then we came home and had fun with the coffee grinds I have been collecting. So messy, and so fun!

There is really nothing special to tell about this self-guided play. It took a while, as he enjoyed it so much.

I only took an opportunity and practiced the "unders" and "overs". We attend the Early Years program "Time for twos" on Mondays, and this past Monday we learned and practiced these words. Otherwise, this was a simple quiet play, a time to unwind and relax.