What on Earth is Pickle Sand?

Today was the perfect example of an interest emerging unexpectedly in the classroom.  Of course we had planned to go outside and do some more inquiry around snow but as we had our morning circle sharing, we noticed a truck pulling up outside.  We raced to the window and watched the truck spread something around on the ice.  "It's spreading dirt all over the place.  There's something at the back spinning!" said W.P.  Then the students began to discuss whether it was dirt or salt being put down.  Luckily, the driver was kind enough to come to the window to answer our question.  B.S. asked him "Is that salt you are putting down?".  The man told us that it was a mix of sald and sand and it goes down to give traction and that it was called pickle sand.  Well, we all laughed at that!  Of course he was asked if it was made of pickles and said he knew we would ask that!  Perfect timing combined with excitement and interest makes for a wonderful morning of inquiry!

Here are some of the things overheard:

"It's really tiny - the pickle sand." H.C.
"What are you guys figuring out?" -B.R.
"I see some sand on here to make the ice melt." - S.S.
"The hill over here is slippery - he should have put some salt on that." - K.H.
"I found some soft snow." - A.K.
"I hear something over there - a bird!" - Miss Heffernan "It's a nutcracker bird.  It's in the woods over there." -L.O.
"We were watching the truck pour pickle sand everywhere." - S.S.
"It looked like sand." - L.L.
"It smells like pickles!" - E.T.
"It's dirt!" - W.P.
"It looked like little rocks." - A.W.
"When it's spring and turns to winter if there's water somewhere, it will turn to ice." - K.H.

Then K.H. added a question that got us all thinking:  "Will the salt/sand melt or just stay there on the concrete?"

We also have many more questions about this pickle salt....!