Potions!
by threegirlpileup
Potion-making is a popular pastime around here. Often it is simple mixtures of water and various found nature items; other times it’s more of a chemistry project. This time, I collected a number of favorite potion-making supplies:
- baking soda
- sequins (left over from another project)
- vinegar
- a bouquet of flowers picked from our yard
- squirt bottles of liquid soap (next time I think I’d dilute this)
- cabbage water (red cabbage simmered in water until most of the color is gone)
Cabbage water is the new and most thrilling ingredient. Turns out that it is a natural pH indicator, so it changes colors depending on the mixture. Add an acid, it turns pink; add a base, it turns green. Very exciting.
Also, the kids love the real scientific glassware, which I picked up at The Scrap Exchange, a local “creative re-use center.”
The mess from this is always more than I anticipate–even when working outside–but the utter and total glee from the girls is entirely worth it. The baking soda-vinegar reaction just doesn’t get boring. Plus they spin wonderful tales about fairies and potions and magical remedies while they’re playing.
Next time, though, I may reconsider the sequins. Easier to clean up than glitter, but I’m still finding them everywhere, I swear.
Three Girl Pile-Up 
Greta made potions today, too! I have banned glitter and sequins, though. She made them in the sand and water table with a friend, and then they climbed into the water and made potions of themselves.
Maggie and Anna look so absorbed–and the graduated cylinders–what joy!
Wow, this is SO cool! I would have loved this when I was little, what a fun idea! I’ll be linking.
Rachel, thanks for the link! I somehow hadn’t found your website before, and I look forward to mining it for all sorts of fun.
I can see this being hours and hours of fun! Great idea!
Thanks for the fun idea. We tried it out yesterday. 🙂
http://thekatstopshere.blogspot.com/2009/05/potion-station-sensation.html
Dear girls of ThreeGirlPileUp,
I am a preschool/kindergarten teacher and my students love to make potions too! I showed them this blog of yours and they wanted me to ask the girls in the photograph the following questions:
1. “What do you do with the flowers?”
2. “What do you call your potions?”
3. “What do you do with them when you are done mixing?”
They also wanted me to let you know:
K.Y. says, “I like to make alligator poop.”
W.L. says, “I am home schooled too! I’m learning how to spell.”
For details on the “Alligator Poop” and photographs of our potions, please visit the following blog post:
http://www.growingvillage.org/Growing_Village/ECE_Blog/Entries/2009/5/28_Magic_Stew_Factory.html
We would love to hear more about your potions!
Thank you!
Sincerely, Ms. Meredith
Hi Meredith, thanks for your post.
The girls stir the flowers into their potions, although they enjoy collecting them more than the actual mixing in. They haven’t ever named their potions, but that’s a great idea! One of their favorite concoctions is to make mint ice cream, using the cabbage water and baking soda. Once the potions are done, we pour them out and wash all the dishes. Sometimes we keep one or two around for a few days just for fun.
I enjoyed your post on potion-making. I especially like the idea of writing down recipes for different potions. We recently did another round of potion-making at my daughter’s birthday party, and it was fun to watch the kids (8 year olds) coach each other on how to make different potions, particuarly how to make different colors.
Happy potion-making!
That looks like so much fun. Samuel loves potions, too, fizzy, explosive ones, chemically ones, and edible ones. He used to make salad dressings in the yard when we were in southern California. He says one time he invented a really cool marinade while making a salad dressing, it was a clove salt marinade, and it made very good chicken. It really was good. Samuel: One time I made some pretend rocket fuel out of strong spices and a cleaner. We love making baking soda rockets out of vinegar and baking soda in bottles. We put rocket bodies made out of paper on the corks.
oooh, baking soda and vinegar rockets sounds really fun!