30 days of Pinterest: day 3

Another day, another activity! Pintivity? Hmmm...We actually did this one Mother's Day afternoon...sometimes I save the activity for after naps, so they have something to do (besides bugging each other) during that witching hour while I make dinner, feed baby, etc...not that I made dinner this night. I mean, my children got fed, I just didn't cook. Hey, it was Mother's Day!

 One of the things I'm lovin' about this is how easy it can be-lots of the things I've pinned use ingredients I always have on hand. Like this one-vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring. Check. (except Adam had to get the food coloring)

Mad scientists...they sucked the color up into a couple of medicine syringes I had on hand (I'd like to find some small bulb syringes for next time-Pax could control his easily, but B's shot out and exploded each time...spectacular!) We did talk a little bit about why the baking soda and vinegar fizzed like that, too..fun! And they experimented with mixing the colors together in beautiful eruptions on their baking-soda plates. Educational! Colorful! Success!! (Sorry. The teacher in me can't help it, sometimes-gotta sneak a little educational value in there!)

I tend to show them the basic way to do an activity, and then let them go. Although B needed help with this one-she didn't quite have the coordination to suck the solution up into the syringe (another reason for the bulb syringes next time!). After a while I (or Adam and I, this time) back off and just see what happens...which means watching Pax experiment with the experiment, if it's something like this. I'm ok with messiness, as long as it's not thrown at the walls or something, and I think it's good for his little brain to see what else he can come up with. Which, this time, meant pouring alllll the cups of vinegar solution onto the plate of baking soda and watching it fizz...like the tar pits :) Of course, the biggest judge of an activities' success is the kiddos. Pax asked if we could do it again...and we will!
***side note** all you wonderful friends who've told me you love this idea and want to do it, too...c'mon!! And keep a camera handy and blog it, so I can see what you're doing with kids. And, you know, steal your ideas for more fun times :)