Here is a fun and easy activity for your kids this Valentine’s Day! Honestly, you could do this any day, but its a fun festive idea for V-Day! We call it Potion Making! I grab some simple ingredients and lay them all out and the girls will start mixing them! But little do they know, that some of the ingredients will interact to each other and make a fun reaction. My kids will spend the better part of an hour doing this, and if we are outside and they can come and go it’s even longer. I am going to share how you can set this up, and give you some ideas for other things to add in!
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So let’s start with my go to setup, and then I will share some other ideas you could use to spice things up! First, you are going to start with your base ingredients. My go to is White Vinegar and Baking Soda. This is a solid option. There is a big reaction and it gives a really great potion feel. Plus they are both taste safe (although disgusting) which is a plus. But I don’t let my kids play with this until they are out of the mouthing stage. I will put a big amount of baking soda in a container for them to scoop from, and then I will cut my vinegar with water. The vinegar is what is used the most, so cutting it down to a 1:1 ratio (equal parts) with water is really helpful for longevity. You can find both of these items at the Dollar Tree, so at most you are spending $3 on this activity. But you can usually find it cheaper elsewhere.
Then you are technically done. Those two things make the reaction, you can grab some bowls to mix in, and you can stop there. I am not promising that will be super fun, or last a long time, but that is the main part of this activity, and in a pinch will keep them occupied. Some things I do to spice things up and make it more fun is add color! Here are some things you can add to make it more fun:
- Glitter! I know its the herpes of the crafting world but the kids love it, and it all gets vacuumed up eventually.
- Food Coloring, I will use a few drops in my vinegar mix, or hide it under the baking soda, and it will make the experiment change colors which is really fun.
- Sequins or Rhinestones. Really anything shiny works really well here.
- Nature Stuff! Leaves, grass, sand, all of those things will work too!
- Small items, anything small will be great, but some fun things I have done is plastic eyeballs, or spiders, little vase filler stones. All of these work as ingredients for their potions.
Another great option is to add some fun containers. I love fun and festive things to go along with this sensory bin. They are not necessary, but add to the fun. You can go as big or as little as you want. The things in this picture are things I store and use over and over again. They are also things I have repurposed. The squirt bottles are from a tie dye kit, the scoops are from a workout supplement, and most of my containers are things I have thrifted. But here are some really fun things!
- Droppers! These are so much fun. My kids love them and we have had various sets over the year. They get used so much! Totally worth it.
- Fun little vials or bottles. Again this can be used over and over again! They just make it seem more real, and its great practice pouring into a small hole.
- Measuring cups and spoons are great for this. You can get them for cheap and they are really handy in this area, but you can also have them measure things out! That will allow this to be even more useful when you have older kids! Buying you some more time with this activity.
- Easter Eggs. I love Easter and Easter Eggs are a great add on to sensory bins. The red hearts you see in the picture are actually Easter eggs! I have them in all shapes and sizes, and I get a ton of use out of them.
- Spray bottles. This will add another layer of fun! Small ones or big ones! They are all great!
Now how can you change this up? Lots of ways! I will preface this by saying you know your kid best and you know what they can handle. These are ideas, you need to make the judgement call. But some great options to further play, or to mix it up so you don’t get bored are:
- Mud! Super basic, but collect a bunch of nature items and set them up the same way! Add water and its a messy blast!
- Hair gel is a great add on. They make some really cheap ones at the dollar tree and it can make things stay suspended and its just really cool to mix it with water.
- Water and oil. They don’t mix, so it makes a really cool divide and lets things hang in suspension.
- Cornstarch and water, it will make obleck and the kids love it. A 1:1 ration will make obleck, but don’t tell them that! Let them figure it out on their own.
- Just Water and food coloring! This is a great way to create fun with less stress!
Really any safe item that can be mixed together can be a potion set up! With the right add ins, it will be a blast! The kids just love getting to mix things together. You can make this as complex or simple as you want!
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