Q Week- Q-tip Magic

This experiment is a common one, but never ceases to amaze. I poured a little milk in a pie plate, then added one drop of each of four colors of food coloring. I also put some dish soap in another small container. Trip then got to dip a q-tip in the dish soap, then touch it to the food coloring in the milk. The result is a great explosion of color that brought about lots of smiles and giggles.

He loved touching each successive color and watching it spread out across the milk.

 
Once the colors got muddled, we dumped them out and started all over again. 

We repeated this process several times and Trip found each time just as exciting as the first. This was a great way to spend ten minutes and a good use for some spoiled milk!

V Week- Volcanoes!

Volcanoes were a new concept for Trip, but after these two activities, he's a fan.

We started by making a volcano. I put a glass bottle in a 8"x8" pan,

then surrounded it with the gingerbread playdough we made before Christmas. It was getting toward the end of its shelf life, so I didn't feel too bad ruining it. 

I added a cookie cutter V, put some baking soda in the volcano, and poured vinegar and red food coloring into another bottle.

Then, Trip got to pour the vinegar in his volcano and watch it erupt.

He was thrilled with the result and we had to do this process over and over. He even thanked me several times for letting him do it! I'd say that is a successful activity!

Later that afternoon, he also got to enjoy a volcano snack. In preparation for V week, I came across this volcano snack idea and liked it. The original uses a base of chocolate pudding, but I've been making this delicious coconut milk and cocoa powder mousse lately, so I used it instead. I inverted an ice cream cone onto the mousse and added some chocolate chips for rocks. Then, I poured some homemade strawberry jam over the cone to make the lava.

Trip was excited about his snack, but started eating cautiously.

By the end, however, there was nothing cautious about him and he was proud to show off his mess!

O Week- Opposites

Opposites are a great concept to work on anytime. They are especially fun when toddlers can actually experience the difference between two things. Opposites can be too abstract of a concept for them, so it's good to make it a sensory activity. This week, we worked on opposites in a couple of ways.

First, we practiced opposites in the bathtub. We put rubber duckies in the water and took them out. We put them on the shelf and took them off. Toys went up and down. Things were wet and dry, warm and cold, big and little. What Trip loved the most was me turning the lights on and off. He especially liked me using the dimmer switch so that it didn't get light or dark all at once.

We also experienced some opposites with a cool substance called oobleck. It's simply one part water mixed with one-and-a-half to two parts cornstarch. This non-Newtonian fluid acts like a solid when you apply force to it, but is like a liquid when you touch it gently. You can mold it in a ball, but as soon as you let go, it will "melt" in your hand. It can be hard or soft depending on how you touch it.

Trip mostly just wanted to taste it,

touch it, and keep me out of it. Each time I tried to show him some things, he said, "Mommy no touch!" He wanted it to himself.

As you can tell from the table and Trip's hands and clothes, this was a little messy, but the great thing is that it cleans up easily and if any gets on the carpet, it dries up fairly quickly and can be vacuumed up.

By the way, this same paste is great for getting blood stains out of fabric and carpet. Just put some on the spot, let it dry, and it absorbs the blood. Just brush off the dried cornstarch and launder clothing or vacuum carpet.

O Week- Oil and Water

Oil and water in a bottle is a classic science experiment and one that Trip actually enjoyed. I took the label off of a plastic water bottle, then poured some water in it. I added orange food coloring to keep with the O theme, but the water can be any color. Next, I poured in some oil (I had canola oil on hand but any will work).

Trip enjoyed shaking up the liquids, then we would watch them separate.

It's amazing how in just a few seconds, you can already see the oil rising to the surface.

A few minutes later, the water and oil are separate again.

If you're careful, you can even put the bottle on its side and the oil will stay on top the whole time.

In the future, I would like to try this homemade lava lamp experiment with Trip. We should also do these oil and water fireworks.

Trip enjoyed watching his oil and water bottle while he got a special snack of an Oreo. I love it that one little cookie can make this boy's day!