Magic Potions - Colour Review

This is lots of fun, a wee bit messy and kept the kids playing for ages. I setup this activity as basic colour identification for Liam but added some colour labels for Neevah to match to the potion colour.

You will need
Glasses or Jars
White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Food Colouring
Syringe or Baster
Baking Tray

Optional
Paper
Coloured Pens to match potion colours

To Make
1. Prepare the potions by adding 2 - 3 drops of food colouring to the bottom of the glasses and then covering it with approx 2 teaspoons of baking soda so you can't see any of the colour underneath
2. In another container put the white vinegar
3. Put the glasses and white vinegar on a baking tray this will help contain the mess
4. Suck up the vinegar with the syringe
5. Squirt it into the potion glass
6. Name the colour
7. Do it all over again until all the colours are revealed

Optional
Make up some small cards with the names of each colour on them and ask your child to match them to the potions

Neevah and Liam then continued to add more and more vinegar to each potion jar. Neevah loved watching the reaction of the vinegar and baking soda and kept adding more and more vinegar until the glasses where full and then asked if she could start all over again. Liam loved pouring the potions and mixing the colours up. Altogether Liam stayed at this activity for roughly 20 mins and Neevah was enthralled for almost an hour!

Magic Tape Painting

It is fun to add a little bit of magic into our daily lives for ourselves and for our children. We tried this technique in July last year when we made Z is for Zebra but Neevah didn't seem to remember the process and was truly excited when it came time to remove the tape. We choose to do this activity as free art time but you could easily use it with shapes, letters or numbers

You will need
Paper
Paint
Painters or Electrical Tape

To Make
1. Cut off lengths of tape and let your child stick them wherever they like on the paper. I took this opportunity to reinforce the words long and short by asking would you like a long or short piece of tape? and Did Mum cut you a long or short piece of tape?
Of course you can let your child cut their own tape to stick on the picture
2. Time to paint .... encourage your child to cover as much of the white paper as possible
3. Let Dry
4. Carefully remove the tape to reveal the white stripes underneath. Neevah removed some of the tape pieces a little bit fast and the paper came away with the tape a little but this didn't dampen her enthusiasm for the activity.

Little Ghost Puppets

My kids have well an truly out grown their plastic baby spoons and forks but we still seem to have a few hanging around. We have used the little spoons for scooping glitter and beads in the past but Neevahs new found love of puppets inspired me to turn the last of the baby spoons and forks into little ghost puppets for her.

You will need
Plastic Baby Spoons/Forks
White Tissue Paper
Ribbon/String
Black Marker Pen
Scissors

To Make
1. Cut the white tissue paper into squares
2. Place the spoon/fork in the center of 2 tissue paper squares. A double layer of tissue paper just helps hide the colour of the spoon underneath. If you are using forks make sure they have rounded ends or they will tear the tissue paper
3. Pull the tissue paper around the spoon
4. Tie ribbon at the top of the handle - this was a little bit fiddly but you don't have to make little bows if you don't want to
5. Draw a face on the ghost using a black marker. I found the back of the spoon was better for the face.
6. Time to play

If you are a Ghost and you know it just say Boo .... Boo!
If you are a Ghost and you know it just say Boo .... Boo!
If you are a Ghost and you know it and you really want it show it. If you are a Ghost and you know it just say Boo .... Boo!
(sung to the tune of If you are happy and you know it)

Neevah thought this song was very funny

She made her ghost puppets do something funny everytime the song says Boo