Kitchen Magic
This week I
am going to share some fun things to do in the kitchen.
Measuring and experiments with a few household items are
a wonderful way to introduce the fun things you can
learn about math and science. You can incorporate just
about any school subject with any age group into
projects in the kitchen. These are fun, care
provider-approved experiments.
First make a
prediction chart. Make three columns on a sheet of
paper. Label the first “Experiment”; the second “Can you
guess what will happen?”; and the last “What really
happened.” You can use the same chart for all
experiments.
Remember
safety in the kitchen. Be sure to wash all hands with
soap and warm running water. All electric appliances,
frying pans or hot plates should be used by adults only.
Very young children should not use the stove at all. If
you let older children use graters or peeler be sure to
supervise closely.
Sink
or float
You will
need: a clear glass bowl; 1 large box of lemon jello;
blueberries; strawberries; miniature marshmallows;
sliced bananas; grated coconut; grated carrot; chopped
walnuts; crushed pineapple. Prepare jello according to
directions. When the jello is cool but still liquid, add
some of the other ingredients. Some of the items will
sink and some will float. Place the jello in the
refrigerator to set. Serve for snack and discuss why
some things sank to the bottom and why others stayed on
top.
For Your
Young Scientist
Even your
youngest children can learn about measuring. Fill a
small bowl with puffed rice or other cereal. Place the
bucket on the floor and place a set of measuring spoons
and cups in the bowl. Another empty bowl will allow them
to “measure” from one bowl to the other. They can
experiment by tasting as they practice measuring,
Make
Butter
You will
need: 2 cups heavy cream; a pinch of salt; a small
plastic jar with a lid; a clean glass marble. Put the
cream and salt into the jar with the marble. Fasten the
lid down tightly. Give each child a turn shaking the jar
until the cream turns solid (about 10-15 minutes). Pour
off the thin white liquid (this is buttermilk!) from the
butter. Remove the marble and spoon into another dish to
serve from. It is good on saltines, but you can use it
just like regular butter.
Orange
Soda
You will
need: an orange; 1 cup of water; 1 teaspoon baking soda;
a teaspoon sugar or other sweetener; a plastic zip lock
bag; a cup or glass. Cut the orange in half and place it
in the zip lock bag. Push out all the air and zip the
bag shut. Let the children have turns squeezing all the
juice out of the orange. Cut a small hole in the corner
of the bag and drain the juice into the glass. Add water
and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the
baking soda and watch it fizz. It will be bubbly and
taste like orange soda.
