Well, the summer heat has arrived and I fear it may be here to stay for awhile. Fortunately, this week the Preschooler is being entertained at Fairy Camp for part of the day. What does one do at Fairy Camp you might ask? Well, everyone is encouraged to wear wings. You play games like “Fairy, Fairy, Frog” {instead of “Duck, Duck, Goose,” of course}. You make pixie dust necklaces. And, you discuss the character traits of various famous fairies. For example, Tinker Bell spreads kindness and joy wherever she goes. The Preschooler was so nervous the night before her first day of the camp that she declared she didn’t believe in fairies anymore and the only camp she ever wanted to go to was “stay at home all day camp!!” And, that has been her camp of choice all summer long.
I’m rarely confident in my parenting decisions, but I felt pretty certain she would enjoy Fairy Camp based on its description. And, when I picked her up yesterday she reported her day was “awesome” and raved about the delicious, flat chicken nuggets she had for lunch. I’m learning that my children judge most activities they’re involved in based on the quality of the snacks and/or the food served there. And, it’s not very hard to beat what I serve up at home.
Last week it rained almost every afternoon which forced way too much inside, together time here. At wit’s end, I got on Pinterest and tried to find a simple project all three might enjoy doing. We decided on the ever-popular DIY lava lamps, and they were almost as simple as the internet made them sound.
The only supplies you need are water bottles {VOSS brand ones are a fun shape}, oil, water, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer {or another brand of effervescent tablets}.
Once we peeled the labels off the water, we were ready to roll.
We filled the bottles up a little more than halfway with oil, and then added water just about an inch shy of the top. The girls thought it was amazing that the oil rose back to the top. I know this has something to do with density, but that was the extent of my explanation. Mid-afternoon in the summer is more about survival than science at this point.
Next, the older two added ten drops of food coloring to their bottles. And, I’m pretty sure the youngest one added ten, or twenty, to hers.
And, then we started dropping the Alka-Seltzer in 1/4 of a tablet at a time.
That’s when the magic happened.
With every drop of the tablet it happens again and again. And, the bigger the tablet, the bigger the reaction.
The Preschooler chose purple for her lamp, which was fine…
Until she decided to add red to it and it turned an unfortunate shade of brown. The other two girls mentioned that it looked like the color of “p__p,” and she became despondent.
So, we had to scratch her brown lamp and start over with a color that might mix better. The second time around she chose blue…
When she added yellow the result was a much more pleasant shade of green. So mixing colors works, but you must choose your colors wisely.
The only problem with the DIY lava lamps versus a real lava lamp is that these require a continuous supply of Alka-Seltzer since the effervescence is what causes the reaction. But, these made for about an hour’s worth of entertainment which is priceless, and they can be re-used the next time the afternoon gets too long and we have a box of heartburn tablets on hand!
Not to mention, that it has entertained your Facebook friends for quite a few minutes! Loved the pictures–they would be very frameable and hangable. (Are those words)? No kidding, that is a very clever idea, and I would have turned up with an uglier brown. ha… I wish they had invented Pintrest when I was rearing my children and grandchildren. We just had to resort to trikes, bikes, skates, Rebel Railroad, swing sets, grapevine swings, and go-carts. However, they grew up normal anyway! Enjoy them right NOW, and brace yourself for three teen-agers at one time!! I’m sure Dad will check out the fuzzy-faced young men, who come calling!