Activity
Make Homemade Zip-closure Bag Lemonade!
Remember Great-Grandma’s old-fashioned lemonade? Here’s your chance to bring back some of the past and let your child enjoy that delicious homemade taste of summer from the days before the freeze-dried “lemon drink” mix. The best part is that your preschooler can make it all by themselves.
This activity is a great way for your child to enjoy warm weather and cool down with a homemade refreshment, or to remember the fun of summer when the season is over. Besides having fun, they'll be conducting a basic science experiment. Science is about studying change. By following a set of procedures, making predictions, and observing results, your budding scientist will be dabbling in the scientific method!
What You Need:
- Zip-closure bags
- Lemons
- Water
- Sugar
- Ice (optional)
- Straws
What You Do:
- Cut a lemon into quarters and remove any seeds.
- Place one quarter of the lemon into a zip-closure bag.
- Add ½ cup of water.
- Add approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Zip the bag securely.
- Gently mix the contents of the bag for about 30 seconds, making sure to squeeze the pulp of the lemon.
- Open a small section of the top of the bag and insert a straw. If desired, add a couple of ice cubes.
- Enjoy!
Before you begin the activity, try gathering up all the necessary items and then asking your child what they think you can make from the ingredients. Have them make observations about those ingredients. Ask them to make predictions about the steps involved and what they think will happen when the ingredients are mixed together. Be sure to encourage them to describe what they see, smell, hear, taste, and feel throughout the whole process.
This recipe can even be taken “on the road.” Simply put the lemons and sugar into zip-closure bags before your next picnic. Add the water when you get to your destination for some on-the-spot, homemade refreshment.