Make Your Own Fairy Potion

What You Need:

• A variety of plastic containers
• Food coloring
• Water
• Outdoor space where your child can get messy
• Outdoor table (covered with newspaper if you’d like it to stay clean)
• Fairy wings (optional, or make your own here)
• Leaves
• Safe scissors for toddlers
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Flower and leaf cuttings 
• Water source (such as a hose)

What You Do: 

1. Prior to bringing your child outside, set up the containers filled with water, food coloring, flower and petal cuttings, and the rest of the materials outside on the table you chose.
2. Bring your child to the outdoor space. Act excited and explain that today, they will be creating their very own fairy potions (e.g., magical liquids)!
3. If possible, offer your child fairy wings to wear. (You can wear some too to make this even more fun!)
4. Model how to create a fairy potion. For example, mix red and yellow food coloring to create an orange fairy potion. Point this out to your child by asking questions like, “Wow! I started with red. Then I mixed in yellow. Now I have orange. I wonder how that happened?” Mix in some petals and leaves to heighten the sensory experience. Show your child how to cut the petals and leaves using the safe scissors.
5. Allow your child time to experiment with the materials. 
6. Observe your child and use questioning strategies like the one above to encourage them to make connections and verbalize what they notice. 
7. Encourage your child to think about capacity by asking questions like, “If I pour this container of red potion into this container of green potion, what will happen?” Active questioning will allow your child to problem solve and think deeply about what they are doing. 

Remember that your child learns through play, so it’s also critical to give them time to experiment with the materials without questions/comments from an adult. Enjoy watching your little fairy create, learn, and explore!