Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion

Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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Our not so purple potion...

“Hannah would be good at science… if she could see the wood for the trees”… so went my school report. No, I don’t think like a scientist but I dig it just the same.

It seems like Louie does too; apparently when my mum asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” he replied firmly “Science”.

It doesn’t surprise me, every day he’s experimenting; with his body, his mind, his environment. I’ve posted before about why we try to stand out of the way and watch him to make his own discoveries.

Recently he inherited a copy of “Science Tricks and Magic” and it definitely caught both our imaginations. He wanted to make the ‘Purple Potion’ that would change colour depending on what you added to it. This is basically a simple indicator liquid that would respond differently to acids and alkalis. It looked so easy and interesting and crucially, it was something he could do with minimal input from me, boosting the fun factor for him. This is how he did it…

Making Purple Potion: An Experiment With Acids and Alkalis

You will need:

Half a red cabbage

A pan and stove

A sieve

Two jars

Vinegar

Baking powder

Other (optional) substances to test: Toothpaste, soap, lemons, milk, yoghurt, cola, lime juice, washing powder, black tea, salt.

Step 1. Cut up your red cabbage

Step 1: Cut up your cabbage

Step 2: This was where I stepped in; cover with water, boil for 5 minutes and then allow to cool.

Step 2: Boil the cabbage for 5 mins

Step 3: Strain the contents through a sieve to separate out the cabbage and collect your purple potion  (note that for some reason ours was blue). You can eat the cabbage if you like too.

Step 3: Drain your potion

Step 4: Pour a little of your potion into two jars, add vinegar to one and baking powder to the other and watch them change colour before your very eyes. Vinegar is an acid so it turns the potion pink, baking powder is an alkali so it should turn it green, ours was kind of turquoise (?).

Add vinegar to the left jar, baking powder to the right

Step 5: Wash out the jars and add more potion to each, experiment with different everyday substances like lemons, milk, black tea, salt, toothpaste and soap. He decided to try toothpaste and soap. I know nothing of chemistry so was interested to note that our soap was fairly acidic where as our toothpaste was alkali.

Soap versus toothpaste

Tips: He ran out of potion too quickly, so next time we’ll make more and use more labeled jars to compare results. You could even make an Acid Vs Alkali chart and tick boxes to record the results of the experiment. I really wanted to geek out and do that but sadly Louie wasn’t into it.

Acids turn the potion pink

What I’d really love is to find some experiments related to flight. Louie secretly confided in me that his dream is to fly like a bird, which was one of my childhood dreams too.

All his current obsessions are associated with flying; planes, rockets, gliders, birds of prey, bows and arrows. The latter he mastered in a morning after waking up and declaring that was what he was going to do. Isn’t it amazing to watch these young scientists at work?

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family’s cherished tradition of family draw time.
• The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the “Non-Creative” — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her “non-creative” child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
• Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up “little spaces of beauty.”
• Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how ‘creating together’ has evolved from ‘things’ to memories.
• The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
• Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
• Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
• How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
• Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
• Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
• Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
• Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
• Home School Music – Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
• Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
• Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
• Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.

• We’ll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
• Let’s Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
• Everything’s Better When It’s Homemade — Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
• Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
• 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don’t need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
• Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
• Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
• Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
• Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling “crafty,” Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
• An Artist-Mama’s Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son’s, and how they embrace those differences together.
• Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
• Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
• Creating with Children – The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
• How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
• In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.

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