It has rained a lot here lately, and on one of those grey days Emma asked if she could play with vinegar and baking soda. Actually, she said vinegar and flour, but she mean baking soda (she wanted to see the fizz effect of mixing an acid and base). She was pretty excited to show Lily how it works, and all three kids enjoyed this sensory play experience!
Johnny was very methodical, starting off with little bits, and then pouring the entire cup of vinegar on, and admiring the fizz!
I’m not sure why he pulled his arm out of his sleeve and through the top of his shirt…
The girls saw Johnny pour out his entire cup, and decided to follow suit! They noticed that, when baking soda and vinegar mix together, putting your hands in the solution makes them feel kind of slippery!
Cost-benefit analysis:
- Prep: Getting out vinegar, baking soda, and trays – less than one minute
- Initial entertainment: about 10 minutes
- Clean-up: 2 minutes or less. Since we put a thin layer of baking soda on the trays and there is only a little vinegar in a cup, this is not a very messy experiment with my kids. Even if it gets on the floor, both vinegar and baking soda are cleaning agents, and so very easy to clean up!
- Cost: Less than $2
- Lasting value: experiential learning about (safe!) household chemicals, and the reaction between acids and bases
MaryAnne lives in Silicon Valley with her Stanford professor husband Mike and their four children. She writes about parenting through education, creativity, and play. Mama Smiles - Joyful Parenting is a space to share crafts, hands on learning activities, and family outings that enrich lives and bring families together.
We just used a large bottle of vinegar to clean bathrooms. It was great!
I buy both vinegar and baking soda in bulk for cleaning (and educational) purposes!
I just love the last picture – it looks that all three were having a lot of fun with this activity. Emma looks so grown up in comparison to Lily.
Every once in a while Lily still looks like one-year-old that she is =)
I love that first picture of the two girls working together: Emma’s smile and Lily’s intent look.
Hm, maybe I should have my kids do this in the bathroom, where any spillage would go towards cleaning up the floor. :)
Always a fun project to do… My kids love playing with vinegar and bakingsoda also.
It’s an activity my kids can never get enough of!
I should start a card file with ideas like this to pull out on rainy days!
I try to keep a list on a sheet of paper – but you could include more information in a card file!
Love it! And it much easier to clean-up than shaving cream and paint!
I shared this on my facebook page, too!
Thanks, Candace! =)
I did this with a book club group I run and it was a super big success! I like how you did it in a tray. We did ours in paper cups and added food coloring…we were sort of replicating volcano’s (dinosaur unit). However, for my preschool I think in the trays is a much better idea! Thanks for sharing :]
Lisa
I love trays for preschoolers!
I have to try this with my kids. You should come link up with us @ Fun for Kids Friday (www.localfunforkids.com).
A little fizz action is fun to watch. It’s been really wet here, too! Love how all the kids look like they’re working together and having fun.
Wow, I’ve never thought of just handing it over to them like this. I think I might do this tomorrow.
I bet your girls would love this!
How old do you recommend This activity for? What if one of the kids put in their mouth?
As long as they aren’t stuffing huge quantities into their mouth (which they probably wouldn’t do since it doesn’t taste very good), it’s safe for pretty much any age. But baking soda and vinegar are safe to eat (although neither is recommended in large quantities), and when combined they produce sodium acetate, which you find in various foods (cheese in particular) as an ingredient.
I am impressed with the concentration the kids are having during the experiment.they are completely into it. A great sensory experience.
Nice idea to use a little bit on the trays, I think my girls would love it.
I think they would have a blast with this!
Did your snow melt okay, or did you have a lot of flooding?
No flooding, the ice broke & it started flowing away later that day.
Glad you didn’t have to deal with flooding!
What a great idea to put the baking soda on the tray like that for a sensory activity! The fizz factor of baking soda and vinegar is always fun :)
Thanks! I love the many ways to have fun with vinegar and baking soda!
Oh this is neat! Our kids at school have been experimenting with this, this month, mostly via volcanoes. Thanks so much for sharing!
The volcano experiment is always fun! My kids haven’t seen that one – yet! We will do it soon =)
Stopping by from Link & Learn. I love this idea! Will have to do it this week. Do you just use a cookie sheet to keep it from making a big mess?
We use food trays from IKEA, but a cookie sheet would work well, too! Or a cake pan, since higher walls are better for mess containment =)
LOL at Johnny with his arm out of his sleeve. Abby hates vinegar!
I love your blog, thank you for sharing your fantastic ideas. Greetings from my creative activities blog. http://tocreatemoments.blogspot.com/
That is a pretty neat idea!
I love this! I would have never thought of putting it on a tray! I’ll have to try this (maybe today!) Thanks so much!
Try it with food coloring in the vinegar.
Maybe use a dropper.
I love that you gave them only a little bit of each. I bet that made for a lot less stress on your part.
Exactly! They love seeing so many mini reactions, too!
I was going crazy stuck in the house on a rainy day with my niece and nephew (4 and 2) so we tried this and they had an absolute blast! They were cracking up every time it fixed! So fun and mess free! Perfect for rainy days!
I’m so glad your niece and nephew enjoyed this as much as my kids do!
My 2 yr. old granddaughter asks to play with baking soda and binger (vinegar) every single day! She loves the fizzing and color changes she can make.
Baking soda and vinegar is one of those activities that never get old!