Potions and Water Stations

Mixing Potions

Is it educational?

Whether it's the twinkle of a shiny bottle containing alluring coloured liquids or the disgusting slop that only top class mud can provide, our youngsters love a good old mix up, this we know.

Take some transparent vessels such as jugs, bottles, jars, add a funnel and a pipette, introduce a little food colouring and point children towards your water station.  I guarantee it will be irresistible to them. They instantly become mad professors, crazy scientists or students of Harry Potter wizardry.  Children and water are just a match made in Heaven.

Back to my question ‘is it educational?’ Well the simple answer is yes, everything is educational, the real question should be ‘is it good education?’

Stand back, observe and your answer will stare you in the face, or splash you in the face! With very little effort you have just created one amazing enabling environment and established a place where the 3 prime areas of development can flow.

Just listen to the gorgeous words being used

Just watch the fine and gross motor skills being practiced

Observe the Science investigations

See the Imagination running wild

Listen to the recipes being discussed

The level of independent thinking is awesome

Collaboration between friends or fellow wizards is marvelous

All of that and careful measuring, pouring, mixing, squeezing, stirring, dripping, has got to amount to good education, or as the books tell us we have created the characteristics of effective learning – well done, wasn’t it easy?

Just one more thing, move this activity on to include writing recipes for potions as well as using numbered jars are sure ways to get those specific areas covered too.

The only difficulty I have had with kind of learning is that I want a turn!