“Summertime, and the livin’s easy.”
– Sublime
Nothing says summer like the smell of citrus fruit! And today, we’re taking citrus to a whole new level…with some super fun Summertime Citrus Potions! What’s not to love about magical, bubbling potions that smell like lemons, limes, and oranges?!? So…kick back and enjoy the citrusy aroma and sunshine, while your kiddos get creative with this simple, summertime potion-making activity!
We shared a few potion-making activities on our Instagram account this year (@capturing_parenthood) and they were always a huge hit! We created magical unicorn potions – with crushed up bath bombs. And we made some colorful Kool-Aid love potions for Valentine’s Day.
Potion-making is one of our daughter’s favorite activities – she requests it at least once a month! It’s an activity that is super simple to setup, but one that keeps her fully engaged for over an hour! Now, that’s a parenting win! π Needless to say, I’m always down to set up a potion-making station for her. And I love how easy it is to adapt – the possibilities and ingredient options are truly endless.
We love using Kool-Aid powder and bath bombs in our potions, because they smell absolutely divine. When we were brainstorming potion ideas for July, we knew that we wanted something that smelled equally as delicious…but we also wanted to use ingredients that reminded us of summer. And so…our Summertime Citrus Potions were born!
Summertime Citrus Potions
Supplies:
- Plastic Tray or Cookie Sheet
- 3-4 Mason Jars
- Citrus Fruits (lemons, limes, and oranges – halved or cut into sections)
- Hand Juicer (optional – we picked up our trio at the dollar store)
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Liquid Watercolor (optional)
- Glitter – Orange and Yellow
- Condiment Bottle (optional, but highly recommended)
- Spoons
- Small Cups/Containers (for glitter and extra baking soda)
Instructions:
- Start by placing a layer of baking soda in the bottom of each mason jar, and place the mason jars on a tray or cookie sheet. Fill a small cup/container with some extra baking soda.
- Fill a small cup/container with orange glitter. Fill another with yellow glitter.
- Fill a condiment bottle with vinegar. For some extra flare, squeeze a few drops of orange (or yellow) liquid watercolor into the vinegar, to make it more colorful and fun!
- Grab all of the supplies and head outside to enjoy that summer sunshine! This activity can also be conducted inside – but since we’re busy celebrating summer, we are doing as many activities in our beautiful backyard as we possibly can. π
- Set the tray of baking soda-filled mason jars on a flat surface. Place all of the other components within arms reach (bowl of cut citrus fruits, hand juicer(s), glitter, extra baking soda, colored vinegar, and spoons).
- Let the summertime citrus potion-making commence! Encourage your kiddos to get creative making their very own magical potions. They can start by adding some glitter – or they can jump right into the bubbly action. The citrus fruits themselves will cause a fizzing and bubbling reaction with the baking soda (without any vinegar). Lemons seem to provide the biggest reaction, but each citrus fruit will cause some amount of fizzing and bubbling. And they will make the potions smell incredibly delicious! Our little nugget loved using her strong muscles to operate the hand juicers, when it came time to squeeze lemon and lime juice. But she had just as much fun squeezing the oranges with her hands – either method works!
- Give your kiddos free reign to add ingredients in any order, and amount, that their heart desires. And when they’re ready for a bigger, over-flowing, bubbly reaction…bust out the squeeze bottle of colored vinegar!
- Let the creative potion-making continue…and in all honesty…it will likely continue until your kiddos run out of ingredients. π You can obviously refill ingredients – try adding a new color of vinegar or glitter to the mix. Or you can shift over to clean-up mode. It’s entirely up to you!
My favorite part of the potion-making process is always the sparkly, bubbly concoctions…and the cool colors and designs that they make as they overflow into the tray. It’s always super glittery and beautiful!
And while our little nugget absolutely loves mixing up her own magical creations…she enjoys dumping everything out into the tray, and getting her hands dirty just as much. π Potion-making is always a multi-sensory experience in our house – it’s visually pleasing, aromatically enticing, and texturally satisfying!
If you’re in the mood for yet another fun and bubbly citrus activity…you should definitely make a few Lemon Volcanoes! Lemon volcanoes are another one of our must-do summer activities, and they are sure to be a huge hit with your little ones!
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