BABYSITTING IDEAS

FUN

Experiments

THE MAGIC KETCHUP EXPERIMENT

What we need:

1. A liter plastic bottle2. A ketchup packet3. Salt

What we do:

1Remove any labels from the bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water.

2Remove any labels from the bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water.

3If the ketchup floats, you’re all set - go to step 4. If the ketchup sinks in the bottle, go to step 5.

4 For the floating ketchup pack simply screw the cap on the bottle and squeeze the sides of the bottle hard. If the ketchup sinks when you squeeze it, and floats when you release it, congratulations, you’re ready to show it off. If it does not sink when you squeeze it, try a different kind of ketchup pack or try a mustard or soy sauce pack.

If the ketchup pack sinks, add about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of salt to the bottle. Cap it and shake it up until the salt dissolves. (Kosher salt will keep the water from getting too cloudy, although it will usually clear up over time if using regular table salt.)

6Continue adding salt, a few tablespoons at a time until the ketchup is just barely floating to the top of the bottle.

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Once it is consistently floating, make sure the bottle is filled to the top with water, and then cap it tightly.

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Now squeeze the bottle. The magic ketchup should sink when you squeeze the bottle and float up when you release it. With some practice you can get it to stop in the middle of the bottle.

ROCK CANDY EXPERIMENT

What we need:

What we do:

1Clip the wooden skewer into the clothespin so that it hangs down inside the glass and is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the bottom of the glass. (as shown)

2Remove the skewer and clothespin and put them aside for now.

3Pour the water into a pan and bring it to boil.

4Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar into the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves. Add food coloring if desired.

Keep adding more and more sugar, each time stirring it until it dissolves, until no more will dissolve. This will take time and patience and it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time.Be sure you don’t give up too soon. Once no more sugar will dissolve, remove it from heat and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes.

6NOTE: While it is cooling, some peole like to dip half of the skewer in the sugar solution and then roll it in some sugar to help jump start the crystal growth. If you do this, be sure to let the skewer cool completely so that sugar crystals do not fall off when you place it back in the glass.

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Carefully pour the sugar solution into the jar almost to the top. Then submerge the skewer back into the glass mak-ing sure that it is hanging straight down the middle without touching the sides.

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Allow the jar to fully cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed.

1. A wooden skewer (you can also use a clean wooden chopstick)2. A clothespin3. 1 cup of water4. 2-3 cups of sugar5. A tall narrow glass or jar

9 Now just wait. The sugar crystals will grow over the next 3-7 days.

LAVA LAMP IN A BOTTLE EXPERIMENT

What we need:

What we do:

1Pour the water into the bottle.

2Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it’s almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.

3Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below.

4Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!

To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle.5

1. A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle2. 3/4 cup of water3. Vegetable Oil4. Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)5. Food coloring

SLIME EXPERIMENT

What we need:

1. 1/4 cup of water 2. 1/4 cup of white craft glue (like Elmer’s glue) 3. 1/4 cup of liquid starch (used for clothes)4. Food coloring (optional)5. Mixing bowl 6. Mixing spoon

What we do:

1Pour all of the the glue into the mixing bowl.

2Pour all of the water to the mixing bowl with the glue.

3 Stir the glue and water together.

4Add your food color now - about 6 drops should do it.

Now add the liquid starch and stir it in.

6 It should be nice and blobby by now. As you play with your slimy concoction, it will become more stretchy and easier to hold.

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Explore your slimy creation and store it in a zip bag when you are not using it.7

STATIC BALLOON EXPERIMENT

What we need:

What we do:

1Place the can on its side on a flat smooth surface like a table or a smooth floor.

2Rub the blown up balloon back and forth through your hair really fast.

3Now the fun part - Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can. The can will start to roll towards the balloon without you even touching it!

4Try This Too: While you’ve got the balloon out, tear up part of a tissue into tiny pieces about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) big. Rub the balloon in your hair again and bring it close to the tissue pieces. They will be attracted to the balloon and then jump away.

1. An empty soda can2. blown-up balloon3. A head of hair

CHICKEN IN A CUP EXPERIMENTWhat we need:

1. A plastic drinking cup 2. Yarn or cotton string (nylon string will not work well) 3. 1 paper clip 4. Paper towel 5. A nail 6. Scissors 7. Water

What we do:

1Cut a piece of yarn about 20 inches (40 cm) long.

2Ask an adult to use the nail to carefully punch a hold in the center of the bottom of the cup.

3Tie one end of the yarn to the middle of the paper clip.

4Push the other end of the yarn through the hole in the cup and pull it through as shown in the picture.

Get a piece of paper towel about the size of a dollar bill, then fold it once and get it damp in the water.

6Now it’s time to make some noise! Hold the cup firmly in one hand, and wrap the damp paper towel around the string near the cup. While you squeeze the string, pull down in short jerks so that the paper towel tightly slides along the string. If all goes well - you hear a chicken!

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PLASTIC MILK EXPERIMENTWhat we need:

1. One cup of milk2. 4 teaspoons of white vinegar3. A bowl4. A strainer

What we do:

1Heat up the milk until it is hot, but not boiling.

2Carefully pour the milk into the bowl.

3Add the vinegar to the milk and stir it up with a spoon for about a minute.

4Now the fun part, pour the milk through the strainer into the sink - careful it may be hot!

Left behind in the strainer is a mass of lumpy blobs.

6When it is cool enough, you can rinse the blobs off in water while you press them together .

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7Now just mold it into a shape and it will harden in a few days. - Cool!

LAVA IN A CUP EXPERIMENT

What we need:

1. A clear drinking glass2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil3. 1 teaspoon salt4. Food coloring (optional)5. Water

What we do:

1Fill the glass about 3/4 full of water.

2Add about 5 drops of food coloring - I like red for the lava look.

3 Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the glass. See how the oil floats on top - cool huh? It gets better.

4Now the fun part: Sprinkle the salt on top of the oil.

Watch blobs of lava move up and down in your glass!

6 If you liked that, add another teaspoon of salt to keep the effect going.

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MILK AND SOAP EXPERIMENT

What we need:

What we do:

1Carefully pour the milk into the tray so that it just covers the bottom

2Add about 6-8 drops of different colored food coloring onto the milk in different spots

3Add about 5 drops of the liquid soap onto the drops of food coloring and watch the show!

4To clean up, simply pour the colored milk down the drain. (don’t drink it!)

1. A flat tray (like a cookie baking tray)2. Food coloring (at least 3 different colors)3. Whole milk 4. Liquid soap used for washing dishes

BOMB IN A BAG EXPERIMENT

What we need:

1. One small zip-lock bag - freezer bags work best.2. Baking soda3. Warm water4. Vinegar5. Measuring cup6. A tissue

What we do:

1Go outside - or at least do this in the kitchen sink.

2Put 1/4 cup of pretty warm water into the bag.

3 Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag.

4Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue

Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.

6 You will have to work fast now - partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add the baking soda packet. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the bag completely closed.

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Put the bag in the sink or down on the ground (outside) and step back. The bag will start to expand, and expand, and if all goes well...POP!

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DIET COKE AND MENTOS EXPERIMENT

What we need:

What we do:

1Make sure you are doing this experiment in a place where you won’t get in trouble for getting Diet Coke everywhere.

2tand the Diet Coke upright and unscrew the lid. Put some sort of funnel or tube on top of it so you can drop the Mentos in at the same time (about half the pack is a good amount).

3Now the fun part - Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can. The can will start to roll towards the balloon without you even touching it!

4Time for the fun part, drop the Mentos into the Diet Coke and run like mad! If you’ve done it properly a huge geyser of Diet Coke should come flying out of the bottle!

1. A 2-Liter of Diet Coke2. Mentos

NOTE: I have a season of MythBusters with a Diet Coke and Mentos episode!

FLUBBER EXPERIMENTWhat we need:

MIXTURE ONE:1. 1 1/2 C warm water2. 2 C Elmer’s Glue3.Food Coloring

MIXTURE TWO:1. 3 tsp. Borax2. 1 C warm water

What we do:

1Stir Misture One together in a bowl.

2Stur Mixture Two together in another bowl.

3Pour Mixture One into Mixture Two.

4Play with the flubber in your hands for a few minutes to dry up the final product.

MAKING BOUNCY BALLS EXPERIMENTWhat we need:

1. borax (found in the laundry section of the store)2. cornstarch (found in the baking section of the store)3. white glue (e.g., Elmer’s glue - makes an opaque ball) or blue or clear school glue (makes a translucent ball)4. warm water5. food coloring (optional)6. measuring spoons7. spoon or craft stick to stir the mixture8. 2 small plastic cups or other containers for mixing9. marking pen10. watch with a second hand11. metric ruler12. zip-lock plastic baggie

What we do:

1 Label one cup ‘Borax Solution’ and the other cup ‘Ball Mix-ture’.

2Pour 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon borax pow-der into the cup labeled ‘Borax Solution’. Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax. Add food coloring, if desired.

3Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled ‘Ball Mixture’. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir. Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands.

4 The ball will start out sticky and messy, but will solidify as you knead it.

Once the ball is less sticky, go ahead and bounce it!

6You can store your plastic ball in a sealed ziploc bag when you are finished playing with it.

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CRAFTS

DINOSAUR FEETWhat we need:

1. Sponges2. Empty tissue boxes3. Tissue Paper4. Glue

What we do:

1Glue on scraps of tissue paper onto the empty shoeboxes.

2Cut triangles in sponges.

3Glue these sponge toes onto the edge of the tissue boxes.

NAIL ART

PIPE CLEANER MAGNET JARWhat we need:

1. Pipe Cleaners2.Jar3. Magnet4. Scissors

What we do:

1Cut pipe cleaners into little strips.

2Put pipe cleaner strips in jar and close.

3With a magnet, raise and lower the pipe cleaners by rubbing the magnet up and down the outside of the jar.

TiISSUE BOX MONSTERWhat we need:

1. Paint or Spray Paint (a color for the base, or for deco-rating the box)2. Empty tissue box3. White construction paper or foam4. Empty egg cartons5. Googly eyes (optionals)6. Hot glue

What we do:

1Paint or spray paint the tiessue boxes

2Decorate the box with polka dots, stripes, or other designs.

3Cut and draw a line of teeth.

4Cutt some slots from egg cartonss, and attach googly eyes if desired. If not, you can draw on some eyes with a marker.

3With a hot glue gun or craft glue, assemble your monster.

PUFFY PAINT IN THE MICROWAVE

What we need:

1. 1 tablespoon self-raising flour2. a few little drops of food colouring3. 1 tablespoon salt4. Thick paper or cardboard5. Paint Brushes or Q-tips

What we do:

1Combine all ingredients in a little bowl.

2Then add some water to make a nice smooth paste.

3 Paint away on a nice thick sheet of cardboard (if you don’t have enough paint brushes use cotton buds - they work really well).

4Microwave the design on high for 10 - 30 seconds until the paint puffs and it’s all nice and dry.

BUTTON BALLOON BOWL

What we need:

1. Buttons2. Baloons3. Glue

What we do:

1Blow up a baloon.

2Glue buttons closely together on the balloon.

3 Wait for the glue to dry fully.

4Pop the balloon.

MELTED CRAYON CANVAS

What we need:

1. Canvas or poster board2. Crayons3. Glue4. Blow Dryer

What we do:

1Glue crayons to a canvas or poster board.

2With a blow dryer, hold the canvas at an angle and melt the crayons.

3 Glue objects to the canvas, if desired.

RAINBOW RICE JARS

What we need:

1. Rice2. Ziploc Bags3. 2 T food coloring4. 3 T rubbing alcohol5. Jars or clear containers6. Materials to decorate jars with

What we do:

1Combine all ingredients in Ziploc bags (different bags for dif-ferent colors) and mix around.

2Set rice out to dry.

3 Put into clear containers or jars in layers, or all mixed around.

4Decorate jars with ribbons, markers, or paints.

FACE PAINTING

MELTED CRAYONS ON ROCKS

What we need:

1. Rocks2. Crayons3. Aluminum Foil4. Baking Sheet5. Oven6. Pot holders

What we do:

1Collect rocks with a smooth, flat surface.

2On an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet, bake the rocks in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

3 Peel the paper off crayons to be used.

4Holding the rocks with a pot holder, “paint” the rocks with the crayons.

ACTIVITIES

HOMEMADE MINI GOLF COURSE

What we need:

Empty containers from around the house such as-large trash bags-empty cans-empty jars-garden hoses -golf balls-golf clubs, sticks, or brooms

1Draw circles with chalk on the sidewalk, or tape colored pieces of paper on the grass.

2Create a spinner for the Twister game.

What we do:

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Ideas:

1Leave a letter and a treat for the mailmain.

2Make cards for elderly patients at a nursing home and deliver them.

3 Leave money in a vending machine with a note.

4Deliver baked goods to local librarians.

Hide a dollar bill in a toy at the Dollar Store.

6 Mail a treat or card to friends or relatives.

5Ding dong ditch a neighbor and leave a gift. 7

8 Collect carts from the parking lot at a grocery store.

GLOWSTICKS IN THE BATHTUB

What we need:

1. Glowsticks

1Close all bathroom doors or cover windows.

2Put glowsticks in the bathtub.

What we do:

BALLOON AND PLATE PING PONG

What we need:

1. Paint stirers or popsicle sticks2. Balloon3. Paper plates4. Tape

1Tape paperplates to paint stirrers.

2Blow up balloons.

What we do:

3Play ping pong :)

BALLOON PINATA

What we need:

1. Candy2. Balloons3. Large sheet of paper or posterboard to secure baloons to4. A pointy object like a dart

1Blow up baloons and insert a piece or two of candy (or other object) into each baloon.

2Secure the baloons on a piece of paper or posterboard --perhaps in some sort of shape.

What we do:

3Put this piece of paper propped against the wall, or outside on the grass, and throw the pointy objects to pop the balloons.

MONSTER TOAST

What we need:

1. 1/4 cup milk (2% or whole milk is best)2. Bread3. Butter4. Food coloring5. Paint brush

What we do:

1Pour milk into different containers and add a different food coloring to each container of milk.

2Paint a monster face on the piece of bread.

3 Toast.

4Butter to emphasize the color. Eat with cinnamon sugar if desired.

DRIVEWAY TWISTER

What we need:

1. Sidewalk Chalk2. A spinner

1Draw circles with chalk on the sidewalk, or tape colored pieces of paper on the grass.

2Create a spinner for the Twister game.

What we do:

HOMEMADE CARNIVAL GAMES

What we need:

1. Soda or water bottles2. Hulla Hoop3. Pool Noodles4. Household materials

1Using the different materials, create carnical games.

2Try a ring toss, where a hulla hoop or ring is thrown around bottles.

What we do:

3Try constructing a tower with rings or holes to try to launch a pool noodle through.

BACKYARD BOWLING

What we need:

1. Bottles2. Food Coloring3. Water.4. Ball

1Fill bottles with colored water.

2Set up the bottles like bowling pins in the driveway.

What we do:

3With a kickball, or other ball, try to knock the pins down.

GLOW IN THE DARK BUBBLES

What we need:

1. Bubble solution2. Glow sticks3. Jar

1Pour some bubble solution into a jar or clear container.

2Cut open the glow sticks and pour them into the bubbles so you can blow glow in the dark bubbles.

What we do:

ALPHABET SNACKS

What we need:

1. A flat surface2. Candy such as licorice strings or pretzels3. Knives

1Sort and pull apart any food needed like licorice strings.

2Form letters of the alphabet or words with these food items, cutting if necessary.

What we do:

AROUND THE CITY PHOTOGRAPHY

What we need:

1. Camera2. Car

1Take pictures of buildings, signs, and different shapes that could represent letters around Old Dublin, or other areas.

2Print these pictures, create a word, and frame it.

What we do:

LASER MAZE

What we need:

1. Streamers2. Tape

1In a hallway, tape streamers in a criss-crossing pattern.

2Navigate through the hallway without touching any of the streamers.

What we do:

MONKEY BAR WATER BALLOONS

What we need:

1. Water balloons2. Monkey bars

1Fill balloons with water.

2Tie or tape the balloons to monkey bars.

What we do:

3Try to bust the balloons through throwing darts at them, or by going through the monkey bars.

OTHER IDEAS

1Neighborhood Kick-ball tornament

2Go “Creeking”

3 Grocery Store games like scavenger hunts or capture the flag.

4Playing in sprinklers

5Write a music spoof and make a music video.

6Pool games

7 Trampoline games

8Take pictures of all our fun summer adventures, and create a scrapbook.

9Make dinner, a fun dessert, snack, or summery beverage.

10Sidewalk chalk drawing or driveway dot games or hang man.