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Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop!
Those of us who have kids going back to school are still always looking for new ways to play and create with them. Since my time with my kids seems to get less and less as the school year goes on, I really want to maximize my moments with them!
What I never realized was just how fun it can be for kids to play & create with Arm & Hammer baking soda!
Not only does it make me happy to know I can create a ton of toys from a box of baking soda that costs less than a dollar, but I absolutely LOVE that everything we create is safe and non-toxic!
Here are just a few ideas you’ll want to make sure you keep on hand for those weekends and rainy days:
*Play Clay
Aren’t these fun? What I love even more is that these baking soda recipes allow you to be creative on a whim! Even if you don’t have plans to play, you can just grab a few kitchen ingredients and start creating!
What is your favorite way to play with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda? Leave a comment below letting me know and you’ll automatically be entered to win a $25 Visa Card! You can enter once per day, but must give a different tip or comment each day. The deadline to enter is 11:59 pm CST on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.
This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is compensating me to try different products. Save $.50 off two 2lb or 4lb boxes of ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda…and be sure to visit the Switch & Save Challente to tap into more resources and enter to win $25,000!
I like that you can use Arm & Hammer baking soda to freshen up toys during playtime. You can sprinkle ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda on dry toys and let it sit for 15 minutes before thoroughly brushing off to remove residue.
Also from the Arm & Hammer site–
Sneaker Peakers
What You Need:
1 new, white athletic sock (mid-calf size)
1 cup ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 rubber band
6″ ribbon or string felt
markers, buttons, and glue for decorating!
How to Make it:
1. Lay newspaper down on your work surface.
2. Fill the sock with 1 cup ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda.
3. Secure with rubber band.
4. Tie ribbon around rubber band, cut off extra sock (cuff area).
5. Decorate! Use Felt, Markers, Buttons, Sequins, etc. to make your Sneaker Peeker an animal, a monster, a flower! Anything goes!
6. Stick them in your sneakers overnight for fresh shoes in the morning!
I like this one from the Arm & Hammer site:
Bath Fizzies
What You Need:
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened lemon drink mix
• 1 teaspoon flour or cornstarch 4 teaspoons
• ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
• 3-6 drops food coloring
• 4 teaspoons baby oil or mineral oil
How to Make it:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
2. Mix baby oil and food coloring in separate bowl/cup
3. Slowly mix the colored mixture into the dry ingredients
4. Make small 1” balls of mixture. Place on wax paper to dry.
5. It takes 24-48 hours for Fizzies to dry completely.
6. Fill your bathtub. Drop in a couple of Bath Fizzies and enjoy a whole new way to get clean!
I came across this fun activity called “Magic Powder”:
Supplies:
vinegar
food coloring
Arm & Hammer baking soda
8 plastic cups
8 plastic spoons
2 pans (one to hold spoons and one to hold cups)
baking sheet (to place underneath the cups)
Take your spoons and lay out on a pan. Place a dot of food coloring over each. Now pour a little Arm & Hammer baking soda over each spoon.
Put your cups on a pan with a baking sheet. Fill cups half full of vinegar.
Then let your child take a spoon, choose a cup, and stir. The kids will love seeing their cups foam and bubble up.
Another science experiment from the PBS Kids site, would be good for older kids (with adult supervision). I know my sons would get a kick out of it!
Lemon Juice Rockets:
(should be done outside)
Materials– an empty 16 oz plastic soda bottle, a cork that fits tightly in the soda bottle, paper towels, toilet paper, lemon juice, Arm & Hammer baking soda, water, scissors, funnel, safety glasses.
First, tear paper towels into strips and attach them with tape to a cork that tightly fits a soda bottle.
Then, cut a small square out of toilet paper, put about a teaspoon of Arm & Hammer baking soda in the middle of the square, and fold in the sides to make a little packet. Put a funnel into the opening of the bottle.
Pour a half inch of lemon juice into the bottle, and then add water until it is a little less than half-way full.
Put on your safety glasses. Drop the baking soda packet into the soda bottle, close the bottle with the cork, shake the bottle, and stand back for lift off.
Here’s the reason the cork shoots up. As the water and lemon juice soak through the toilet paper, the baking soda reacts to produce carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a gas. As more gas forms, pressure builds up inside the bottle and sends the cork flying.
Another fun idea is an experiment from the PBS Kids web site.
Baking Soda Bubbles:
Put 1/4 cup Arm & Hammer baking soda in a clear container.
Then add 1 cup of vinegar.
The mixture of vinegar and baking soda will bubble. It’s making carbon dioxide.
Blow some bubbles into the container and watch how they float on the carbon dioxide. The bubbles are floating where the carbon dioxide and air meet.
The carbon dioxide stays at the bottom of the bowl because it is more dense than the air in the bowl. The bubbles float on top of the carbon dioxide because they are filled with air and the air is less dense than the carbon dioxide. This will help explain what density means.
You are full of great ideas!
I found this fun activity with Arm & Hammer baking soda–
Jumping seeds: Dissolve a 2/3 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 cup of water in a large glass. Add apple seeds from one apple and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, then stir the mixture. The bubbles will carry the seeds up and down.
Love it!
It would be fun to make play clay with Arm & Hammer baking soda. I read somewhere you can add Kool Aid mix to it to make funky colors!