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2 large mixing bowls (we chose clear to show color)
Baking sheet or dry surface for drying
This recipe yields 5-6 rocks. These Rainbow Rocks are easy and enjoyable for children of all ages.
Gather all ingredients.
In one of the large mixing bowls, add baking soda. Slowly add water. Mixture should be moldable but not too wet.
Cover hands with rubber gloves. Add watercolor drops to soda water mixture. Massage soda mixture with your hands, adding color as you go until desired color is achieved.
While mixture is still moist, put a small amount of mixture into your hand. Take one plastic gold coin and place in the middle of the mixture. Continue to pat mixture in hands until a medium rock shape forms and the gold coin is hidden.
Cover a cookie sheet or flat surface with parchment paper. Please rocks on top of parchment paper to dry overnight.
After rocks have completely dried, do with them what you wish! We thought it would be fun to hide these in the yard and have children search for them. You could also simply use these as a quick kitchen table experiment.
Using another clean large bowl, fill with vinegar until bowl is 2-quarters full. One at a time, drop Rainbow Rocks in and wait for the surprise.
Being a mother of two young (active) boys, I’m always looking for activities to do with them during the cold months. As a family, we don’t usually do anything special for Saint Patrick’s Day, but we love to cook and bake together. This Irish Soda Bread Biscuit recipe is really simple and not too complicated for children between the ages of 4 – 10, with minor assistance. I found that this activity was rewarding to them! This baking experience gave them a boost of confidence that they were able to make something for the family, “all by themselves” to eat. Along with this confidence, they also learned “why”, “how” and “when” to do certain steps:
Examples –
“How” to identifying measurements – 1 cup, 1 ½ cup, Tbsp. and tsp.
“Why” and “When” to add dry and liquid ingredients
“How” and “Why” you infuse dried berries before mixing
“How”, “When” and “Why” to set the oven temp
“Why” and “How” do you grease or line the baking sheet
“How” and “Why” do you knead the dough
“When” to take biscuits out of the oven
Kid friendly items to have on hand before starting:
1 c. dried cranberries, rinsed in hot water and dried
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds, optional
2 eggs
2 c. buttermilk
Steps –
Make sure all ingredients and utensils are out and ready for easy access. (Wash those hands!)
Fully submerge raisins and cranberries in a bowl of warm water. Leave them set for about 2 minutes to infuse.
Drain water from the infused raisins and cranberries. Transfer to folded paper towels to remove any remaining water.
Let your child locate, measure, add and mix all dry ingredients.
(We chose not to add caraway seeds)
Add prepared raisins and cranberries to dry mixture. Mix raisins and cranberries until fully coated in dry mixture.
Add eggs and buttermilk until thoroughly combined.
Spread 2-3 Tbsp. flour on to a prepared surface. Remove dough mixture from mixing bowl and knead for about 3 minutes on prepared surface.
This recipe states to roll dough to a ½ inch thickness. We wanted a higher biscuit, so we decided to roll out to a 2-inch thickness instead.
Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, show your child how to place the cutter each time in order to use most dough the first time around (you’ll need to repeat this step with the additional dough from the first set of cut outs).
Transfer cutouts to your prepared baking sheet. Place biscuits in a 400° F. pre-heated oven. Bake biscuits for 10 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Using oven mitts or kitchen towel, help your child safely remove biscuits from the oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes. We recommend eating them warm with butter!
