Food Coloring - Page 2 of 4

The Bubble Drop Precision Road

Steps:

Lay a small sheet of bubble wrap flat on a table with the bubbles facing up.
Fill a small plastic container with water and add two drops of food coloring.
Show your child how to squeeze the eyedropper to soak up the colorful water.
Challenge them to place exactly one drop of water on top of each individual bubble.
Once the road is full of drops, have them use a paper towel to gently blot and soak up the water.
Try again with a different color to see the jewels sparkle on the plastic!

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is recommended. Small drops of water can be slippery. Handle the eyedropper gently to avoid spills.

Foil Grip & Transfer

Steps:

Pour water into a small bowl. Add a drop of food coloring to make it a fun color.
Drop the cotton balls into the colored water until they are fully soaked and heavy. Place the wet balls inside the Aluminium Foil Pan.
Hold the foil pan firmly steady with your helper hand to keep it stable on the table.
Use the tongs to pick up one heavy, wet cotton ball at a time. Encourage your child to squeeze the tongs hard to grasp the slippery material.
Carefully lift the wet cotton ball and transfer it to the empty plastic container. Drop it inside the target.
Repeat this squeezing and transferring action until the foil pan is completely empty. Count how many successful transfers were made!

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Small cotton balls can be a choking hazard if ingested. Ensure the child only handles the materials with the tongs or fingers and keeps them away from their mouth.

Foil Moat Precision Drop

Steps:

Place the aluminum foil pan on the table. Use the playdough to create thick walls or ‘dams’ inside the pan, leaving narrow paths or ‘moats’ between them.
Mix a small amount of water with a drop of food coloring in the container to make your ‘magic potion.’
Show your child how to hold the eyedropper using their thumb and pointer finger (a strong pincer grasp).
Challenge your child to squeeze the eyedropper bulb to suck up the colored water.
Now, carefully aim the dropper over a moat. Encourage them to squeeze gently to release the water into the narrow path without letting it flood the playdough dam.
Repeat this process until all the moats are filled with colorful water. Encourage them to hold the foil pan steady with their helper hand while they work.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Playdough is a choking hazard if ingested. Ensure the child only uses the eyedropper for the intended purpose and does not consume the colored water.

Coil Drop Target

Steps:

Adult Prep: Tightly coil 5 to 6 pipe cleaners into small, narrow spirals or loops to create the targets.
Clip one pipe cleaner spiral onto the open end of a clothespin. Repeat this for all the coils.
Fill a separate container halfway with water and add a few drops of food coloring to create ‘magic potion.’
Ask your child to clip the clothespin targets onto the rim of the paper cup, making sure the coils hang inside.
Challenge your child to hold the eyedropper with a neat pincer grasp, suck up the colored water, and carry it to the paper cup.
Carefully aim the eyedropper and squeeze gently to deposit the colored drops into the narrow opening of the pipe cleaner coil. Repeat until the coils are full.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners are small materials and pose a potential choking hazard for young children. Ensure the colored water is not ingested.

Color Drop Towers

Steps:

Prepare the ‘towers’: Press a large lump of playdough firmly into the bottom of a Paper Cup or container. Flip the cup upside down so the playdough forms a stable base on the outside top.
Insert 6-8 Golf Ball Tees into the playdough base, blunt end first, so the narrow, hollow end points straight up (these are the ‘towers’ that need filling).
Create the colors: Fill several small bowls or Paper Cups with water and add a few drops of different Food Coloring to each one.
Show your child how to hold the eyedropper using their thumb and pointer finger (pincer grip) to suck up the colored water, reminding them to squeeze slowly for control.
Challenge your child to aim the dropper directly over one of the empty tee towers and release one drop of liquid at a time, slowly filling the narrow space. Try mixing colors by dropping red, then blue, into the same tower to watch them blend!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise closely. Ensure the child understands that the golf tees and playdough are not for eating or placing near the face.