St. Patty's Treasure Balls

This week at Play Group we had fun discovering hidden treasures unlocked by our magic liquid (vinegar). We thank Fun at Home With the Kids for this great project idea.

You will need:
baking soda
vinegar
droppers
gold coins
green water color (food dye might work)
gold and green confetti, glitter & sequins
spoons

Begin by mixing baking soda, glitter, confetti, sequins and green paint, We used gold confetti, gold stars, green glitter, gold and green sequins and green liquid water color. Watercolor paste would also work well.

Add just enough water so the ball stays together but doesn't crumble and not too much that it won't hold its shape. Hide a gold play coin in the center and mold into balls. Let dry overnight.

We placed the treasure bowls in a waterproof bowl and provided each child with a small cup of vinegar and a flexible plastic dropper (found in mixed media area of our local craft store).
Then they went to work.....

Depending on their stage of development, they needed help being shown how to use the dropper by pinching their thumb and index finger, releasing to let the vinegar rise in the dropper and then squeeze again to release the vinegar.
Some of the kids kept at this task while others went for efficiency and dumped the contents of their cup onto their treasure ball. The more meticulous children really enjoyed discovering each and every sequin in the mix as they were shaped like stars, flowers and other items.

They all asked for spoons to stir the mixture.
Some went straight to task and broke it open (kind of like those Tootsie Pops- hey who can wait to get the center?!)

The children who broke their orbs open still enjoyed adding vinegar to the mix. There were multiple request to "do it again" so we were glad we had made so many. They also requested a great deal of vinegar, often adding 3 little cups to their bowl- so have plenty of vinegar on-hand.

Happy Treasure Hunting!