We’ve always enjoyed “speriments”, whether this is creative mixing of ingredients (Sparkly Eyes’ current craze for making slime), or more structured kitchen chemistry. The girls rediscovered and old Usborne book which I had for the boys, and spent an industrious morning performing some of the experiments, while I was helping prepare Rhythm Dude for his chemistry exam.
Top right is paper chromatography, requiring coffee filter paper and felt tip pens.
Next is powdered chalk which can be used to define finger prints (relevant as Dancing Toes is currently engrossed in Secret Seven, and Rhythm Dude in Sherlock Holmes).
Then there was one they needed help with; diffusion of food dye with warm and cold water. It diffuses more quickly with warm water, because the heat energy from the water is transferred into kinetic energy enabling the fluid molecules to move more quickly (I think….IGCSE chemistry).
The final one demonstrates how ice floats on water. This is because it is less dense in its solid state. It is the only element for which this is the case, all others being less dense in the liquid state. I find this another amazing fact pointing to God as Creator; it seems as if water was designed to enable life to continue in lakes, and ponds even when frozen.
And then both boys have done IGCSE chemistry from the lab of our kitchen…but that’s for another post.
Mothering through the seasons 
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