Clearing out the Pantry

Since a lot of things are packed, and we also need to use up our pantry items, we've been extra creative with outdoor playtime.  A few weeks ago I put all of the lentils, barley and quinoa I knew we wouldn't use in the water table (without water though). The kids had fun pouring, sorting, and mixing.

Not long after that, S emptied a giant jug of bubbles.  That wasn't exactly a planned project, but the kids loved feeling how slimy the ground got.  A bonus was that the patio got nice and clean.

Recently we used salt, flour and baking soda to feel the different textures, then eventually water.  The real fun began, though, when I filled a squirt-type water bottle with vinegar.  C knows how this works, as I clean the garbage disposal with vinegar and baking soda, but I never thought of letting the kids try it out until I saw this post on Tinkerlab.  I thought that baking soda and vinegar would be too dangerous in the hands of little ones, but the squirt bottle was perfect, and even when it seems everything has dried out, add more vinegar and it foams some more.

We proceeded directly to bath after this activity, too, but it was great fun.