Fourth Of July Kid Safe Activity

I LOVE the 4th of July, and back when I taught preschool on of my fellow teachers shared this activity with me. I don't know who came up with it or where it is from, but it is SO FUN and great I just had to share it. Little Dude is amazed every time we do it. And you can do it any time of the year with different colors, like red and green at Christmas, or red and purple at Valentine's-you get the idea. I really enjoy watching it, too, because the experiment is just so very fun! It actually looks like magic.

So, without further ado, here is what you need:

* Large, tall clear jar filled with water, the more the better!
* Blue, red and yellow liquid food coloring
* 2 or 3 tablespoons cooking oil
* Smaller jar
* Spoon or stir stick for mixing
* Clear Pyrex measuring cup

What you and your kids do:

1. Fill the jar with tap water. Place it on a table where your child can watch it from several angles. If your child is older, they could even do this step.

2. Invite your child to pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a clear Pyrex measuring cup-your kids will have a blast, and honestly, they can't put too much in. Just make sure you have at least 2 tablespoons, less and it won't work with that much water.

3. Next have your child put in drops of each food coloring into the oil, about 5 drops of each color.

4. Have your child pour the oil into the jar all at once. At first, the oil will be spread around in globules, but keep watching: right before your eyes, the oil and food coloring will first float to the top, and then the globs will “find” one another and come together. SO COOL!

5. Now the “fireworks” begin! The food coloring will begin to separate from the oil and move back into the water, in long streams of each of the three colors. The colors will separate from one another as if they never mixed in the first place, and stream through the water in the three original colors that you began with; it is REALLY amazing!