I Heart Food Coloring

I love food coloring! I use it to make things fun for the kids. Here is a list of some things we do with it.

1. Bath Paint. I put some of their body wash in a small cup (we have stackable cups in the bathtub that they play with). Then I add just 1 or 2 drops of food coloring. They use a Q-tip as a paint brush and draw on the tub or their bodies. It doesn't stain. They wash it off with a wash cloth before they get out of the tub (so really they are cleaning the tub for me).

2. Colored Water. This is another fun thing for in the bathtub. I fill an empty body wash bottle with water and add a couple drops of food coloring. Their imaginations go crazy with it. They have used it to "wash" a baby (tub toy) and "cook" with it. It's fun and it also turns their bath water color.

3. Change the Color of Food. We have had green pancakes, purple noodles, blue milk on cereal, etc. You can do this to make a holiday special, i.e. red pancakes for Valentine's Day, green noodles for St. Patrick's Day. Or just to have fun.

4. Paint Eggs. This seems obvious, but you don't have to wait until Easter to paint eggs. You can paint eggs all year.

5. Paint Toast. Add food coloring to milk and let the kids use it to "paint" their bread. Then toast the bread (to basically dry it out). Then they can eat their artwork.

6. Science Project. I found this science project that I am going to try with the kids soon. All you need is milk, food coloring, and dish soap. I am not going use is as a science project, just something fun to do and watch.

7. Paint the Snow. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to water in a spray bottle. Let the kids spray the snow. The more colors you have the prettier your yard becomes.

8. Change the Color of a Flower. In the summer, I stop along the road and cut some of those Queen Anne's Lace flower/weed things. We bring them home and put them in water with food coloring. Then watch over a couple of days while the flowers change color. I think you could do this with any white flower.

What do you do with food coloring?