Parenting Information

Fizzy Sherbet - A Sweet Science Lesson for Your Kids!


Fizzy sherbet in a paper bag with a strawberry lollipop was probably my favorite treat as a child, but I never knew what was in the sherbet and why it sparkled and tingled on my tongue! Try making some with your kids and enjoy a mini science lesson in the process.

The basis of the sherbet is icing sugar (confectioners' sugar). 50g will make enough for about 6 children. For that amount you will also need a scant teaspoon each of bicarbonate of soda and citric acid. You can buy the latter, in the form of a white powder, very cheaply in small quantities from your chemist or pharmacy. Children will also enjoy having a lollipop or liquorice stick to dip into the sherbet.

Simply mix all the powders together thoroughly, divide into separate containers, and provide something to dip with. Fingers will do at a pinch, but there will be a lot of stickiness involved! Let the kids try dipping into some plain icing sugar as well as the sherbet mixture, to compare the two. They will be amazed at the difference.

So where does the fizz come from? It is a reaction between the citric acid (the same acid as in lemons) and the bicarbonate of soda, which is an alkali. In this case the chemical reaction happens on your tongue, as the two dry ingredients mix with water (saliva) and create a gas in the form of lots of tiny little bubbles. The bubbles provide the tingle in your mouth.

You are creating the same chemical reaction when you drop a bath bomb into your bath water. The active dry ingredients - which again include bicarbonate of soda and citric acid - react when they meet the water of the bath. And you get the same fizzing reaction if you add vinegar, another acid, to bicarbonate of soda. In this case, however, the reaction happens immediately because the vinegar is liquid. Combining vinegar and bicarbonate of soda is actually an old-fashioned cleaning recipe, used to help remove stubborn stains in the kitchen. Perhaps your kids could try scrubbing the sink with the mixture and a kitchen sponge to see how well it works!

Now, back to your fizzy sherbet. Remember, to keep your sherbet for any length of time, you will have to keep it dry. Store it in little re-sealable plastic bags ready to dip, or in a plastic food container. Make sure the kids don't eat too much in one go, because it can make your mouth (and stomach) a little sore in very large quantities! If you package little bags of sherbet and lollipops together (perhaps adding a bright ribbon and label) you can make a super addition for a party bag or even an unusual and popular treat to sell at a school fete or other fundraising occasion.

Lindsay Small is the creator and editor of Activity Village.co.uk - providing the ultimate one-stop resource for parents and teachers looking to educate and entertain their kids. Visit the website at http://www.ActivityVillage.co.uk or subscribe to the free newsletter at http://www.ActivityVillage.co.uk/free_newsletter.co.uk

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Us Magazine

Charlize Theron on parenting son Jackson (minus her potty mouth)
Los Angeles Times (blog)
We've always loved Charlize Theron for her sleek blond beauty. And the way she talks like a sailor. Think of her beautifully executed turn as Mavis Gary, the foul-mouthed lead of last year's "Young Adult." While Charlize isn't actually evil, ...
Charlize Theron Not Too Hard On Herself As A New MomMTV.com

all 16 news articles »


'Facebook parenting' is destroying our children's privacy
CNN
Editor's note: Aisha Sultan is a parenting columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and recent Knight Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. Follow her on Twitter: @AishaS. Jon Miller is director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth in ...

and more »


The parallel universe of parenting
Fremont Tribune
One, is that parenting baby ducks is a difficult task. And two, some parents are better (or luckier) than others. Case in point is the current crop of ducklings that call this small, old sandpit home. The first batch that we noticed was a darker, ...



PsychCentral.com

Parenting Tips: Yelling vs. Choices
Eastern Arizona Courier
If you yell on occasion, you won't damage your kids, but still, it is not a good parenting strategy for creating good behavior. A screaming adult can activate a child's fight-or-flight response, which in turn shuts down his ability to think something ...
Respectful Child Discipline Starts with the ParentPsychCentral.com (blog)

all 2 news articles »


National Post

Apodaca: Don't listen to parenting naysayers
Daily Pilot
The photo was a provocative lead-in for an article on the latest controversy over the issue of child rearing, the practice of what's called attachment parenting. Now the subject is all over the news, providing fodder for talk shows, ...
Crying over (breast)milk: Muddling through in spite of the mothering absolutistsNational Post
Attached at the NipPatch.com

all 3 news articles »


Positive parenting – raising children into successful adults
DI-VE
by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com Parenting techniques based on love, encouragement and discipline are more likely to encourage children grow up secure, disciplined, well-behaved and with high self-esteem than criticising them and using incorrect ...

and more »


Jo Dee Messina's Parenting Blog Featured in The Tennessean
Great American Country (blog)
By Sarah Wyland | Leave a Comment Jo Dee Messina's humorous parenting blog, The Fumbling Mom, will be featured in The Tennessean. Debuting May 24 and periodically going forward, the paper will share content from Jo Dee's blog in its Family section.



Putting the post-deployment family back together
89.3 KPCC
With the help of a new parenting study, Ross has recently changed the way he talks to his three children — Elena, 9; Lucy, 6; and Isaac. Before, Ross says, he would have talked to them like he talks to the soldiers he commands, and he would have ...

and more »


Parenting group bans unvaccinated adults
msnbc.com (blog)
By Diane Mapes The recent whooping cough (pertussis) epidemic in Washington state has prompted the parent support group PEPS to issue a new policy regarding participation in their groups. "Because of the pertussis epidemic in Washington, ...

and more »


TabTimes

This week in tablets: For devices, publishing and even parenting, simplicity ...
TabTimes
by George Jones May 26 2012, 1:10 am Comment Also inside: Cisco bids sayonara to the Cius, and Yahoo does the same with LiveStand. Validation for tablet devices, users, and developers came this week across multiple categories, industries and lifestyles ...

and more »

Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.