You’ll need
- Clear plastic jars and bottles (no glass)
- Droppers, small spoons and a funnel
- Water, mud and sand
- Petals, crushed leaves and herbs for colour and smell
- Optional: a little natural food colouring, or turmeric for yellow
- Labels and a marker
Set it up
- Fill a jug with water and set out small bowls of each ingredient.
- Give each child a jar or two and a dropper.
- Encourage them to name each potion and write or draw a label.
- Line finished potions up in the sun and see how they change.
What children learn
Using droppers and funnels is fine-motor practice. Watching colours mix, mud settle to the bottom and petals float is real observation: what sinks, what dissolves, what changes in the sun. Naming potions and describing their “powers” builds vocabulary and imagination.
Safety
Use only plastic containers. Make sure every plant ingredient is safe to handle, and keep it “pretend”: potions are for looking at, not tasting.