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Easy potion ideas for Halloween

My daughter is in her Harry Potter era and as a result, she is making more potions that ever! Here’s a really easy Autumn potion idea to try with your kids using natural resources.

Natural resources can be used for so many Autumn themed activities – including loose parts play , however my 7-year-old daughter will often gravitate towards potion making.The great thing about this Autumn potion – or indeed any potion – is the fact you can make it more scientific as your child gets older.

Suggested Resources for an Autumn Potion

Here are just ideas for what you can use in an Autumn potion. Availability of the items below will depend on where you live.

• Leaves

• Pinecones

• Twigs and Branches

• Acorns

• Chestnuts / Conkers

• Seed Pods

• Pebbles and Stones

• Pine Needles

• Fallen Flowers

• Bark

• Dried Grass

• Sunflower petals

• Feathers

• Small Pinecones

• Aromatic Herbs

Ensure that any items you gather for your Autumn potion are safe for children to handle and play with, and always supervise them during outdoor activities. Some items listed here might be considered unsuitable for very young children who still put items in their mouth.

In addition to natural resources you can also add:

• bicarbonate of soda with vinegar – to make the potion fizz

• bath bombs

• Halloween sprinkles

• dried herbs or tea

Resources:

• tuff spot tray / large tray to catch any spills

• old cooking pans and utensils

• pipettes

• fine motor tools / tongs

• baking trays/ cupcake trays

• plastic cauldron

• food dye

• Safety goggles – for any potions you make that have a chemical reaction. Always do your research before mixing ingredients together. 

How to Set up the Autumn Potion Tray

If you want to make an Autumn potion with your child, it’s best done outside where your child can experiment without having to worry about the mess that they make.

Set up all of the resources and ingredients on a large tray in advance and present as an invitation to play for your child to explore.  Then let them use this materials as they see fit – allowing them to see what happens, for example, when vinegar and bicarbonate of soda is added together – there is nothing quite like seeing this reaction through the eyes of a child for the first time!

If you’re worried about materials being wasted or used up too quickly, place them into spray bottles or jars. Remind your child that the only ingredients available are the ones on the tray – this often helps them to slow down!

Potion Play for the Middle Years

As your child gets older, play is still important and anything that encourages them to embrace STEM activities is a major win. Most weekends, my daughter can be found making potions – often with her best friend.

Whilst we often just use whatever we have in the house, you may also wish to start introducing scientific concepts.

This can sometimes be a tricky balance. You don’t want to turn everything into a school lesson, but at the same time, there’s so many opportunities to learn through play.

Here are some gentle ways to include STEM learning:

• Ask, ‘I wonder…’ questions. E.g. I wonder what will happen when we mix x and y together? or ‘I wonder why the potion fizzed when these ingredients were mixed?’

• Try not to just give your child the answer – even when you know it! Encourage research by looking up answers in a science book or on a kid friendly education site.

• Include accurate vocabulary such as solids, liquids and gasses.

This post originally featured on my website, thisplayfulhome.com. I am now in the process of transferring all of my work onto Substack. You can read more about the changes here.