Apple Sun Catcher

This was a really fun art/science activity that Little M. really enjoyed.  She was over the moon about getting to play with her vitamin syringe, and halfway through she asked if she could bring out the medicine syringes too.  We got to experiments with different amounts of liquid and how they behaved with the medium.  By the end of the activity, M. had poured all of the colors together, so we decided to pour out the combined liquid on an extra coffee filter to see what color it made-brown!

You will need:

• coffee filters (At least one for each child, although extra would be good.  Little M. used 3.)
• a vitamin syringe, eyedropper, or some other water delivery system
•  food coloring diluted in a little water (yellow, red, and green are the color of apples!)
• small cups to hold the liquid
• a hole punch
• a little brown string
• (optional) we used a plate, a plastic Chinese food container, and a small towel to contain the mess

Gather the materials and prepare the child's workstation in a comfortable spot.  Mix the food coloring and water in the cups, and set everything out such that the child can see and reach everything.

Show your child how to use the syringe.  This may take a few tries.  Invite your child to sprinkle droplets of water see what happens.

Watch what happens as the colors move through the fibers of the coffee filter!  Little M. decided to try and mix all of the different color water in one cup, so we poured it over a clean coffee filer to see what color she made.  Have fun and experiment!  When the child is finished, hang to dry.

When your child's sun catcher is completely dry, punch a hole through the top, thread a piece of brown string through (for the stem) and tie the ends of the string together to make a loop.
Hang it in the window and enjoy all autumn long!