Children Cleaning After and Entertaining

• Keeping Cats Away
  Pour vinegar around the children's sand box to keep cats from using it as their litter box. Reapply about every two months just to be sure. Also you can sprinkle a little vinegar on your garden paths and patios to help keep cats away.   

• Shine pennies
  1 small bowl lemon juice
  pennies or copper coins
  
  The acidic property of lemon juice is great way for transforming dingy pennies into shiny coins. Just soak your pennies in a bowl of lemon juice for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let dry on a paper towel, and your pennies will look brand new!  

• Crayon Marks on walls?
  A paste of baking soda and water with an old toothbrush will remove most crayon marks from walls.   

• Make objects swim
  2 teaspoons (9g) baking soda
  Tall clear plastic or glass container
  Water
  Vinegar
  Food coloring
  Various small objects (rice, raisins, small pieces of dried pasta, pieces of fruit)
  
  This fun science experiment shows how carbon dioxide helps objects swim. When baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) are combined, a chemical reaction occurs that produces carbon dioxide. To start, almost fill the container with three parts water and one part vinegar. Slowly and carefully add 1 teaspoon baking soda. This is going to react with the vinegar so be ready for some fizzing and a possible overflow. Once the fizzing dies down, slowly and carefully add the second teaspoon of baking soda, and follow up with the food coloring once the bubbles settle. With the added food coloring, you will see the liquid moving. Drop in an object. It will most likely sink, but once enough bubbles attach to it (thanks to the carbon dioxide!), it will swim. Keep experimenting with different items to watch how they move. TIP: If the movement appears to be slowing down, slowly add carefully add another teaspoon of baking soda. 

• make a see-through egg
  1 egg
  1 small plastic bowl
  vinegar
  
  Place an egg in a small plastic bowl and cover completely with vinegar. Refrigerate for 24 hours and then use a slotted spoon to lift the egg gently from its vinegar bath. Carefully rinse with water and repeat the process if the shell still remains. Cover with a fresh batch of vinegar and refrigerate for another 24 hours. Soon enough, you should be able to see the inside of the egg through its translucent and flexible membrane. 

• baby toy disinfectant
  1/4 cup (60ml) vinegar
  
  Since babies are especially prone to putting things in their mouths, you naturally want to keep your little one's toys as clean as possible. There's really no need to rely on harsh disinfectants when you have a bottle of vinegar in the house. Just soak a soft clean cloth in 1/4 cup (60ml) vinegar and use it to wipe down all the non-plush toys. Allow items to air dry (the vinegar scent will fade as it dries). 

• stuffed animal cleaner
  1/2 cup (110g) baking soda
  
  Many plush toys are not safe in the washing machine, which makes the problem of cleaning them all the more challenging. To rid stuffed animals of unpleasant odors, place them in a plastic bag with 1/2 cup (110g) baking soda. Shake the bag gently and let sit overnight. In the morning, brush the baking soda off the toy and it should smell noticeably fresher. (Added: 10-Jul-2012 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It Listed In: Ingredients/Baking_Soda    Air_Freshners    Children/Toys   

• Make a salt painting
  4 to 5 small bowls salt
  1 to 2 drops food coloring, assorted colors
  glue
  paper
  
  Emulate the amazing sand painting traditions of many indigenous cultures with this fun, easy, and inexpensive salt painting activity. To begin, pour and equal amount of salt into a few small bowls (just a few tablespoons of 54g in each should be enough). Add a drop of food coloring to each bowl and let your kids stir the salt with their fingers until the color is evenly distributed. Coat a piece of paper with a thin layer of white glue and help them sprinkle on the colored salts to create various, colorful patterns and shapes. When they're done, a damp sponge should be all you need for easy cleanup! 

• fabric and leather glue
  Vinegar makes excellent fabric/leather glue:
  1 envelope clear gelatin
  3 tablespoons of white vinegar
  1 teaspoon of glycerine
  Melt the gelatin aad water over a low heat, then add the other ingredients and mix well. Apply white warm. Store the remaining glue in a small plastic or glass jar. Warm it up next time before use. (Added: 25-Jul-2012 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It Listed In: Ingredients/Vinegar    Laundry    Decorative    Children/Toys   

• turn a chicken bone into rubber
  1 cup (250ml) vinegar
  
  The next time you roast a chicken, set aside a thigh bone. Let the kids soak it in 1 cup (250ml) vinegar for 3 or 4 days. When they take the bone out, they'll be amazed to see how easily it can be bent-the vinegar leaches some of the calcium, leaving the bone noticeably softer and more pliable. (Added: 29-Jun-2012 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It Listed In: Ingredients/Vinegar    Children/Toys    Science   

• make invisible ink
  1 piece of paper
  1 cotton swab
  1 small bowl lemon juice
  
  Write a message on a piece of paper with a cotton swab dipped in lemon juice as invisible ink. After the "ink" is dry, hold the paper near a hot light bulb (not too close!). The writing will turn brown and you'll be able to read the secret message. 

• make a soda bottle
  4 or 5 generous spoonfuls baking soda
  4 or 5 squares toilet paper
  1 20-ounce (591ml) plastic bottle (empty)
  1/4 cup (60ml) vinegar
  
  Here's a fun activity to make a kiddie pool seem even more exciting: Lay 4 or 5 squares of toilet paper on a table and put a generous spoonful of baking soda in the middle of each. Working one sheet at time, gather the four corners together, twist loosely to secure the contents, and gently push the bundle through the mouth of an empty 20-ounce (591ml) plastic bottle. When all of the bundles are in the bottle, top it off with 1/4 (60ml) vinegar and give the bottle cap one simple twist so that it is not tightly secured. Lay the bottle on its side in the pool or bathtub, then watch it skim along the surface as the chemical reaction inside sends millions of bubbles shooting out the back (the loosely capped end). Tip: Add marbles to weigh down the bottle opening so that the back end is in the water. 

• make salty clay dough
  1 cup (300g) salt
  1 1/4 (300ml) warm water
  1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
  3 cups (375g) flour
  
  Looking for a way to make a rainy day seem brighter for the little ones? Whip up a batch of this salty craft dough and they can spend an entire afternoon rolling, cutting, and shaping it into all kinds of memorable keepsakes. To begin, mix the salt with the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add the vegetable oil and flour and stir slowly to combine. Knead until the dough is elastic and pliable (add a little more flour, if necessary). Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired, to lend some color to the dough. If you like, let the kids' finished shapes air-dry for a couple of days and then have fun all over again painting them with watercolor or acrylic paints. A thin coating of clear nail nail polish or shellac will help preserve the finished masterpieces.