How to set up a potion making area

Potion making in the EYFS is great fun and has so many benefits for children in the early years. It’s a great activity to have available daily and can involve as many or as few potion-making ingredients as you have available. These can include wet, dry, reusable or disposable materials depending on what you have to offer. Potion making is great because you can link it to any theme, topic or experience you like such as books by creating for example potions to turn you into a Gruffalo, seasons such as making summer time potions, or themes such as dinosaurs creating the perfect muddy swamp potions. It can also be a totally unled adult experience by allowing the children to create any potions they like; this is a great way to learn more about the child and what they are interested in. To make the perfect potion making area you will need:

• White lab coats and goggles – This adds a fun element and really allows the children to engage in the experience pretending they are scientists
• Measuring cylinders 
• Measuring Beakers
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing utensils 
• Pipettes – Small or giant depending on the age/stage and materials used
• Scales
•  Clipboards, paper and pens
• Potion making ingredients – Water, Coloured water (colour using paint, tissue paper, food colouring etc), sequins, glitter, sand, rice, pebbles, lentils, herbs etc…

What are the benefits of potion making in the EYFS?

There are so many benefits of potion making these include –

• Social Skills – Children will often start working together to create potions or share ideas with one another
• Communication and language skills – As children share ideas and explain what they are using to make their potion and the process they will learn new words, descriptive language and learn to express themselves
• Mathematics – This is an area which can be strongly promoted as children explore potion making from looking at numbers on the scales or cylinders, counting how many pebbles they are adding or how many drops of water out of the pipettes etc
• Mark Making – This is great if children are encouraged to make marks to represent numbers for each ingredient they add. You may like to create some tables to go with this so the children can make marks next to a picture of the ingredients.
• Imagination – Children’s imagination can really be supported through these activities as they make all kinds of wonderful concoctions for all different reasons
• Characteristics of effective learning – Potion making in the EYFS really allows children to explore, actively learning, create and critically think. 

Why not try this in your setting and see the enjoyment evolve?