Sugar & Children's Activities
While regulating your child's sugar intake is a big concern for parents, there are a number of after school activities that can be done with sugar without the resulting sugar buzz. If your child is going to be consuming sweets, a great activity involves having them make their own treats. In addition, sugar can be used for art, science and math projects.
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Baking
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Kids love sweet treats and, in moderation, they are fine for kids to have. Instead of buying commercially manufactured candies, cookies and cakes, consider getting your child involved in the baking process as an after-school activity and a way for them to understand nutrition. Bake three types of sugar cookies, one with white sugar, one with brown sugar and one with powdered sugar. After the cookies are baked, have the kids to a taste test to compare the textures and flavors of the different cookies.
Art
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Sugar cubes are a cheap medium for children to explore their creative side. Sugar cubes can be easily dyed a variety of colors with food coloring to make a colorful two or three dimensional art project or left white to make a wintry scene. The cubes are glued together with non-toxic glue to make the art project sturdier. Toothpicks can also be used to join the cubes together to create anything from models of buildings to robots.
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Science
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Sugar can also be used for fun science activities. Kids can learn about the scientific process of crystal formation making delicious rock candy. Boil one cup of water then add three cups of sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon. Pour the solution in a clear jar, then rest a cotton string tied to a pencil across the rim, with the end of the string submerged in the water-sugar solution. Within a week sugar crystals will form on the string.
Children can make salt crystals using the same method of dissolving salt into water, and compare the crystal growth process between the two ingredients. Another option for comparing the chemistry between salt and sugar involves timing which ingredient dissolves faster in water. This experiment can be done using a stop watch and jars filled with equal amounts of water.
Math
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Sugar cubes can be used as a cheap and easy math manipulative to help kids with their homework or work on projects to enhance mathematical understanding. Elementary school children can use sugar cubes to help solve addition and subtraction equations. More advanced students can use sugar cubes to learn more about geometry by constructing pyramids and measuring angles.
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References
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