Around here we love dinosaurs, small world play, and eruptions! I figured I ought combine those loves into one super awesome valentine. In addition to having an erupting and foaming volcano that only needs water added to put on a fantastic show - this valentine can be made from items at the Dollar Tree! There are free printables you can download from this post to make it really easy. The volcano (and dinosaur!) is reusable and each packet of Erupting Powder produces around 2-4 eruptions on average. Can you tell we're excited about this one??? :)
By popular demand, I've amended this post to now include a free printable for use as a Party Favor!
By popular demand, I've amended this post to now include a free printable for use as a Party Favor!
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I couldn't help but stitch a few photos together so you could get a feel for how awesome the eruption is! S and I have erupted at least a dozen volcanoes just this week alone. They are so much fun to play with!
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If you'd like to make a set of these valentines or party favors, you'll need:
Plastic Wrap
Ribbon/String/Yarn
Baking Soda
Bags (Ziploc or Treat Bags
)
)
*for my Aussie and UK readers (or anyone else) who can't get Kool Aid - you can substitute Citric Acid Powder (used in canning foods). I've written a separate recipe for you with that substitute at the end.
You can get everything but the Kool Aid from The Dollar Tree - and you can't get the Kool Aid there because it's so much less than a dollar!
Once you've gathered all your supplies, you can print this template for tracing the volcanoes onto craft foam by clicking on the photo below and printing it (or you can grab the file here):
Next you'll want to make the little pouches of Erupting Powder. I lay out a small piece of plastic wrap and then add all the ingredients on top of each other. You can mix if you want - but it's not necessary. Then I gather up all the edges and twist it and tie a bow around it with yarn/string/ribbon like you see below.
Erupting Powder Recipe for one pouch with Kool Aid:
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 "squirt" of liquid soap (aka washing up liquid)
1/2 to 1 package of Kool Aid (for the eruption pictured above we added one half package of red Cherry and one half package of Orange)
Erupting Powder Recipe for one pouch without Kool Aid:
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 "squirt" of liquid soap (aka washing up liquid)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of citric acid powder
Print and cut out the Directions for Erupting Volcano and the Valentine Card or the Party Favor Card. In a treat bag or other bag of your choice (Treat Bags
pictured below), add one dinosaur, one package of Erupting Powder, one foam volcano, and one set of directions.
pictured below), add one dinosaur, one package of Erupting Powder, one foam volcano, and one set of directions.
Staple or otherwise affix the bag of supplies to the valentine or party favor card and voila! Super awesome erupting volcano valentine or party favor!
If you have any trouble accessing or downloading any of the free printables, you can email me at funathomewithkids (at) gmail.com
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Please always supervise your infant/child at play. Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.
Super cute!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Danya!!! :)
DeleteSo Cool, Thank You!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteBrilliant Asia!! This is just Brilliant!!!!!! I can't wait to use this as a Dino Birthday party favor!! Thank you for another amazing activity.
ReplyDeleteOooh, that's a great idea, Heather! I hadn't thought of that! I'm so glad you like it!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteOh. My. Gosh. I *LOVE* this!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe just joined a new homeschool group and this might be the first year in awhile that we have to give valentines. Something like this would be perfect!
YAY! Thank you, Caitlyn! You are always so sweet! Thank you for the lovely comment!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteCan I just say this is the coolest Valentine I have ever seen? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much, Vicky!!!! YAY! I'm so glad you love it! :) :) :)
DeleteHello Asia, I visited with Vicky/MessforLess recently and when I lamented about not knowing what to do for my daughters class this year for Valentines, she showed me your site and this activity and she is right! this is AMAZING! Thanks so much! Julie
DeleteHi Julie!!! Oh my goodness - Vicky is just the nicest person ever! I love her and Mess for Less! That was so sweet of her - and I'm so glad you found our valentine! It makes me so happy to hear that you love it! :) :) :)
DeleteHow many volcanoes are you able to make out of one sheet of foam? Can't wait to do this for my son's daycare class!
ReplyDeleteYAY! I'm so happy you're going to make some! They really are SOOOO fun!!! The really small sheets of foam from the Dollar Tree only make one volcano per, but the larger 12x18 sheets of foam you can get at craft stores make five per sheet if you position them just right!
DeleteDo you know how many you can fit on the 9x12 sheets that you linked to at Amazon?
DeleteI believe you can fit 3 if you put them really close together, Melissa! Hope that helps!
DeleteI was able to get 6 volcanoes in each 12x18 sheet. :)
DeleteLOVE this. I reshared on G+ and just shared on my FB page. Hope to make this for my sons!
ReplyDeleteThank you so so so much for sharing, Adrienne! I really appreciate it! And I hope if you make it it's as big of a hit over there as it is here! :) :) :)
DeleteSO.MUCH.BETTER.THAN.CANDY. I am totally doing this!
ReplyDeleteYAY!!! I hope the girls love it!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteWow!!! This is amazing!! Love it!! Thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, My Little Sonbeam! :)
DeleteCould I use the citric acid and add a drop or two of food coloring? I'm worried the kook aid smell would attract small ones to taste it. I guess it wouldn't hurt them and it would taste bad. I just avoid buying Kool Aid.
ReplyDeleteYes follow the directions above for substituting citric acid for Kool Aid. As far as food coloring, you could add one drop to the baking soda and mix well before adding the citric acid, but there is water in the food coloring and it will cause some of the citric acid to react. I'd say if you're going to add food coloring, go with one single drop, well mixed, and then double your citric acid to be on the safe side! Hope that helps.
DeleteWould Jello powder be an ok substitute?
DeleteSigned,
Impatient and have Jello in the pantry..(for your Jello painting activity, of course)
No, unfortunately Jello doesn't have a high citric acid content like Kool Aid. Booo. Sorry, Shirley!!! :(
DeleteJust got back from the store to get Kool Aid (and tonic water for glowing snowman globe) Yay-now we can try a bunch of your ideas tomorrow! Thank you!
DeleteHooray! I'm so glad it all worked out. I buy like 100 Kool Aid packets at once at the grocery. People think I'm insane. :)
DeleteThanks- I love these and will be making them for my DGS
ReplyDeleteYay!!!! Thank you, Beatricemi!!! :)
DeleteStarted my shopping list! Everyone at daycare will get one! How many volcanoes can I get out of one foam sheet?
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Around 4-5 per large 12x18 sheet. Hope that helps! :) So excited!!!!
DeleteHi again -
DeleteJust wondering if the liquid dish soap has enough water to start the reaction... how far in advance can I make the erupting powder packets?
THANKS!
Great question! Nope - there is a *slight* reaction, but not enough that it affects the end result. I would say you could make them in advance as long as you were willing to break up the dried powder a few days later. The only trouble would be if the soap dried it into a little rock-like clump - you need the water to reach all the baking soda and Kool Aid if that makes sense. You need it to be powder so it has maximal surface area. But we've let a few sit for days and as long as we broke them up they worked perfectly! :)
DeleteHi Asia -
ReplyDeleteAny idea how early you can make these before using? I did a test run and it looks like it was starting to foam on its own??
Thanks for such a fun idea!
There will be a little foaming since there's a small amount of water in the soap - but it will still foam a ton when you eventually add water. I'd say it's fine to make them in advance so long as you remember to break up the powder before handing them out (the soap will dry out and make a little hard clump after a day or two - so long as you squish the package to break it up, it will work fine!). Hope that all made sense! So excited you're making some dino valentines!!! :)
DeleteThis is the COOLEST! I'm so printing this out for my dino loving boy :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vanessa!!! :)
DeleteI am sooooo excited to have found a Valentines gift for my little man's 1st grade class in lieu of candy!!! :) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! I'm so glad you're going to use them! We really think they are so much fun! Hope they're a hit with the 1st graders! :)
DeleteDo you make one recipe of erupting powder per valentine? Do I need 1 packet of kool-aid per valentine?
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer! Yes, one recipe of erupting powder per valentine. 1/2 to 1 packet of Kool Aid - your choice. 1 packet will cause a longer eruption, but 1/2 causes a great one - less than 1/2 a packet doesn't work quite as well. Hope that helps!
DeleteHow much is a "squirt" of washing liquid? And did you use red?
ReplyDeleteAround 1/16th of a teaspoon, I'd guess. It's definitely something that has wiggle room! I used a combo of red and orange Kool Aid in the volcano shown (our soap isn't really colored) - any color would be cool! :) Hope that helps!
DeleteAsia I've featured your one of a kind Volcano Valentine at MSN Living in the Family and Kids Section! Thanks for sharing your adorable idea on Pinterest! I can't wait to try this out with my girls. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh - thank you so much, Kim! You have always been so supportive - you rock!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteHi! Does the volcano have to be foam paper or do you think I could get away with using construction paper? I imagine the eruption would make paper soggy, but maybe the soggyness wouldn't be that bad until aaaafter the eruption is over?? I'm SO excited to do this!! -Amber M.
ReplyDeleteIve done it it before and yes it did for me.
Deletedo you mix the ingredients in the bag?
ReplyDeleteEither way works - mixed or unmixed. I'm kinda lazy, so I did unmixed. :)
DeleteMy son loves dinosaurs and is super excited to hand these out to his friends on his birthday! I bought the big can of kool aid and was wondering what is the conversion of one packet into tablespoons? Thank you so much in advance!
ReplyDeleteOh, yay!!!! How fun! As far as the can --- I'm afraid it may be a little problematic because it has so much sugar. You can check to see if I'm correct by reading the ingredients, but as I understand it, the cans are just a few packets of Kool Aid + the several cups of required sugar. I'd go by how many quarts it says on the can - a packet makes 2 quarts, so if the can says it makes 34 (that's what the ones I'm seeing online say), you'd want to add about 1/17th of the can mix. If you're able, I'd double check that the sugar doesn't interfere with the reaction (I don't *think* it will, but since I've never tried it, it would be worth checking). If you can still return the can for the packets, that will be easier, since then you won't be dealing with the sugar they dump into the can. PHEW! That was a long answer. Hopefully it's helpful!!! And happy birthday to your son!
DeleteMy 6 year old is CRAZY about volcanoes!! We watch Dante's Peak every night, and have for the past 4 months! (Thank God for Pierce Brosnan or I couldn't do it!) He is going to LOVE making these for his classmates! Of course, I am sure, we will make dozens for him! Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha I love it, Linda! So glad - we had so much fun handing them out (and playing with them ourselves) last year! :) :) :)
DeleteI have a five year old who loves volcano's! Thanks can't wait to make for his class!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! So glad to hear it! :) :) :)
DeleteDo I have to use soap? The bags are expanding like crazy from reacting with the soap in it.
ReplyDeleteNope, you can skip the soap! If it has a high water content, it can have that effect...
DeleteI lava this!
ReplyDeleteHahahahahhahahaa
DeleteOh dear! Don't know about you guys, but here in Canada Kool-Aid packets seem to be getting pushed out of the grocery store. (They've been replaced with liquid concentrate - I guess we're too lazy to stir. :P) If you see any buy them up!
ReplyDeleteOh no! You can always substitute for citric acid (there's a recipe for that above). But bummer about the Kool Aid packets! ACK!
DeleteThese are fantastic! My son said he wanted his Valentine to say "I lava you" and when I found your volcano, he was sold!!! I started to make them today and did have some of mine start to react... although that could have been my overzealousness of the "squirt" of dish soap. I wonder if a powdered soap would work so there is liquid involved at all! Thanks for sharing your creativity!!
ReplyDeletePowdered soap would help for sure! There should still be plenty left to react even if you had a little bubbling. :) :) :) And I'm thrilled your son is using them for valentines! YAY! :)
DeleteThis is such an awesome idea! I made these with my daughter for her school Valentines this year. She is in Kindergarten and was able to help measure out ingredients and assemble the bags, such a fun project we could do together! One thing I did differently is I used the cheapo sandwich bags for the eruption powder...plastic wrap is the bane of my existence (lol) and after struggling with it for the first few I found the plastic baggies worked much easier.
ReplyDeleteOf course we had to test one out (so much fun!) the water worked great with the mix, but we decided to use some vinegar as well and Whoa! did we get an eruption then!
Thanks so much for the fun idea and all the printables that went along with it. :)
Awesome! Great idea with the plastic bags -- that does make spills much less likely. I'm so glad you both enjoyed it and I'm excited for the little ones that will get their own volcanoes!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteHi There.Could you please guide me as to how big the volcano should be?I printed out the template as is,and it seems really small.Was wondering if I printed it incorrectly :(.Going to try is soon with my 4 year old who is a dino fan for sure!Thanking you in advance.
ReplyDeleteI don't have one on-hand but it was right around 4 inches tall. I hope that helps! I made them small so that I could cut a bunch out of one big sheet of brown foam and so they'd easily fit in those clear goodie bags. :)
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