Well, I can't seem to decide what to wear to my party so how about if we put that off for a little while and do an experiment that is like magic? Would you like to do it too? Okay, the directions are below. Make sure you have adult supervision while doing this okay?

Find an old shallow bowl (ask Mom to help you find one. You don't want to use her good china) J

Get 5 chunks of charcoal and put them in the center of the bowl side by side.

Mix together the following:

4 Tablespoons non-iodized salt

4 Tablespoons of liquid bluing

4 Tablespoons of H2O (water)

1 Tablespoon of household Ammonia

Pour mixture very slowly over the charcoal. Be careful not to spill it outside of the bowl.

Drip food coloring on the charcoal that is sticking up out of the liquid. You might like to put a few different colors of food coloring on the charcoal to make it more interesting.

Now put your bowl in a place that won't be disturbed and be careful not to move the bowl around too much. In a few hours you should see your "crystal garden". It should look something like this:

Wow, that was lots of fun and it wasn't magic at all. It was science! I love to do experiments with science. After the holidays are over, come back and visit me again and we'll do some more together. Okay?