How to Set Up Long Lasting Potion Play
/When I was a little kid, my sisters and our neighbors spent hours playing in the backyard. At the edge of our property, there was a woodsy patch where we'd sit for hours grinding up onion grass between two rocks and making a stinky paste out of it. We'd add water and sandy dirt to change up the consistency, pretending we were making paints in a lab for a company that would sell our goods.
It sounds kinda silly now, but then? On those humid, buggy New Jersey afternoons it was pure summer magic. A little gang of girls ages 4-10, clumped together in a heap, swatting at mosquitos, working towards a common goal. We each had a job assigned by the oldest girls and we all listened to them for fear of getting kicked out of this magical little circle of play. I can almost smell the onion grass now.
Magical Potions
There's something about mixing potions that brings kids together in the most beautiful way. As an adult, I attempted to recreate some of that childhood magic in my adult home’s backyard by creating a Tinkerspace for my kids and their friends to play and create freely. (You can read about it here.)
Over my years raising three kids, I spent hours looking through my kitchen window, into the tinkerspace below. During that time, I watched children who struggled to connect in other settings find their place around a potion. The quiet child became the careful measurer, pouring steadily and precisely adding just the right amount of pink water into the container. The boisterous one, taking charge of when and how the sand got added, and which container it should get transferred to. Another child, naming the potions and telling the stories. Everyone had a role, everyone’s contribution counted, and everyone belonged.
Why Potion Play Matters
When children gather around their carefully created concoctions, they're building skills that no worksheet or app could ever teach:
They learn to negotiate and speak up ("Can I use the blue water after you?" “I need the funnel, it’s my turn next.” “Don’t put the blue in that one, put it in that one! ) and collaborate ("Hold this while I pour"). They practice patience as they wait for their turn with the coveted eyedropper, and resilience when their carefully crafted potion doesn't turn out as planned or gets accidentally knocked over by an excited neighbor.
I loved watching them work through disappointment when the color mix created a muddy brown instead of the anticipated vibrant purple. "That's okay," they'd say after a moment of frustration, "this can be our mud monster spell instead!" That ability to reiterate and pivot? That's the magic.
How to Get Started
Setting up a potion station doesn't have to be complicated, and you probably have everything you need already:
A few containers in different sizes (jam jars, plastic cups, old bottles, an old soap pump bottle)
Some tools for pouring and mixing (spoons, droppers, whisks)
Natural materials from your yard (sticks, leaves, flower petals, dirt)
Colored water (just add food coloring!)
A space where mess is okay (outside, or over an old dropcloth inside)
Then step back and let the magic happen. The less you direct, the more room there is for kids to figure things out together. You'll be amazed at the social dynamics that emerge—the leading, the creative thinking, the careful observing.
Yes, kids are learning about color mixing and basic science concepts when they make potions. They're developing fine motor skills as they use droppers and measure ingredients. But for me, it’s about the moments of concentration and discovery.
It's in the way they:
Immerse themselves in their world, using the materials to make sense of things they are wondering about
Develop problem-solving skills when they need to find alternatives for missing ingredients
Learn emotional regulation when a carefully crafted potion accidentally spills
Experience the pride and joy of creating something all their own
I remember one specific afternoon when watched my daughter completely absorbed in her work, her little face a picture of concentration. "This is my rainbow medicine," she whispered to herself, carefully adding drops of color one by one. "I am adding sugar so it’s not disgusting for my dollies.”
At that moment, I saw her processing her own bout with Strep throat the week before. It had been an all-out battle to get her to take the thick pink antibiotic every day, twice a day. It was a nightmare for her (and for me). As she mixed her “medicine,” I brought over one of her dolls and set it next to her with a medicine dropper from our medicine cabinet. And then I stepped away. Her face lit up! She carefully gave her dolly the “medicine” over and over, pretending the doll was screaming and crying as she worked to comfort her and tell her how important it was to take her medicine. I watched from afar, and I knew that she had just made some peace with the medicine wars that happened the week before.
What They're Really Learning
In our rush to prepare kids for the future, we sometimes forget that simple play experiences are already building exactly what they'll need: the ability to work with others, communicate ideas, handle disappointment, and think creatively.
When you allow your kids to experiment with potions, you're not just keeping them busy. You're giving them space to develop the social and emotional skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
And who knows? Maybe twenty years from now, they'll catch a whiff of something that reminds them of those potions, and for just a moment, they'll be transported back to these golden days of childhood, when the biggest decision was which color to add next.
I hope you enjoyed this blog! If you want to keep up with more Workspace for Children content, follow along on Substack by clicking HERE.
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Guess What?! My Substack is in the top 100 Best-Seller List for Parenting!! Thank you so much for being a part of TWFC community where we acknowledge that parenting can be hard and getting kids back to play can be tricky, but we are willing to work at it because it matters. You don't have to overhaul your parenting. Small, intentional shifts in how we approach play and connection with our children can make a tremendous difference in their development and our relationship with them.
That's why I'm so passionate about sharing simple, practical ideas that honor both your child's needs and your reality as a busy parent. I'm incredibly grateful for each of you who has subscribed, shared, and implemented these play-based approaches in your homes. Thank you for being here. x Lizzie
Do you want more ideas like this that actually work with your real life and real materials?
If you loved how simple (but powerful) this potion play was, you’ll love The Play Plan—a digital guide packed with 25 easy-to-follow play prompts for kids aged 2–8, all using stuff you probably already have at home.
It’s designed to help you support your child’s development without constantly searching Pinterest or buying new toys.
creating childhood memories/ what they're learning/ why it's more than just "keeping them busy"