Pretend Play George’s Marvelous Medicine

Recently Vin and I caught a reading of George’s Marvelous Medicine at our local library. Vinnie loved the story; we brought it home and read a chapter each night before bedtime. One of our favorite things to do is turn stories into playtime so I knew we would end up playing along as we read.

George’s Marvelous Medicine really lends itself to concoction making. We read through the description of George’s cupboard raiding, looking for disgusting ingredients, and then looked in our own cupboards.
Using empty bottles in the recycling, I gave Vin colored water, milk, vinegar, and baking soda, along with washing up liquid, lemon juice, almond essence, face cream and toothpaste, aiming for a range of different colors, scents and textures. Talk about a sensory experience. I also knew from a recent baking soda experiment that some of the ingredients would react with each other to create different effects.

I set out measuring scoops and a big mixing bowl, then Vin and his friend started concocting. By the end of our playtime, we had a gross vibrant pink, curdled, bubbly, frothy mixture. The kiddos totally had a blast, and chattered away about “making horrible medicine for grandma” as they played.

Exploring a story after you read it helps deepen a child’s understanding of the book; there is so much inspiration to be found in children’s literature. (See my pinboard of Book Related Activities for more book-themed ideas.)

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Bio: Charlotte is a twenty-something mum to Little Vin, early years childminder, playdough maker and believer in the power of playdates.