Science is a serious business at my house. We don't kid around about those tin-can phones and magnetic rocks. They are not toys. They are serious and require serious faces. And snacks, because everything is better with snacks. Well, everything except cleaning the garbage disposal. That is not better with snacks.
See, I have a boy child that loves science. LOVES science. I think he would marry it if it were a girl. And also if it had the "cutest face in the whole world." We have been doing science "experiments" with him since he was three years old. At first they were the "look what happens when we put food coloring in water" kind of experiments. But he's worked his way up to growing plants in the window sill and exploding soap in our microwave.
Like the loving, rational person that I am, I've taken something absolutely wholesome and desirable and twisted it into something that I can use against my darling child for my own personal advantage. Instead of bribing him with candy or fun outings, we use charts and reasoning and call it science. For example ... I tell him my hypothesis that going to bed 30 minutes earlier will make him not tired in the morning. So we make a chart and he goes to bed (happily and willingly mind you) 30 minutes earlier every day for a week. At the end of the week, he realizes that he's been horribly tricked and goes back to squeezing every extra minute out of his bedtime ritual. He's going to hate me when he gets older.
Can you guess all the cutters I used to make these cookies? I guess, that would have been a better question to ask before actually SHOWING you all the cutters. Let's do our own little experiment, shall we? I'll tell you all the answers and then see if you get them right.
1. Star Cutter (I used a star cutter that is ever so slightly wonky. WHICH I LOVE. But if you don't love wonky try the Fox Run cutters. They are solid. And perfect.)
2. Phi Greek Letter (You have to cut off one of the edge parts. Is there an actual word for those edge parts? Quick, somebody tell me so I can pretend to be all educated and stuff.)
3. Wrapped Candy Cutter
4. Paw Print Cutter (A super friend just barely sent this to me and ITS PERFECT for a little scientist!)
5. Baby Rattle Cutter (Just cut off the part by the bottom circle.)
6. Weird Korean Cutter (I couldn't find anything like it, but you could use THIS CUTTER instead and leave off one of the atoms. I don't think anyone will mind.)
7. 6 Petal Flower Cutter (I always use flower cutters for splotches and splashes. Bend them around a bit as you are moving them to the cookie sheet.)
Did you get them all right? You did? Way to go! I'm so proud of you!!
I have another experiment. (Seriously, I've had a lot of "thinking up experiments practice.") Let's make these guys and see if you love them. Let me know your results and we'll make a chart or graph or something with stickers and toothpicks...
1. Use 20 second skin colored icing and make a face. On the cookie. Not like an actual face where you run the risk of your face freezing like that if you don't stop it. Just a sciencey kid type face with icing on the cookie. Let it dry for an hour.
2. Add some hair. I was thinking that it would also be fun to use thick icing and a toothpick and to make it all messy and spiky. That's what I would do next time. I like messy icing science hair. Let it dry for another hour or so.
3. Add some big ol' rimmed glasses (or goggles whichever is more appealing to your little scientist) with thicker black icing and a #3 tip. Again, let it dry for a couple of hours.
4. Fill the rims with just a little bit of white icing and immediately add a drop of blue and then a drop of black. Make sure you don't put too much white icing on or it will overflow after adding the other dots of icing. Give it a few minutes to set before adding the details. You don't want to bump it and ruin the eyes. (Hypothetically.)
Make a tiny nose and mouth with icing. Add some freckles with the tip of a toothpick and brown icing OR a food color marker. Cranberry petal dust is my favorite cutie-cheeks color.
Do you guys have any fun science projects I should share with my little scientist? He just found his swim goggles last week and has been begging for more experiments!
