Clean Fun

I recently led a soap making class for 15 second to fifth graders. It was part of a fund raiser for the school. The kids made soaps of different colors, shapes, sizes and scents. They then either wrapped them up with some fancy paper (which was actually just wallpaper samples) or made some origami boxes to put them in.

These soaps can easily be made at home. In fact, it would be a lot simpler to make at home with only 1-2 kids! Here are the whats and how tos of making your own soaps at home.

Ingredients

A block of clear or opaque glycerin soap
Molds of different shapes
Scents*
Soap colors* (Primary colors give you more flexibility in mixing colors)
1 or 2 cup plastic measuring cup
Wooden stir sticks

* The ones with either a dropper or in a squeeze bottle work best
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First, cut up the glycerin soap into chunks that you can put into the measuring cup. You will be microwaving the chunks into a liquid form. Depending on the size of the molds, you will want to put in fewer chunks for smaller molds and more chunks for larger molds. This is because the soap cools off pretty quickly and starts to solidify within minutes. You will want to set the microwave anywhere between 1-2 minutes depending on the number of chunks in your cup. Be careful when you take it out of the microwave. The soap can get very HOT.

Have you kid put a few drops of colors into the liquid soap. They can get very creative and mix different colors together. But if they mix too many colors together, they'll get the same effect as in mixing paint colors....it starts turning a dull dark shade. The kids should stir the soap with the wooden sticks to make sure the color is mixed in well.

Now have your child put in a couple of drops of the scent. I find that the younger kids liked the fruity smells (e.g., orange, apple, peach, etc). Vanilla was also a big hit with the kids. Stir the soap a little more.

Voila, it's time to pour the soap into the mold. If you have more than 1 child, it helps to label the molds by putting their name on masking tape and just sticking it on the mold. It prevents a lot of "That's mine arguments" later on.

Put the soaps in the refrigerator and it should be ready in about 30 minutes.

Variations
Layering colors
You can create a multi layered effect by only partially filling the mold with soap, refrigerating it, then successively repeating the process with different colors until you have different colors of soap in each layer. A little time intensive but the effect is quite pretty. If you use different layers of opaque and clear glycerin soap, it's even more stunning.

Chunks of soaps in the soap
Another pretty effect is to put different colored chunks of soap into your soap. You need to make the soap in two stages. In the first stage, I made bar soaps with different colors. After they cooled off, I cut them up into smaller little pieces (about 1/4 inch cube). You can also have your child cut them up with if they are old enough to use a knife. With my kids, I first cut the soap up into 1/2 inch chunks and then gave the kids plastic knives to cut up into even smaller pieces. Surprisingly, the cutting part was one of their favorite parts.

After you have the chunks of soap, you can start the soap making process again. This time, you have the kids also put the chunks of soap in after they have added the colors and scent. I find it was easier to put the chunks into the mold and then have the kids pour the liquid soap into it.