Homestead Blessings: 100 days of Pinterest--Day 1

I've been told that I'm a very "pinteresting" person. Everyday, I fill my Pinterest boards with delicious looking recipes, cute craft ideas, funny sayings, and much more. This summer, I've decided to do something with some of these pins. It is my goal to try something new and pinteresting every day. From a household cleaning tip to a new yummy recipe, I have set out to do 100 Days of Pinterest! Please bare with me, as I am extremely new to blogging. This will be a learning journey for me. Not only do I hope to begin to hone my blogging skills, but my photo taking skills as well.

So here it goes:

Pinteresting Day #1: Rock Candy

Those of you who know me, know that we homeschool our 6 (and a half) kids. This year, we have been studying Chemistry. With just a couple more days of school left, I thought it would be perfect for today's pin to be one that relates to our Chemistry co-op. Every Friday, we meet at my mother-in-law's house for our school day of Language Arts and Science.

In non-scientific terms, when making rock candy, the sugar forms crystals which represent the formation of rock crystals and how molecules bond to one another. For more "scientific" information check out this site. To make our rock candy and learn more about molecules, I used this pin from another blogger.

(Click on the photo to take you to the pin)

Before you begin, gather your supplies. Here's what you will need:

A ton of Sugar (we did about 2 cups for each kid)

Water

Food Coloring

Candy Flavoring (if desired)

Bamboo Skewers

Jars or Glass Cups

Clothespins

(We used heavy duty plastic cups since there were a lot of kids making rock candy AND I didn't want to use up all of my canning jars or glass cups)

Once you've gathered your supplies, it time to get cookin'! In order that each child could help, we had them each cook their own sugar/water solution. In a small saucepan, we added 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water. A 2:1 ratio gives a good sugar solution. The sugar won't dissolve with this mixture. Heat the solution until it begins to simmer and the sugar and water are well incorporated. The other blogger states that there is no need to bring to a rolling boil or any set temperature.

While some of the kids were cooking their sugar, the rest prepared their bamboo skewers. Break or cut each skewer so that your skewer is about 3/4 of its original length (be sure to sure to discard the pointy end so no one loses an eyeball). Dip the skewers into water and then roll in sugar.

Be sure the skewer is well coated. This will give the sugar something to stick to as it starts to crystalize and climb.

Back to the sugar solution:

Once the sugar solution has simmered and is well combined, let it set for 10 minutes. Afterward, pour it into your jars or cups.

Dip the end of an unused skewer (we used the end that we cut off earlier) into the food coloring gel and stir it into your sugar solution. You can use regular food coloring, but the gels give a nice bright color. If desired, add the candy flavoring (only use a drop or two, very strong stuff). We used cinnamon and peppermint.

Once you have your desired color, take your sugared skewer and clip the clothes pin to it near the top. Using a second clothes pin, secure the skewer in the middle of the cup. Be sure not to touch the skewer to the side or bottom. This will inhibit the sugar from climbing properly.