WE Made Butter!

We made butter- yes we did!
You probably thought we had discovered a long lost treasure or something.  But making butter in this family is a big deal.  We are a family who enjoys the warm smell of baked goods in the morning and brimming biscuits in the evening.  We cannot keep butter around long enough.

So when I stumbled upon Mari-Ann's blog, Counting Coconuts and her tutorial about making butter I had to give it a try.  As we made butter we talked about things that turn from liquid to a solid and debated whether or not whip cream was a liquid or a solid. My friend also mentioned that the left over liquid was buttermilk.  I can't wait to use it in my pancakes!

In my teaching days we were always encouraged to include as many subjects in a lesson as possible and this had them all.  Here are some possible subjects you can cover with this activity:

1. Math: It took 20 minutes to make the butter by shaking it.  We discussed how long each of us should shake it.  There are a myriad of possibilities for math in this activity.  You could also discuss weight and volume.

2. Science: We kept checking to see how the whipping cream changed as we shook it.  Next time we are going to stop at every stage and record the changes we see.

3. Language: We will also write a "How To Book" on making butter.  Using words like first, then, next, finally are important.  We will include diagrams with labels.

Our friends helped us shake that Whipping cream!

Make sure you pick a container that seals!  We had a few spills.

Heaven!

Lesson learned: It's always better with butter!