Invisible Writing

What You Do:

1. Have your child plan her secret message before she begins. The shorter, the better.
2. Once she knows what she wants to say, it's time to create the invisible ink. First, help her juice 1/2 of a lemon into a cup.
3. Set the cup aside.
4. Let your child create a card as she normally would. She should fold the white paper in half to create the base for her card.
5. Have her decorate the front of the card with glitter, crayons or construction paper -- whatever she wants! Just make sure the decoration is in the center of the card. She should leave blank space around the decoration for her invisible message.
6. Let her write a normal message inside the card.
7. Now it's time to add the invisible writing. Show your child how to gently dip a cotton swab or a small paint brush into the lemon "ink."
8. Help her paint her message onto the card. The lemon should dry in just a matter of minutes.
9. It wouldn't be a very fun invisible message if it stayed invisible forever. Make sure the card's recipient knows the secret to unlocing the secret message: heat. If the white paper is heated with an iron, the lemon writing will show through.