Making homemade vanilla extract is an excellent homeschool activity. So much learning in one simple project and we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor after it’s marinated a while when they help me bake some goodies #winwin These also make great gifts for neighbors, coworkers, teachers, etc. You can keep them perpetually by topping them off with vodka as you use the extract.

Incorporated math while learning about measuring, portions and quantities, and fractions.

Tons of science and chemistry learning about distillation and fermentation along with properties of food preservation.

Exploring geography using two different vanilla beans from 2 of our continent units.

Reflection and writing while we compared the size, shape, smell, and properties of both beans. Madagascar vanilla beans had less floral sweet notes than the Tahitian beans from Indonesia but were bigger and more oily.

Can’t wait to see how our extract turns out!

Update: After about 3 months they had turned a nice amber color, after a year and they’re still going strong!

Want to make your own? Here’s our Shopping list:

• A decent vodka, we opted for Absolute, we got a large bottle since we used 7 oz per jar
• Tahitian Vanilla Beans this is a pack of 10 which was easy to split into 2-3 beans per jar
• Madagascar Vanilla Beans also a pack of 10
• Swing top glass jars these are fabulous and reusable, would also make cute gifts, they also come with the little chalk labels