The World of Play Dough

There as so many different "recipes" for making your own play dough, it's quite overwhelming. I recently got a recipe handout at the local play center that we go to once a week and gave it a try. The play dough came out way too moist, so I will alter the recipe for you to include less water (you can always add more if you need to).

You need:
- 1 1/4 cups of flour
- 1/4 cup salt
- a few drops of food coloring (or dry unsweetened Kool-aid)
- 1/2 cup of boiling water, cooled down (the recipe was for 1 cup of water)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Get a large bowl
2. Mix flour, salt together
3. Add water and ail to large bowl
4. Stir
5. Mix with hands for about 5 minutes, until smooth and color is blended.
6. Put the playdough in a zipper bag or airtight container for up to 2 months.

Too much water!!

Still a bit moist... I just had to add a bit more flour!

Here are some more links to other recipes. I personally like the cooked method a lot, it just takes a bit more time.
Have fun!!

Cooked Method


Uncooked Method

Ice Cube Bags/Colored Ice Cubes

*from the "Toddler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner*


You need:
- Ice cube tray
- Water
- Food colouring of your choice
- Zip Lock Bags (as many as you'd like to make)

Add food colouring to the water and pour into the ice cube tray. Good choices of colours are red, yellow and blue.

Once they are frozen, take out two ice cubes at a time (ex. red+yellow/ red+blue/yellow+blue) and put into a zip lock bag. Watch the ice cubes melt and the colours mix to form new ones.

~ I loved this activity because of the 'sensory' component that it had. My daughter loved touching the ice cubes, and I loved the fact that they were in the bags so that I didn't have to worry about her putting them in her mouth or swallowing the them. ~

You can also use ice cubes during your child's bath time. Just add a few coloured cubes into the bathtub and watch the cubes shrink. Your toddler will love it!

Staying in.

I started this blog mainly to try to keep myself motivated to keep my toddler busy and content during these tough winter months. We live in Canada, and winters here are pretty rough... I've been dreading the snow and the cold since July! This year however (as opposed to last year), I feel a bit more prepared to conquer the days being spent inside our apartment. I still go outside about twice a week to take my daughter to the library and a playgroup, but not much else gets done outside these days. It's just.too.cold.

My mom sent me a book the other day in the mail that really got me inspired to get creative with my little one. I can't wait to try some of the fun stuff suggested in the book!

If you read this blog and have some awesome creative ideas of your own, please let me know, and I'll join your blog too! I'm always looking for some new ideas!