Toy Thursday: Home Made Play Dough just like Mom Made!

A few weeks ago, our play group was hosted by another mom at her house. It was there that I walked down memory lane as she spread out a plastic table cloth on the floor, got out some toys, and placed some play dough on the table cloth.

Judah's first experience with play dough was actually a week previous when Gigi brought it on vacation for the boys to play with outside. Even so, I sat on the floor beside Judah to roll, pat, cut out, and roll again the blue and green play dough.

The play dough seemed soft enough (unlike regular store bought play dough), so I asked my friend, neighbor, and hostess, if this was indeed home made play dough. She grinned, responding yes and that she got the recipe from her mom from this book. I finished her sentence with Feed Me, I'm Yours (by Vicki Lansky)! I thought the recipe was the same from my own childhood and we both laughed when we talked about using the now brown book which happened to be second generation (falling apart) used.

Since Judah did so well on vacation with the play dough, I finally felt comfortable making this special fun home made activity for him just like my mom did for me. The softness makes this concoction so easy to roll with kid rolling pins, pound with meat tenderizers, and cut out with cookie cutters. This safe, kid proof recipe does not make me cringe as much if he happens to eat it. And we play to our hearts content making caterpillars and meatballs with fun colors of blue and green.

So yesterday, I finished memory lane as we made our own play dough. The recipe seemed easy and quick enough for an excited kid to help. This inexpensive dough lasts for a long time in a sealed container as we come back for more and more fun. Clean up stayed to a minimum as this dough allows easy wiping and the toys can be run through the dishwasher.

In a medium pot, mix:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
Once combined, add:
1 cup water
2 teaspoons food coloring
1 tablespoon oil

Cook over medium heat and stir (about 3-5 mins). It will look like a globby mess, and you’ll be sure it’s not turning out, but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn out and kneed on a lightly floured surface. Store in an air tight container or plastic bag. It’s edible, but not tasty.

When using play dough, don't neglect those necessary pieces of equipment: cookie cutters, rolling pins (real or play), plastic knives, bottle caps, extra flour, uncooked spaghetti or macaroni, etc., etc.

Thanks Lindsay for taking us down memory lane. You can visit more of Lindsay's ideas at Musings and Tidbits. And yes, I found my copy again of the book!

Make Monday: Bubbles!

Up...up...down...pop! Judah has really wanted to play with bubbles lately. Last week, we even took them indoors to play on a rainy day. Some times he will chase and pop them. Other times, he wants to do it himself (like any toddler).

This weekend, while I was not looking he dumped out the soap on the ground, stepping in it with his bare feet. Then he thought he would broom it up making the concrete very soapy white. Oh well...

Needless to say, we are out of soap (I wonder why). He has several battery operated little bubble machines but we have no more soap. He has a flashlight bubble maker, a battery operated wand, and a bubble gun that allows no spillage. To continue our bubble fun with these cool toys, I thought we would try to make some home made soap.

This recipe I used long ago as part of a purple ribbon 4-H child development project (now I am glad my mom made me do it). I recommend letting the old kids or an adult do the blowing. Let the toddlers and smaller kids do the chasing.

9 cups water
1 cup dish soap
1/2 cup glycerin

or

1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons dish soap
1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup

Mix ingredients together. And have lots of a fun!

Make Monday: Fingerpaints and Potato Art!

Last week, Judah and I had our neighbor friend over for some finger painting and potato art! What a blast the boys had playing in the paint and creating their own stamp masterpieces.

We started by gathering up all the supplies....vinyl table cloth, aprons or bibs, sheets of paper or roll of paper, paint, paper plates, potatoes, and some old rags for cleanup. The boys were good about rolling up their sleeves, putting on their paint shirts, and sitting on the chairs at the covered kitchen table for some serious fun.

We used blue, washable, tempera paint (you can find in the store) on paper plates to keep things simple and under control. This time we used regular white card stock I had laying around the house but you may use a roll of paper as both the table cloth and the paper.

If you do not have paint around the house, try mixing your own recipe at home with ingredients straight out of your cupboard:

3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups of cold water
food coloring
dish detergent
4 plastic or paper cups

Mix the sugar and the cornstarch together in the saucepan. Then add the water and mix a little more. Cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time. The mixture should start to boil, then thicken. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove from the stove, cool, and pour into 4 plastic cups. Add a little food coloring and a drop of detergent to each cup. This recipe is recommended for toddlers and above, depending on the child.

The boys dipped their hands in the finger paint to make hand prints and other designs for about 30 minutes. We discovered you can use your fingers for other inventions like connect the dots or making snakes. For some added fun, cut potatoes into shapes for stamps. I cut out squares and triangles for the boys to dip into their paint and stamp onto their paper for additional designs.


Cleanup was easy and minimal (which is what a mom likes to hear). I gave each boy a medium sized bowl of warm, soapy water to wash their hands. They continued playing in the water at the table, washing any brushes and items that needed cleaned, until their own hands were clean. We dried up and while they had a snack, I rinsed out the bowls and wiped down the paint from the vinyl table cloth and the spills on the carpet. Then I put away the supplies for another day and threw the aprons into the washing machine. That was it.

The boys certainly had a fun morning painting and stamping. And I enjoyed myself knowing the easy preparation would make this activity go smoothly, especially with being easy to manage and clean up. The end result was a happy mom and some really cute paintings for our fridge!

Make Monday: Magic Mud Part II!

We made Magic Mud this morning! Did you? How did it go? We had lots of fun making a gooey mess with our hands, picking it up and letting it run between our fingers. The blue stuff felt funny and hard but then it would drip like water. We added some shapes to let the slime fall from our hands.

Judah played for about 30 minutes with his blue concoction. Sitting in his high chair, clean up was minimal. The food coloring did stain our hands but not the tray or the carpet (that it fell on). We were able to wipe with soap and water right away and sweep up any dried, blue flakes that may have fallen to the floor. And it is a good thing it was safe since Judah even tasted the odd texture. What fun this morning!

If you have not already, try making your own Magic Mud.

Make Monday: Magic Mud!

When I was in high school, I put together a short book of "Homemade Fun" activities for 4-H Fair. Being a project for Child Development, I had four younger siblings in which to practice and experiment on. These cold days indoors, I am glad I took the time then to find these homemade recipes. I can simply open up my notebook and find one for the worst of winter days. Join me this Monday for such a day!

Today, we are going to make Magic Mud, a silly putty-type substance the kids can play with in their hands!

While your kids are seating themselves at the vinyl table cloth, covered table, you can mix up this easy homemade fun in minutes. It is safe, easy, and lots of fun for all!

Mix Together 5 tablespoons of cornstarch to 3 tablespoons of water. Add your desired color of food coloring. The substance will look hard but when you pick it up it will run through your hands. To make slime, use green food coloring! This recipe is recommended for children over 1 year of age.

Find some fun containers to play with. I highly recommend a plastic table cloth and an (a) apron/bib for the younger kids even though it is washable. Be careful though of using food coloring that will stain. For small kids, you can just put them in their high chair. It certainly makes a gooey mess but the fun is totally worth it!

Hope you survive your Monday inside this winter day!