Toddler Craft & Activities

Lola92

Okay so I have been thinking about starting a thread similar to this for a while now, I think it would be a great idea and resource for parents. I have found myself stuck indoors on many's a rainy day wondering what to do with my girl so I'm sure many of you are the same! The cheaper & more easily available the resources the better!

Feel free to contribute, make suggestions for improvement & extension of play etc.

So to start an old one but a good one!

Homemade Play Dough
This is a really simple recipe for play dough that is non-toxic, if a little salty, and can be altered in a few ways for different benefits. Great for sensory play, creativity, colours, fine motor development etc. It can work for age groups from older babies right up. I find older kids get more play time from this as they are more easily able to manipulate the dough, make various characters, and have the imagination to play for longer. It can be baked in the oven to harden and magnets attached to use on the fridge or to stand on the mantel piece/kitchen counter etc. or used as a new item in the toy box.

To save on the initial outlay if you do not have food colourings in the cupboard you can get the basic red, blue and yellow and mix these to form new colours ending up with purple, green, orange, brown, etc. More or less food colouring can be added to the mixture to achieve dark or light colours in the dough.

*NB* This is best used in rooms that are not carpeted as it can get mashed in quite easily by little hands and feet!

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour - plain or self raising are fine.
2 cups of warm water
1 cup of salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cream of tartar (optional but makes it more stretchy)

Food Colouring of choice - liquid, paste or powder will do.
Essential oils or extracts can be used to give a nice smell too.

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a pot & stir until combined. You can sieve the dry ingredients if you want it really smooth but a few lumps won't do any harm.
2. On a low heat stir until it starts to resemble mashed potato consistency.
3. When the mixture is no longer sticky and will come away from the sides into a ball remove from the heat and allow to cool until at a workable temperature.
4. Turn out onto a clean dry surface and knead until it is a play-dough like consistency and reasonably stretchy.
5. Separate out into the required number of pieces, one for each colour.
6. Roll each piece into a ball, making a well for the food colouring. Knead until the colour has been well mixed into the dough and is roughly an even colour throughout. Repeat for each colour.
*Be warned - the raw food colouring will stain your hands so try to avoid touching it or wear some gloves! It is fine once worked into the dough.*

Storage:
This can be kept for weeks in an airtight container, old tupperware or takeaway trays are ideal. If it starts to get a little dry you can knead in a small amount of warm water rather than making a whole new batch to get another while out of it.

And some pictures



And one by Mammy

xzanti

Great idea my little guy just loves to squish stuff in his little mits.. usually his dinner

Must give that a try some rainy day

caprilicious

Great idea for a thread
A fave of mine (albeit a messy one) is 'Gloop'. It's basically just cornflour with water mixed through it til it has a nice runny consistency.

Babies/toddlers love this messy mix and it's great for sensory play.

It has a slightly odd consistency when run through their fingers, and dries pretty fast when dropped onto a surface.

It's messy but cleans up easy enough once dry.

Here's a better description of it;
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/toddler/development/stimulating/letsplay/19month/gloop/

crazy cat lady

Myself and Megan have 'Dolly Disco's' on rainy days!

Basically throw on some dress up clothes, grab a dolly, turn the music up loud and dance around like loonies with our dollies!

Zero mess and oodles of fun!