Playdough Fun for All Ages

source (I didn't do these but super Cute!!)

This morning not only did I teach a room full of high schoolers (early morning seminary/religion class), I also had a house full young ones as it was my day to host pre-school.  Thus, I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone (so to speak) and made a huge batch of playdough for both:) 

Recipe:

2 cups flour
2 cups hot water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
Fragrance/color: food coloring, koolaid mix, ground cinnamon, scented oils (fyi: it will stink otherwise)

Directions:

In a pan, add water and oil and begin heating on medium heat .  In the meantime,  mix the flour, salt, and cream of tarter together in a bowl.  Add dry ingredients to pan and stir (at a low heat).  It will begin to resemble mashed potatoes. It's ready when the dough pulls away from the side and clumps together in the center of the pan.  Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, cool, then knead until it becomes silky smooth.
Note: I've read that if it is still sticky, you need to cook it longer...and I've also read that using hot water and pre-mixing wet & dry ingredients seperately before combining will prevent any problems (it worked for me:)
To Color, Divide the dough into balls, make an indentation in center, pour or drop in coloring and/or frangrance of choice and knead it until evenly distributed.

Kids Activity:

There are so many fun learning activities to do with playdough.   I got a lot of my ideas for this activity here. Here are some of the things I did with the pre-schoolers.

SKILL: fine motor dexterity and strength; hand-eye coordination, visualizing

• Pound it
• Roll it
• Squish it
• Pull it apart/tear/cut it

SKILL: sensory information such as shapes, texture, temperature, touch, size

• roll out circles, triangles, rectangles, squares
• make different shapes: flat, round, tall, short, long, curved, straight, etc
• Size (form a small, medium and large ball)
• Textures (roll into a smooth ball, make it bumpy)

SKILL: vocabulary and descriptive language, measuring, counting, pre-writing
• Alphabet: Have adult form the letters of the alphabet and let kids guess, or have kids make them
• Have child form the letters of his/her name
• Numbers: make the shapes of the numbers 1-10 and/or roll out some little balls to show how many for each
• Counting: have kids make a specified number of circles or have them count the circles you’ve already made.

This was most popular w/ the kids, they
made little balls to fill in the circles provided
(I got them here)

SKILL:  problem-solving, planning, imagining and pretending

• Simple math (addition, subtract, fractions…it’s easy to see the meaning of ¼  or  ½ when you divide a ball or disk into 4 pieces)
• Using their imagination, children create their own little masterpiece (a fine art lesson too)

For Teens (& adults):  In seminary class (a good Family Home Evening lesson too), I explained how God tries to "shape" our lives like the potter's clay (Jeremiah 18-19) if we will but let Him.  Could you just imagine the clay jumping off the potter's wheel exclaiming "I don't need you, I can do this on my own!"  In the same way, do we sometimes jump off the wheel of the Great Potter (God)? I ended by having them shape/sculpt the clay to represent something important to them.

cheers!

A Park Safari Adventure

Who says your third trip to the park this week has to be a bore?  On our last outing, my munchkin forgot all about the swings as we embarked on a safari advanture.  You'd be surprised at what we found at a little park in the middle of the city.

I couldn't believe the numer of squirrels we found.  Some were foraging for food, others posing as statues, and of course those daring tightrope (phoneline) walkers.  I must admit, these little critters are hilarious to watch.  My little 2 yr old was perplexed that they wouldn't come to her beck and call yet they would allow her to run up menacingly close before scurrying up a tree just barely out of arms length (such a tease:)  And have you ever noticed just how acrobatic these little fellows are?  They'd leap from tree to tree without breaking a teenie squirrel sweat!  They were definately our favorite of the day.

To our next surprise, in a tiny creek bed, we found turtles.  They blended in so well against the dark rocks and rustic wood that only a safari hunter on the look out would have even noticed their stealth position.  Whoever coined the term "slow as a turtle" should have seen how these critters disappeared in a blink (literally) when we stepped too close for their liking.  I peered into the water trying to find their new position and all I saw were tiny minnows (our next find of the day)!  If I see them on a future trip, I'll inquire into their magic disappearing act.

I don't know what I like more about birds---their beauty, their variety, or their songs. 

It was fun to see them hop from limb to limb or chase each other (the big birds like to bully & chase the small ones). Once again, my little one was quite indignant when they refused to stand still as she charged them full speed ahead.  There were no ducks or geese to feed on this trip (another favorite activity) which was a relief because I forgot the bread.

So go ahead, I double dog dare you! 
Make your next park day a magical safari adventure.
 

cheers,

Leanna

Fun with Balloons Activity

This balloon activity was a roaring success with the kiddos at our weekly mommy preschool group.  The original idea, which I tweaked, came from Margaret Read MacDonald's book entitled Bookplay: 101 Creative Themes to Share with Young Children (Amazon.com link). 

  

 Supplies Needed:

1. Balloons (minimum of 2 per child---1 for play &1 for balloon craft below)
2. Mirror
3. 3 Storybooks about balloons such as these (more Amazon links):
• Miss Eva and the Red Balloon     by Karen M. Glennon
• Balloons, Balloons, Balloons by Dee Lillegard
• Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mysteryby Jamie Lee Curtis
4. Balloon Person Craft
• construction or printer paper to make eyes & feet
• crayons or markers to color eyes & feet
• permanent markers to draw balloon features
• tape
5. Snacks & drinks

The Activity

Have children sit "criss-cross applesauce" in a circle. 
Do not give out any balloons yet, just hold one up for kids to see

• Ask what sort of things you can do with a balloon (blow it up, pop, toss it, bump it, etc)
• Read Story #1
• Take 1 balloon and have kids pass it around the circle while singing the following words (to the tune "The Farmer in the Dell")
• We're passing the balloon, we're passing the balloon. Hi Ho the Merry O, We're passing the balloon.
• We're bumping the balloon (bump the balloon lightly to each other)
• We're kissing the balloon
• Read Story #2
• Balloon Races (blow up balloons but do not tie; on count of 3 everyone let's go of their balloon)
• Balloon Orchestra (blow up balloon but do not tie; on count of 3 everyone makes music with balloon by pulling/stretching apart the rubber just below opening)

Now give each child their own blown-up & tied balloon

• See who can bump their balloon in the air the longest without it touching the ground
• Balloon Static:  have children rub balloon on their heads to create static electricity.   Use a mirror to show the children how their hair is drawn toward the balloon.
• Read Story #3
• Craft: Make a balloon person.  I provided feet templates which the children decorated (see the work of my 2 yr old below); the moms drew the eyes which children stuck on with tape; moms drew mouth/nose if children desired with a permanent marker.  Be creative, there are lots of ways to do this activity and many more balloon crafts besides this (you can Google "balloon crafts for kids" to find lots of ideas and pictures)
• Snack Time