Make
Play Dough
Young children love to play with dough. And
no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes.
Here's a recipe to make at home. What you'll
need:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Food coloring
Food extracts (almond, vanilla, lemon, or peppermint)
1 medium saucepan
Things to stick in the dough (Popsicle sticks, straws)
Things to pound with (like a toy mallet)
Things to make impressions with (jar lids, cookie cutters, or bottle caps)
What to do:
1. Add the food coloring to the water. Then mix all of the ingredients together in a pan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring until it forms a soft ball.
3. Let the mixture cool. Knead slightly. Add food extracts to different chunks of the
dough if you want different smells.
4. Give some to your toddler or preschooler, so he can pound it, stick things in it, make
impressions in it, and create all kinds of things.
Play dough is a great way to develop hand
muscles and be creative. And cooking together, with all the measuring, is the perfect way
to begin learning mathematics. Letting your child handle some dough while it is still
slightly warm and some when it has cooled off is a terrific way to teach him about
temperatures. Play dough can be made ahead of time and stored in an air-tight bag or
container.
Kitchen Cutups!
Here are some recipes popular with preschoolers. Things
always seem to taste better when you make them yourself!
What you'll need:
Knife For applewiches:
1 apple, cheese slices
For funny-face sandwich:
1 piece of bread; peanut butter, cream cheese, or egg salad; green pepper, celery,
radishes, carrot curls; olives; nuts; hard-boiled egg slices;
tiny shapes of cheese; apples and raisins
For fruit Popsicle's: fruit juice (any kind), an ice cube
tray or small paper cups, yogurt, mashed or crushed fruit, Popsicle sticks
For bumps on a log: celery, peanut butter, raisins.
What to do
1. Choose a safe spot to cook where you won't have to
worry about making a mess.
2. Tell your child what the ingredients are. Talk about
what you are doing as you go along. Ask and answer questions.
3. Let him smell, taste, and touch as you go. Let him
(with your help) pour, stir, measure, and help clean up.
4. Applewiches. Core an apple. Cut the apple crosswise
into thick slices. Put cheese slices between the slices. Cheddar cheese is particularly
good. Eat like a sandwich.
5. Funny-face sandwich. Cut the bread into a circle.
Spread with cream cheese, peanut butter, or egg salad. Decorate using green pepper,
celery, radishes, carrot curls, olives, nuts, hard-boiled egg slices, tiny shapes of
cheese, apples, or raisins for eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
6. Fruit Popsicles. Pour the fruit juice into small paper
cups or an ice cube tray. Place a Popsicle stick in each cup or compartment before the
juice is completely frozen. Return to the freezer until frozen solid. For variations, mix
yogurt with the juice before freezing for a creamier Popsicle, or add mashed or crushed
fruit such as strawberries, pineapple, or banana.
7. Bumps on a log. Spread peanut butter on the celery
stalks. Decorate with raisins. Great snacks!
Bookmarks
Materials:
Scissors
Colored construction paper
Glue sticks or white glue
Stickers, glitter or cutouts, markers
A hole punch
Embroidery thread
Clear contact paper
1. Cut 2 1/4" X 7 1/2" rectangle from construction paper and two 2 1/2" X 7
3/4" from clear contact paper. You may make patterns from light cardboard.
2. Children should write their name on one side of the paper.
Decorate the other side of the paper with a theme idea from your party.
3. Use stickers, markers, glitter or cut outs for children to decorate their bookmark.
Make sure the decorations remain fairly flat against the paper.
4. Take the backing off one piece of contact paper and lay face up on the table. Place
bookmark in the center of contact paper and smooth in place.
5. Take the backing off the second piece of contact paper and place over the bookmark.
Smooth together.
6. Trim contact paper to 1/8" from edge of bookmark.
7. Punch a hole in the top of the bookmark.
8. Cut 10 strands of embroidery floss 8" long.
9. Place strands together with ends even, fold in half and thread folded end through hole.
Don't pull all the way through, pull just enough through to put your finger in the
loop. Thread all the loose ends through the loop and pull up snug.
Make a Candy
Train
Materials to make one train:
Low temp glue gun
1 roll of lifesavers
1 pkg. gum
4 round peppermint candies
1 Hershey's Kiss
1 roll Starburst candies
1 mini chocolate bar
1. Take the lifesaver roll and glue onto the package of gum. Glue the peppermints to
the lower sides for wheels.
2. Glue the 2 Starburst candies together, then onto the lifesaver body to make the
train cab.
3. Cut the paper off the top of the Hershey's Kiss and flatten the point a
little by pushing it on a hard surface. Glue point down to the lifesaver roll for
the train's chimney.
4. Glue the mini chocolate bar on the cab for the roof.
