What do you do when you've been planning all summer to get together and hike with some of your favorite little friends (because we love to hike and picnic and wade in the water), and every time it's planned, it rains... and your running out of time, because school starts next week, and you've promised them we would play together before school starts... and those sweet little faces look up at you in serious expectation on Sunday morning, while giving you a big hug (how's that for the best run on sentence you've seen in a while!)? You say, " This is the week and we will definitely play, rain or shine!" And then you begin developing plan B because the weather forecast calls for rain. Surprise, surprise.
The rain however, did not stop us from having a great time. We put on our aprons and began our day in the kitchen making play dough. It's been a long time since I dug out this recipe card, but we found out, it still magically produces the best dough for creative play possible. It's way better than the stuff you buy in the stores (although as a child I loved that smell of a freshly opened can of Play-doh, the smell of chemicals - weird huh? -that smell that takes me right back to my grandma's kitchen table).
The girls loved this project, because they could do it themselves. From measuring the flour,
vegetable oil,
salt,
and cream of tartar,
to pouring in the water, it was all done by little hands.
The most exciting part was squeezing in the food coloring.
In less than five minutes, while constantly stirring, the liquid became a solid and then the real fun began.
We learned what it means to "knead" and kept our hands moving quickly, because it's pretty warm when it comes out of the pot. It sure feels great between your hands, though.
So, what colors should we make? Everyone had a different favorite color, and some of us had more than one.
And then we couldn't forget little brother, who would be playing with this when they took it home, so we had to make green for him.
Oh, what the heck. We decided we'd just make all of them. Aren't they pretty? I loved the way they lined them up ROYGBIV style. Some things we learn in school, really do stick with us for a lifetime.
It was hard to decide where we should go for lunch, but after much deliberation, we settled on "mexican". It was all about the chips and cheese!
Next stop, was shopping at Claire's. This store is heaven for little girls. I loved watching them "ooh, and ahh" over everything!
Miraculously we made it out of that store, with just two bottles of fingernail polish and a long wish list. Then we went home and painted our nails orange and watched a movie.
Perfect Playdough
1 cup water
2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 T. vegetable oil
food coloring
Combine ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat,
stirring constantly until mixture becomes thick and pulls away
from the sides of the pan. This usually takes 2 - 3 minutes.
Knead until smooth. Keep in airtight container.
Knead until smooth. Keep in airtight container.
* Some moms don't like play dough in their house, so I had this activity approved before we started. I was never one of those moms.
How fun! Those little girls are lucky to have you as a friend!
ReplyDelete