Finger
Paint
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups cold water
- food coloring
Mix the first two ingredients and then add the
water. Cook
over a low heat, stirring constantly, until well blended. Divide the
mixture into 4-5 portions and add different food coloring to each. Add
a pinch of detergent to help with clean up.
Magic Goop
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
Add enough water so that the consistency is
similar to glue. Tempra paint may be added for color.
Silly Putty
- 2 parts white glue (Elmer’s)
- 1 part Sta-Flo liquid starch
Mix well. Store in airtight container. If it
needs to dry
a bit before it is “workable,” it may be necessary
to add a
touch more glue or starch. NOTE: If you use Elmer’s School
Glue
instead of regular white it doesn’t bounce or pick up
pictures,
but it makes a gooey delight your kids will love. Use on a smooth
surface.
Kool-Aid Play-doh
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- 2 pkgs. unsweetened Kool-Aid
Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Stir
quickly,
mixing well. When cool enough, mix with hands. Store in an airtight
container.
Edible Playdoh
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup soft margarine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
Mix ingredients well and knead until smooth -
then play.
Kicking up a Storm
Make a “kickbag” by stuffing an old pillowcase or a
strong
paper bag with crumpled newspaper. Sew or tape the end closed. Let the
children kick the bag in an open space in your home. Join in the fun by
kicking the bag back and forth with the children. This is a great
activity for indoor exercise.
Drawing Around Things
Give the children a plastic cup and have them
trace
around it with a finger. Now place the cup on a sheet of paper and let
the children trace around it with a crayon or a pencil. Have fun making
circles by tracing around cans and cups of different sizes. Find other
objects you can also trace.
Wind Game
Collect a variety of non-breakable objects of
various
weights such as a cotton ball, a pencil, a small book, and a
paperweight. Place one of the objects on a smooth surface such as a
tiled floor or tabletop. Have the children pretend to be the wind and
try to blow the object across the floor or table. How much
“wind” does it take to move a cotton ball? a book?
a
pencil?
Yarn
Ball Catch
Wrap yarn around a 3-inch width of cardboard 25 times. Slide the
cardboard out and tie the yarn together in the middle with a 2-foot
length of yarn. Clip the looped ends of the yarn and fluff them into a
ball. Make a scoop by cutting the bottom off of a bleach bottle at an
angle. Use yarn to tie the ball to the handle of the scoop. Take turns
with the children tossing up and catching the yarn ball with the scoop.
Dancing Paper Clip
Fill a jar with water and drop a steel paper clip in it. Show the
children how to make the paper clip dance up and down in the water
without touching it by using a magnet. Move the magnet up and down
outside the jar to make the clip dance. Let the children try it.
Explain that the magnetic force from the magnet passes through the
glass and water to make the clip move.
Silly Mixed-up Creatures
Cut pictures of people and animals from magazines
and
then cut the pictures in half to make “tops” and
“bottoms” Place the tops in one pile and the
bottoms in
another. Have the children create silly mixed up creatures by mixing
the tops and bottoms.
Paint-Chip Fun
Collect different paint-chip samples from a paint store. Have the
children put them in order form dark to light. You can also cut apart
each shade on a paint chip and encourage the children to match the
colors.
Tennis-Ball
Carry
Place a large spoon and a basket filled with tennis balls at one end of
the room and an empty basket at the other end. Let the children balance
a tennis ball on the spoon, walk carefully across the room, and put the
ball in the other basket.
Basket Weaving
Give the children a plastic berry basket and thin construction paper
strips in several colors. Be sure to cut the strips so that they fit
through the spaces in the basket. Help the children weave the paper
strips through the space to make a colorful woven basket.
Journals
Spend some quality time with the children by setting aside some time
each day or week to write in a journal. Just staple several sheets of
paper together to make a journal and have the children dictate
something for you to write. Try offering a topic each time such as:
“What did you do last night? What makes you happy? What is
your
favorite game?”
Beach Blanket Hiding Game
Take turns hiding a familiar object under a beach blanket. Try to guess
what it is by looking at its shape and, if necessary, feeling the
object through the blanket. You can even give clues. Lift up the
blanket and see if your guess was correct.
