Search Results for: blog fun with homemade play dough

Using Play Doh to Teach Preschool Lessons

Play Doh is one of my favorite preschool activity toys and art mediums. Mashing the dough can creating people, ice cream cones, pizza, and animals, is as much fun for me as the kids.  I am not sure what came first, the lessons I developed using Play Doh or my desire to play and the need to make it count as part of my lesson plan.  Nonetheless, I have come up with a way to play and learn.  Now, when my husband comes home and finds Play Doh mashed in the carpet its all good. In all seriousness, using a … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Play-Doh Fun

Kids just love play-doh, much to the despair of many a mom who dreads the chance of the play-doh crumbs getting in the carpet or elsewhere around the house. This is why I think of spring and summer as play-doh season, since a small table out in the garage, driveway or backyard eliminates the mess. The other detriment to play-doh, is that it can be expensive after a while, especially when kids mix up all of the colors or let it dry out. The play-doh kits that you buy that feature all of the neat tools are more expenses. But … Continue reading →

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading →

Homemade Play Dough and Clay Recipes

In my last blog post, I mentioned how you can occupy your preschoolers with various activities during your school days. One of the suggestions that I gave was to let your child play with edible playdough. Playdough is a great activity and it builds motor skills, helps develop creativity, and encourages imaginative play. Before we get to the Playdough and Clay recipes, I want to introduce some very fun and inexpensive (yet very messy) activities for your preschooler. First, one of the best fingerpaints any preschooler can experience is pudding! Yes, that’s right, pudding. This is the perfect activity for … Continue reading →

Ideas for a Rockin’ Dinosaur Party for Kids

What do you do when your 4-year-old daughter begs you for a dinosaur-themed birthday party? If you’re me you consult with friends who have little boys and come up with a variety of dinosaur-related games, activities and decorations, so that your little princess can feel like a Triceratops for a day: PREHISTORIC IMPRINTS Materials: Play-Doh or homemade dough Items to imprint, including bugs, leaves, dinosaur footprints (from toy dinosaur) Shoe polish Acrylic sealer Directions: Make a rock shape from the Play-Doh. Create a smooth surface on the topside of your rock. (You can use water or the bottom of a … Continue reading →

Ways to Keep the Kids Busy on Valentine’s Day

How are you planning to spend Valentine’s Day? Will you be enjoying dinner out with your sweetheart or will you be celebrating Love Day at home with the entire family? For many families the flailing economy has forced them to cut back on Valentine’s Day spending. However, the following ideas prove that you don’t have to break the bank to celebrate February 14th in style. These simple kid-friendly projects are ideal for keeping children content on Valentine’s Day. VALENTINE’S DAY CARD HOLDER Students who got swamped with Valentine’s Day cards at school will find this craft to be exactly what … Continue reading →

Simple Snow Day Crafts for Kids

For parents, who have been affected by this week’s dangerously cold Artic blast, today marks the third day in a row that your kids have been cooped up indoors. By now your sanity may be as compromised as your video library. If so, you might consider the following simple craft ideas. They may not be as liberating as a sunny 80 degree day, but they will keep your kids busy for a few hours and perhaps preserve the last remaining hairs on your head. EDIBLE PLAY-DOH Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 cups warm water 1 cup salt 2 tablespoons vegetable … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Crafts for Kids

Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean you should rid your home of pumpkins. Thanksgiving is an ideal time to showcase the fresh orange globes in a seasonal display. Unfortunately, most stores stop selling pumpkins the day after Halloween. This sad fact means most parents have to get creative when it comes to setting up a Thanksgiving pumpkin display. The following simple salt dough pumpkin art project was a bonafide hit with our preschool playgroup last year. All you’re doing is whipping up a batch of salt dough and shaping it into miniature pumpkins. Once the pumpkins are formed the … Continue reading →

Infection Fighting Mud

Researchers are always looking for alternatives to traditional antibiotics — especially in this day and age of resistant “superbugs”. Last week, it was compounds in alligator blood. This week? It’s mud. Scientists from the Arizona State University Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology are looking at anti-microbial minerals in mud. Why? Because mud and clay have a long history of use in healing. Ancient people around the world used mud for wound healing, skin soothing, and more. These days, mud and clay are mainly cosmetic products… but that may change within the next few years. The Arizona State University team … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Dinosaur Eggs

I’ve seen a lot of dinosaur egg toys in stores lately. They look like sandy rocks. The idea is that you gradually scrape them away or break them open to find the toy inside. They don’t cost that much, but it is fun to make your own. Plus you can do different toys and different colors if you make them yourself. These are fun surprises to hide in the sandbox or around the yard. But they are also really fun for the kids to make themselves. It’s like mud pies with a purpose. To make dinosaur eggs, all you need … Continue reading →