Homemade Tootsie Roll

Every week my toddler and I have COOKie Tuesday. Two of our weeks have involved this simple no bake treat that little hands can help with.

Tootsie Rolls

3 Tbsp butter- melted

1/2 c cocoa*

1/2 c light karo syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c powdered milk

3 c powdered sugar

Mix in order.  Knead well.  Texture will be like play dough.  Roll and cut. Enjoy.

*For fruity tootsie rolls add 1 pk of Kool Aid instead of cocoa.  It is delicious too!

We actually halved the recipe because it makes a lot. This recipe is softer than store bought

Favorite Play Dough Recipe Ever!

Talk about soft, long lasting, and easy.
Found this recipe, and many more play dough recopies on this site:
http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/04/best-ever-no-cook-play-dough-recipe.html

Soft No Cook Play Dough

2 C flour

2 T  vegetable oil

1/2 C salt

2 T Cream of Tartar

1 C boiling water

Food coloring

We divided the recipe in two, for two colors.

• First mix the four ingredients.
• Add food coloring to the water.  Mix.
• Pour a little water into the other ingredients, mixing slowly, until you get the desired consistency.  

Add more flour or water as needed.

Painting the Tub

This goes back to that week of snow.  One thing we did was water paints for the tub.

Recipe

• 4-6 Tb baby soap
• 1 tsp water
• 1 Tb corn starch
• 2-3 drops of food coloring

I divided the mixture into three cups before adding food coloring for more variety.  My toddler loved it- although it wasn't the cleanest she's ever gotten from a bath.

Colored Snow

Not the yellow kind.

I know it's spring but a few weeks ago we had an unusual snow storm that shut down the schools for an unheard of length of time. (I know not much snow in the pictures. It was the rapid melting- and further snow- that closed the schools.)

What do you do when the kids are unexpectedly home for the week?  Play in the snow of course!

Snow angels, snow forts, sledding.  And this inexpensive idea

 All you need:

• A water bottle
• Food coloring

Poke a hole in the lid of the bottle.  My friend used a hammer and small nail for this.
Fill bottle with water and food coloring of your choice.

Take it out and draw pictures in the snow.

Butter

Not that this is a money saver, but it is fun to try.

1 pint heavy cream
pinch salt

Pour in a quart size jar, with tight lid. Seal well.
Shake, shake, shake, roll, dance, whatever until the butter has separated from the buttermilk.  20 minutes or so.  Enjoy homemade butter!

For the buttermilk, you can make yogurt, bread, or cornbread.

Water Balloon Volleyball

Summer may be ending but there is still time to have fun. Besides I missed most of summer and need to cram all the fun I can in before the cold weather comes.

For water balloon volleyball you need at least four people, a towel per every two people and lots and lots and lots of water balloons.  You also need a place to play.  I have seen this played in a volleyball sand area or just a large grass area.

To play:

Divide players into two equal teams.  Two people stretch out a towel  between them, each holding one of the corners.  This is the net you will be catching the balloon in.

One pair starts with a water balloon on their towel and using the towel and team work, they fling it to the other team.

The other team tries to catch the balloon. (Note even catching a balloon does not grantee it won't pop.) 

If the balloon does not pop, fling it back to the other team.

Score can be kept like Volleyball or by how many successful, un-popped, catches a team makes.

MORE ADVANCE PLAY:
Have each team start with a balloon, or more, and get balloons flying all over.
Also you can hang a sheet between the two team so they can not see when the other team flings their balloon.

Homemade Paint With Water Pages

Remember those books that all you needed was water to paint a picture.  I know they are still around although harder to find.  Anyway...

I heard that if you dap the homemade watercolor paint onto a coloring page and let it dry, that all you (or your kid) will need is a little water to make a colorful picture.

You can also use watercolor pencils to do the same thing.

Homemade Water Colors

I found a fun recipe for water color paint that was two activities in one. What I liked about it is my toddler could both help make the paint and paint with it after it dried.  (Can't vouch for how washable it is though.)

The recipie was from this site:  http://www.themakeyourownzone.com

HOMEMADE WATERCOLOR PAINTS

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons Baking Soda

• 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

• 1/2 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup

• 2 Tablespoons  Corn Starch

For tinting your paints you will also need:

• Food Coloring

• Toothpicks

• Ice Cube Tray or Muffin Tin

1.  Measure baking soda into a small bowl

2.  Add the vinegar and stir. Kid will love watching it fizz!

3.  Next, add  light corn syrup and  corn starch. Mix well.  Mixture should be about the consistency of Elmers glue.

4.  Pour the mixture into the sections of your container. 

5.   Add whatever drops of food coloring you want and then stir using a toothpick until the color is evenly distributed. (Have separate toothpicks for light and dark colors.)

6.  Let harden for a day or two before use. Use like normal water color- Wet and Paint.

Toddler helped mix and the colors got a little skewed. She still loved it anyway.

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Kids Can (and Should) Work

One of the greatest ways to love our children is to teach them skills they will need in order to succeed as adults. I believe children, even young children, should learn to work.

I am a mom, not a slave to clean up after everyone in my house. Sometimes I feel I spend my whole day cleaning and the house is still a mess. I know it won't always be this way; I have a little helper in training.

My toddler is not even two yet and she helps with laundry- she separates the socks from the rest of the clean load. She also puts her own clothes away. Someday I might have her fold them, for now she does what she can. Toddlers can do a lot more things than we give them credit for. My daughter puts her own dishes away (we put hers in a lower cupboard so she can do this) and she is learning to set and clean off the table. From the time she was walking she was Mommy's Helper.  She helps wipe up spills she makes and when crayon ends up on the wall, you can guess who gets to help me scrub it off.

Children are capable, but we must allow them the time to learn.  Work makes them responsible.

I love this old article on delegating work to children- Delegating Work and Responsibility to Children, LDS Ensign.  I particularly love the section about Our Attitudes and Methods.

Not every child is ready for the same amount of work. I started small to let her experience success. She carried one or two washcloths to the bathroom, now she brings me all of them. While she is still at the age she loves to help I will gladly let her splash in dish water or uncoordinatedly swing a child size broom. Does it take time? Yes.  Will the effort be worth it? Yes.

Someday she will do more than dump dish water all over the counters, push a toy vacuum, or sweep her broom around the kitchen (often sending dirt in the wrong direction).

Does it take work to teach a child to work? Yes. But then again, motherhood isn't about a sparkling clean house, it's more about raising children who are able to take care of themselves.

Shaving Cream- Kid fun

Most toys will hold my toddler's attention for about two minutes before it's off to explore something else. This is a fun activity that hold her attention for much longer.  Big and little kids alike will enjoy this simple activity.

On a clean table put some cheap shaving cream and let you kids have at it. You can add food coloring but be prepared for stained little hands.  Also, if you have a kid who sticks everything in their mouth, you can put shaving cream in a ziplock bag and tape it closed. They will have fun squishing it. That's when the food coloring is fun.

We cover up with aprons or "Get Messy Shirts" (big t-shirt from $1 store) as shaving cream doesn't always stay just on the table.

Best part is when you are done there is no clean up, simply rub it into the table until it disappears!

Fleece Blanket Flannel board

We had a lovely fleece baby blanket that came from the dollar store.  We taped it up on our wall (use painters tape to avoid ruining the paint.) My mother had these cute flannel animals for my toddler to play with.  Of course, you can also glue flannel to the back of pictures and use those as well.  A fun simple toy, that can be taken down and stored in a small space. 

Simple Flannel Story Board

Edible Play Dough!

Who says you shouldn't play with your food?

1 C peanut butter
1/3 to 1/2 Cup honey
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (use more if you used less honey)

Mix the ingredients together and enjoy this fun and yummy snack.

Toasted S'mores

Indoor Toasted S'mores

Graham Crackers
Mini Marshmallows
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
A toaster oven.


Make s'mores to your liking.  Broil until the tops of marshmallows are a golden brown.  Fold together and enjoy your indoor s'mores.

Pot and Pan Drums

Lay out various sizes of pots and pans, and a few of the lids too, hand you toddler a couple of wooden spoons and let them have fun experimenting with the different sounds each item makes.

I did different sizes of spoons too as that changes the sound.  Fun activity that your kids are sure to love.

Food Sensory Activities

I already posted about salt and sugar as a great sensory activity for toddlers.  The food exploration continues.

• Flour
• Corn Meal
• Rice and Beans container- Huge success by the way
• Water table- Be prepared for splashing

To enrich the experience I have added

• forks or spoons
• toy cars
• cookie cutters
• funnels
• straws
• small toys that can't be swallowed

If you are okay with messy, finger painting with yogurt, pudding, or the leftover baby food they refused to eat provides great entertainment for an extended period of time.

Have Fun Exploring!

Fine Motor With Empty Containers

I had an empty and washed out parmesan cheese container and was wondering what to do with it, when I thought it would be make a great fine motor activity.  I was right, my toddler loves it.  Okay, not so much the container, but what she puts in it.  The smallest holes are just right for putting golf pegs through. Don't have golf pegs?  Well, you're still in luck, the lids from baby food jars are the perfect size for pushing through the large end of the container!*

*Some containers may have different size of holes, I used a Western Family 100% grated Parmesan Cheese.

Stringing "Beads"

Most toddlers don't have the dexterity to string beads.  Here's a modified version, that I saw on this website: whatwedoallday.com

I made a second using stiffer sting which seems to work better for those just learning.

For more awesome activity ideas check out this blog:
http://www.thestay-at-home-momsurvivalguide.com/p/toddler-activities.html
or this site
handsonaswegrow.com

Yeah, I wasn't the first to think of these ingenious ideas.

Salt and Sugar Sensory Table

Especially with weather getting cooler, more activities need to be done inside.  Here is a fun simple idea for little ones with busy hands.

Place salt or sugar in a container and allow them to explore.  You can add toys such as a straw, spoon, or small toy.


I placed a little of both in separate containers.  After tasting both of them (as little ones will) my toddler dumped them together and enjoyed the fun.

The salt/sugar can also be stored for another day of fun later on.

Paper Pumpkin

I am not a crafty person. By the end of any craft I have more of a mess than anything to show for it. That being said, I found a craft that even I, lacking all crafty skills, could do.  I found it in a children's magazine and was actually excited to try it.  It's a paper pumpkin.  For some reason pumpkins are the only thing that motivate my artistic side.  (Pumpkin carvings coming this month!)

I made a craft!

My husband had the camera so I don't have the step by step process.  Fortunately, the magazine I got it from is completely free online!  The page (with a pumpkin recipe) can be found here The Friend.

Enjoy the simple craft!

Oatmeal Playdough

For little ones who stick everything in their mouth...

Playdough!

1/2 water
1/2 flour
1 C oats

Mix flour and water well and add 1 C oats.  Mix until it is mush.  Add food coloring to the flour mixture if you would like.

If it is too sticky add more flour, to hard, more water.  I ended up adding about 1/4 cup more flour to ours.




I had more fun playing with this than my toddler did.  She was content to play in the flour I spread on the table while mixing the sticky dough.

Which gave me the idea to start posting fun activities you can do with little ones as well.  Look for these to come...