Activities for Busy Hands at Home

Playdoh used to stress me out! That may sound silly but it did. When I first tried it, my gymnast was most likely too young; I spent the whole time trying to get her to not eat it. Later on I got several tubs of fun colors, I thought this is great, it didn’t cost very much, and it will be a lot of fun. I was wrong, I kept worrying about the colors mixing, she wouldn’t keep them separate, and when I gave up, all the playdoh looked like dog poop after eating crayons (yes I know what it looks like first hand). Last year we did a mommy & me type preschool, and they had tons of home made playdoh in one color, and the kids still loved it. Finally playdoh is fun for her and me. I tried several recipes, and I will share the best one. I am now the playdoh mom for preschool this year.

                                       

Playdoh

1 c. flour
1 c. water
1 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. salt
Mix together ingredients in a medium saucepan. Mix and heat on low until it forms a ball. Add 1-2 drops of food coloring. Store in plastic Ziploc bags.


Some kids are able to zone out in front of a TV. while it’s not a good thing all day, I wish my busy girl could so I can cook dinner, do laundry, clean, do dishes, facebook, without her under me. I have discovered that she loves to craft, but gets bored easy. There is always a supply of paper and crayons, but that it often not enough. I now have a plastic drawer tower full of crafting options in the kitchen ready for those moments I need a few minutes without pestering. I used to scour the arts & crafts stores, and while they are good for some things, there are cheaper alternatives. Michaels is good, but I like a.c. moore better. In their holiday area they usually have craft projects for around $1. They also have a bargain section with discontinued or out of season stuff. I will buy several different things to keep on hand in case I need a project quick. For basic supplies I have found that Wal-Mart has pretty decent stuff for a good price, especially jewelry making stuff for little girls, the craft store has better adult jewelry stuff. You can also get construction paper, glue, paint, and other basic supplies there cheaper too.

When at school last year they had all sorts of great crating projects, with shapes and things cut out so neatly, the school had access to die cuts, and now you, me and everyone in Baltimore County does too. The Baltimore County Public School system has these great resource centers at five different schools in the county; I have been to two, and like the one at Dundalk Middle best. They have a large assortment of die cuts to use, laminating machines, paper and other supplies at cost. You can have buttons made, and bind books. They can make posters for you too. They do not charge you for their time, or for using the equipment. They will sell you paper and other supplies at cost. I have been there several times and punched out tons of Halloween and Thanksgiving themed papers for making placemats, and doing crafts with friends.

Babies don’t care what is going on at home so long as they are played with a little and fed, but older children need plenty of rainy/ cold/ too hot day activities. Cooking can be another thing to do. The younger your kid, the messier it’s going to be. If you don’t want to deal with your two year old spilling flour all over the floor, perhaps making cookies won’t be the best activity.
Have fun crafting. Here is the link for the resource centers.


http://www.bcps.org/offices/dpd/dundalk-ms.html