While I quite like the super simple no-fuss chocolate play dough we made on vacation with an empty pantry, it just isn’t quite as lovely as our usual play doughs, and that’s simply not right when you love play dough as much as we do. ☺ So today, during quiet play time, I set off to re-vamp our recipe and create a super soft and squishy chocolate play dough that was every bit as good as all of our other doughs… And I’m happy to report that I succeeded! Here’s the recipe…
Spring on the horizon means that it was finally time for us to say au revoir to the Christmas and winter play dough kits we’ve had around for months… New season, new play dough sets – that’s what they say, right?? ☺
This morning, after two months of outdoor meet-ups {gotta enjoy the cool weather while we have it!}, our play school co-op resumed its usual themed indoor play dates. Grae and I were lucky enough to be the first hosts, and with our focus being on favourite children’s books this month, we got to plan a morning around Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
{this post contains affiliate links}Mmmm…. Chocolate. Miss G and I made a batch of our super simple chocolate play dough {but added cream of tartar and glycerine since we had it on hand} for our recent Valentine’s tea, and took it out again this afternoon for some fun and easy play. Grae decided that she wanted to open a play dough chocolate shop, so that’s what we did.
{this post contains affiliate links}Last week, while standing in the courtyard browsing our copy of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids {as you do}, one of my mama friends mentioned wanting to start some simple sensory play with her little lady. Lucky for us, her first birthday was coming up, which allowed us the perfect opportunity to put together a taste safe sensory play kit for her!
After our recent attempt at painting on snow turned out to be painting on ice, we decided to give snow painting another go this morning.
Celebration play dough, also known as ‘party play dough’ in our house, is a favourite. I mean really… How can you not love it? It’s super sparkly and shiny, it’s bright and colourful, and it’s soft and squishy. Fun on soooo many levels. So in preparation for the big day tomorrow {how is it already NYE?!}, Miss G and I whipped up a fresh batch this morning.
A couple of days ago, I asked Brad if he’d fill a dish with snow and pop it into the freezer for us to play with at a later time. Back home in Canada, Miss G really loved snow spray painting, and I figured we’d try another {more traditional} type of painting on snow once we got our hands on some paint. Well, Miss G and I found some really inexpensive acrylics while out and about yesterday, so I was excited let Miss G paint on snow using brushes today. The project didn’t turn out quite as I envisioned it due to the fact that our snow turned into a full-on rock hard ice block during it’s time in the freezer, but painting on ice was a really fun and unique experience too!
Today, while out touring around Heidelberg, Miss G and I kept our eyes peeled for pretty winter nature items. As we came across different things, we added them to reusable bag and then continued along our way. Just the fact that things like evergreen branches and winter berries can be found here is a huge treat to our little desert-dwelling lady, so collecting a bagful with the intention of making a winter nature sensory soup was really exciting.
While Grae and I both seem to be extremely good at avoiding the terrible sicknesses that circle through our groups of friends, today she woke up with a runny, but congested nose. Since we prefer to do things the natural way in our house, the first inkling of a cold means a day filled with non-stop fruits and veggies, and extra powerful green smoothie, and a garlic-filled dinner. …Plus some sick kid sensory soup as of today – hah!
It’s very likely that our friends may soon disown us for constantly gifting them with play dough… And until then, we’ll probably just continue coming up with clever ways to present it and give it anyways {sorry, friends}. ☺
Today’s advent activity card invited Miss G and I to create a squishy snowman sensory bag, so that’s just what we did. Creating this adorable little guy is actually an idea I came up with back in October when I saw these sensory bags with slimy eyes, so I’ve been anxious waiting for quite a long time now and luckily Grae seems to share in my excitement when it comes to all things play-related.
Okay, so I admit it – we’re a bit play dough kit obsessed over here. We can’t help it. Play dough is something that we play with on a daily basis and having pre-made kits filled with dough and interesting loose parts makes it really easy to delve into the fun – everything that’s needed is right there in a container waiting to be taken out! It also means that Grae can easily help herself to a kit and have a fun activity pre-prepared for independent play times, which I love.
I’m pretty sure Gracen’s obsession with Frozen has reached an all-time high recently. She’s always really enjoyed the movie, but since removing the YouTube app from her iPad a while back, I’m fairly certain she’s spent at least a portion of her allotted screen time watching it every single day. Of course, when your start your day with a dose of Frozen, it translates into into a whole lot of Elsa dress-up, many Anna hairdo requests, non-stop ‘Let It Go’, and daily reenactments of the ‘do you want to build a snowman?’ scene {accompanied by plenty of door knocking}. Welcome to our world.
