Fantastic, Cheap and Easy Kid Activities!
A friend in my triplet email group passed these along (thanks, Azar!), and they are just too good not to share. These activities are good for a variety of ages. Hope you enjoy!!!
Jell-O Finger Paint
Any kind of flavored Jell-O
Enough boiling water to make it a good consistency for finger paint.
Use your normal finger painting material or glossy paper. Kids love the smell and the feel of it.
Pudding Finger Paint
Mix pudding and water together until you have a good consistency for finger paint.
Kool-Aid Finger Paint
2 cups flour
2 packs unsweetened kool-aid
1/2 cup salt
3 cups boiling water
3 T oil
Mix wet into dry. The kids love the color change. Finger paint away.
Homemade Playdough
1 c Flour
1 c Water
1/2 c Salt
2 tb Cream of tartar
1 tb Oil
Mix ingredients & put into pan. Stir continually until firm mass is achieved (it only takes about a minute). To color, it's easiest to add the food coloring to the water before mixing.
Oatmeal Dough
1 c flour
2 c oatmeal
1 c water
Gradually add water to flour and oatmeal in bowl. Knead until mixed (this dough is sticky, but unique in texture). Model as with clay.
Variations:
Add cornmeal in small quantities for texture.
Add coffee grounds in small quantities for texture.
Frosting Dough
1 can Frosting Mix
1 1/2 c Powdered Sugar
1 c Peanut Butter
Spoon & Bowl
Mix all ingredients in bowl with spoon. Knead into workable dough. Model as with any dough.
Puffy Paint
Flour
Salt
Water
Tempera Paint
Mix equal amounts of flour, salt and water. Add liquid tempera paint for color. Pour mixture into squeeze bottles and paint. Mixture will harden in a puffy shape.
Salt Paint
1/8 c liquid starch
1/8 c Water
1 Tb Tempera Paint
Mix together and apply to paper with a brush. Keep stirring mixture. Paint will crystallize as it dries.
Sand Paint
Tempera Paint (powder)
Sand
Mix dry tempera paint with sand. Let kids spread glue on picture and sprinkle on sand.
Pudding Paint
Instant vanilla pudding
Food coloring
Mix pudding according to directions. Add food coloring for desired color. Finger paint on paper plates. This one is edible!
Snow Paint
Food coloring
Water
Spray bottle
Place water and food coloring in empty spray bottle. Let children spray colors on snow to make designs.
Water Paint
Bucket
Water
Sponges
Brushes
Fill bucket with water and use brushes and sponges or other materials to paint water on sidewalk. "Paint" will disappear as it dries.
Nutty Butter Playdough
1 c Peanut butter
1 c Powdered Milk
1 c Honey
1 c Oatmeal
Mix together and play and/or eat.
Quick and Easy Modeling Dough
3/4 c Flour (not self-rising)
1/2 c Salt
1 1/2 t Powdered alum
1 1/2 t Vegetable Oil
1/2 c boiling water
Food coloring
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix flour, salt, and alum in a mixing bowl.
2. Add vegetable oil and boiling water. Stir vigorously with a spoon until well blended. Dough should not stick to the sides of the bowl and should be cool enough to handle.
3. Add food coloring and knead into dough until color is well blended and the dough is the desired tint.
QUANTITY
Makes about 1 cup. Double the recipe for large projects. For groups, mix several double recipes rather than one large amount.
USES
The is an excellent play dough. It has a smooth texture, takes about 15 minutes to make, and dries to a hard finish overnight. You can you can make lovely dough flowers as well as animals and other figures with it.
STORAGE
Store in a jar with a tight lid. Dough will keep several months without refrigeration.
Goop
(Make your own Slime)
1 Part Liquid starch
2 Part Elmer's Glue
Food Coloring (opt.)
Mix and enjoy. It's supposed to be like slime.
Flubber
Solution A:
1 1/2 c Warm Water
2 c Elmer's Glue
Food Coloring
Solution B:
4 tsp Borax
1/3 c Warm water
Mix solution A in one bowl; mix solution B in another bowl. Dissolve both well. Then, just pour solution A into solution B, DO NOT MIX OR STIR! Just lift out flubber. It's neater than "Gak" or "slime," and it also a safe chemical reaction for the kids to see. You can use a glass bowl for solution B so kids could see the flubber form in the bowl. It just becomes a big "cloud" of rubbery stuff. Store in baggies. If you half the recipe, you only need to half the solution A and it will work the same.
Silly Putty
1/2 c Elmer's glue
1/2 c Starch -- liquid
Food coloring
Do NOT substitute any other glue for Elmer's glue! Slowly add starch to glue and knead with fingers. The more you work with it the better it jells. Add food coloring if desired.
Clown Paint
1/8 c Baby Lotion
1/4 tsp powdered Tempera paint
1 squirt liquid dishwashing soap
This is easily removed by soap and water.
Sticker Solution
11 tsp flavored gelatin
2 tsp boiling water
Cut-outs to use as stickers
Place gelatin and boiling water in a small bowl. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Let mixture cool 1 minute. While the sticker solution is warm, brush a thin coat on the back of each cut-out - use your finger or a small brush. When dry you can lick them and stick them on paper or glass just like a real stamp.