1) Playdough 3 cups flour 1/2 cup salt 1 tablespoon powered alum or 1 tsp. granulated alum (found in spice section) like cream of tartar for keeping it fresh (mix together dry ingredients and boil the wet, stir and knead) 2 cups water 3 tablespoons of oil Wilton's paste food coloring (using a third or half a jar makes the brightest playdough you've ever seen) The children measure the 2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of oil and the food coloring in a pot. You put the pot on the stove to boil while: (DON"T LET IT BOIL OVER AS THE OIL WILL START A FIRE) if you're worried you'll space out, put the oil in after the boiling yourself. The children measure 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, and 1 tablespoon powdered alum in a bowl (if you use granulated alum, put this in the water instead so it can dissolve) The kids take turns stirring the dry ingredients. (If I have lots of kids I do this recipe twice and /or measure in smaller incriments so everyone gets a turn) After the water boils, have the children stand back, pour the boiling mixture into the dry mixture and stir quickly. Roll a small handful of HOT playdough between your palms until just barely cool enough to touch (still pretty hot) then give to a child. Children LOVE to feel the warmth and it's not hot enough to burn them. 2) PLAYDOUGH 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup salt 3 Tablespoons oil 1 Tablespoon alum (preservative found in the spice section) 2 cups boiling water Food coloring, optional Put in bowl in order given. Stir up and add food coloring. Keep in covered dish. This dough keeps incredibly long and has a texture like store bought Play Dough. Other options: add glitter (for fun sparkle) or unsweetened koolaid powder (for scented rich color). Let the kids just play with it one day; add cookie cutters on another day. Try garlic presses, plastic knives and forks. Add a few trays to display their *baked* goodies. Bring out the candy molds and muffin trays on yet another day to extend the play! 3) Puffy Paint Mix equal parts of flour, salt and water in a bowl. Add a smal amount of tempera paint to the mixture and pour into a small plastic squeeze bottle. Repeat the procedure making as many colors as you wish. Squeeze onto heavy paper or cardboard to make designs. Mixture will harden into puffy shapes. 4) Rainbow Crayons Save small pieces of old crayons. Peel and break into pieces. Mix colors and place in cupcake liners in muffin tins. Place muffin tin in warm oven that has been turned off. Remove from the oven when the crayons are squishy but not liquid. Let cool. Use as you would any crayon. 5) RAINBOW STEW 1 cup cornstarch 4 cups water 1/3 cup sugar food coloring large ziploc bags duct tape Mix all of the above ingredients together into a large fry pan. Cook until thickened. Remove and stir until cool and add coloring. Make three or four different colors of rainbow stew. Put two different colors into a large ziploc bag. Push the air out of the bags, seal and duct tape to top of ziploc bag. Let the children squeeze the bag and see what happens. This will keep for about 2 weeks. This is a wonderful lesson on primary color mixing. 6) SAND ART RECIPE Salt and powder tempera paint. You need about 2-3 Tablespoons of Tempera paint - 1 lb. salt. We ordered the salt from a food wholesaler for $5.45/50lbs. and the Tempera paint cost 1.89 a bottle for 16 oz 7) SAND CLAY *Makes permanent sand sculptures *Becomes stonelike when dry 1 cup sand 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 teaspoon alum (this is found in spice section of store) 3/4 cup hot water food coloring (optional) Mix sand, cornstarch and alum in bowl. Add water, stirring vigorously. Add food coloring if desired. Cook over medium heat until thick. Cool and model. Dry in sun for a few days. *will keep in an airtight container *use with shells for seascape...shells will dry into mixture USE OLD POT FOR COOKING ON STOVE. SAND WILL SCRATCH. 8) Sand Paint Tempera Paint (powder) Sand Mix dry tempera paint with sand. Let kids spread glue on picture and sprinkle on sand. 9) Sawdust Modeling Compound 1 c Fine sawdust Food coloring Old newspaper Shellac or Varnish 1 c Thin Paste or Paper Paste 1. If desired, dye sawdust with food coloring. Drain and spread on newspaper to dry before using. 2. Mix sawdust and paste to a thick doughlike consistency. Knead until thoroughly mixed. The amounts of paste may vary according to the kind of sawdust used. If the sawdust is coarse, more paste may be needed to obtain the proper consistency. QUANTITY: Makes about 1 cup. USES: Model as with clay. Articles molded with this compound have a lovely woodgrain appearance. TO USE: Pieces of dough may be added to the basic piece by moistening and sticking them down. Within two to three days, the finished article will harden. To speed up drying bake in a 200-degree-F. oven for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the article. To give the article a permanent finish, spray with shellac or varnish. They can also be sanded to give a smoother finish. 10) SCENTED PLAYDOUGH Vibrant color, fruity scent! 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup salt 1 package unsweetened drink mix 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup boiling water Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in oil and water, allow mixture to cool slightly, then knead until desired consistency. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Hint: Let the children play with the playdough when it is still warm (not hot!) - calming! 11) Shampoo Dough 3/4 c flour 1/4 c white glue 1/4 c thick shampoo Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Knead dough. Add more flour as needed. Store airtight. 12) Shiny Paint Paur whit glue into small cups. Mix your choice of liquid tempera paint in each. Use to paint on wood, paper, or cardboard as you would with any paint. Paint will dry shiny as if glazed. Variations: Paint pine cones, driftwood, rocks or glass. Try painting with sponge brushes for a very smooth finish. To help paint adhere to shiny, smooth surfaces, add a few drops of dish detergent. 13) Silly Putty Mix together: 1C cornstarch 1C salt 1 1/2 C flour Add 1/2 C water, then mix until right consistency. (Mine took more than the 1/2 cup.) It's easiest and messiest to mix with hands! This can be stored in zip-lock in fridge. 14) SLIME For a "silly putty" type substance mix equal parts of elmers glue with liquid laundry starch. For a slimmer substance mix cornstarch with water....it is slimy..and can add food coloring to it, to make it even more disgusting. 15) Sparkle Paste Add five or six drops of food coloring to 1/2 cup of salt and mix well, cook in microwave for a minute and spread on wax paper to dry. Make a design on some paper and sprinkle with the salt, and as the glue dries the salt will sparkle! Have fun! 16) SPICY APPLESAUCE ORNAMENTS Mix together 3/4 cup ground cinnamon 1 cup applesauce 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon ground cloves Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness (dust the tabletop and rolling pin with cinnamon to prevent sticking). Let the children use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough. Place the shapes on waxed paper. If you plan to hang, poke a hole in the top of each shape. Allow the shapes to air-dry for several days (or bake them on a cookie sheet for several hours at 250 degrees). Turn the shapes often to prevent curling. To complete the spicy ornaments, tie on loops of ribbon or yarn for hangers. 17) STARCH FINGER PAINT Liquid starch (in plastic squeeze bottles) Liquid Dish Soap Dry Tempera Paint in salt shakers Use the detergent sparingly and the liquid starch generously. Colors are shaken into the liquid mixture and spread around to suit the child's taste. Some caution must be given to children about not using too much tempera or the finer paint mixture will be too dry. 18) WATERCOLORS 1 tablespoon white vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoon baking soda 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon glycerin Food coloring Mix vinegar & baking soda in small bowl & allow to foam. After foaming stops add cornstarch & glycerin and stir very well, up to a couple of minutes. Portion the mixture into a paint palette, muffin tin o similar container & add food coloring. Make the colors dark since drying & use will lighten them. Allow watercolors to dry in a warm place for several hours or overnight. Makes 1 set of Watercolors 19) PUPPY DOG PENCIL HOLDER The next time Dad needs someone to fetch him a pencil, this desktop dog can deliver. It's made out of four pinch-style wooden clothespins, craft glue, felt, googly eyes and a pom-pom. To form the front end of the dog, pinch open a clothespin and apply glue to the inner surface of the opened end. Then, clamp the glued end onto a second clothespin, just behind the metal spring. For the dog's tail end, glue and clamp together the last two clothespins so that one holds the other wide open. When the glue is dry, fit the opened end of the back half onto the lower end of the front half, as pictured. Apply glue to bond the two sections. From the felt, cut out floppy ears and circular paws. Glue them, the googly eyes and the pom-pom nose onto the dog. If your child wishes, he can add spots or other distinguishing details with craft paints or colored markers. Finally, pinch open the dog's mouth and insert a pencil, balancing its weight equally on both sides. 20) Toaster Tongs Wooden tweezer like things for getting stuck toast out of the toaster. Take 2 tongue depressors and a little, round, dowel type, thingy about 1/2 in thick. The instructions say for 8 and up, but we are making them with my preschoolers. They are that easy. 21) Pencil Holder How about popsicle sticks and frozen juice cans to make a pencil holder? I had my preschoolers do these for Christmas in 1995, and it went great. I was really suprised at how little help they needed, once I got them started. 22) Flowers Make flowers out of those wooden ice creams spoon thingys. You take three or four of them and glue them with craft glue on top of each other to make a flower. Then, make one the stem and two more glued to the bottom for the leaves, (kinda like a tulip leaf). You can get real creative with the type of flowers you can make. We have made poinsettias for Christmas, (with a sparly yellow pompon in the center), tulips for spring, daisies, sunflowers, you name it. Then you glue a magnet to the back, and wa-la, a beautiful refrigerator magnet! couple of tips: Have the kids paint the ice cream thingys before gluing them, to avoid making them all one color. We painted ours with plain ole Tempra paint. tip number 2: If you ask at local nursing homes, you are likely to get lots of these ice cream thingys donated for no cost. They get the ice cream in those little cups for convenience, but throw the wooden things out and use spoons. 23) Glamorous Glue Clean empty nail polish bottles & brushes with nail polish remover. After dried fill with glue. Rub cooking oil on the brushes periodically to keep them soft. 24) Glitter Ease Use salt & pepper shakers as glitter dispensers. The plastic ones with the snap on tops store the best. 25) EGG CARTON CRITTERS/ BUGS Cut the twelve bumps out of the egg-carton bottom & trim them so they look like small cups.Paint the outside green or another bug color & let them dry.Choose the best side for the face & glue on wiggle eyes. Punch a hole for the mouth,position the hole at the edge. Add three leg holes on each side with the hole punch. Cut some pipe cleaners into 4-inch sections for the legs & antennae. Poke two holes above the eyes for the antennae (use a push pin or pencil). For the legs,insert one pipe cleaner piece through one side hole & out the other side. Bend it up inside the shell & into shape for the legs & feet. 26) Friendship Rainbow Join hands to make a friendship rainbow.Give each child a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 white paper and a color of paint Children work in pairs. One child paints the others hand and helps press the painted hand onto the paper. Cut prints out when dry and mount in the shape of a rainbow. 27) Fun Mobile Take several cut pieces of yarn and have the children dip them in a shallow container of liquid starch. They then lay them down on a piece of waxed paper. The only direction I give them is that they may keep changing their creation, but it must end with each piece of yarn touching another. After 2-3 days, they will dry. I peel off the waxed paper and hang the mobiles from a string (reattaching any pieces with that string which haven't quite "stuck.") 28) Magnet Gifts If your classroom has a computer, use any desktop publisher and/or word processor program to make pictures or clipart with the children. Divide your page into sections and let each child use clipart or drawing tools to make a shape. Then have them put a message or name on it. Each page might have 4 or six sections with one child using each. Print it out and glue it onto posterboard. Cover it with clear contac paper to prevent streaking. Cut each section out and put rubber magnetic strips on the back. Now you have a great gift made by the children.