Family Fun
HOME-MADE PLAYDOUGH
You will need:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring
What to do:
Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring all the time. When the dough has a good consistency, take it off the heat and allow to cool.
Store in Ziplock bags. If the outside seems a little dry, just kneed the dough until soft.
HOME-MADE PAPER MACHE GLUE
You will need:
1 heaped dessert spoon of corn flour
Water
A mixing bowl
A kettle
What to do:
Boil one liter of water.
Put the corn flour into the mixing bowl and, while mixing, gradually add a small amount of cold water until the corn flour becomes a smooth, creamy paste.
While mixing, gradually pour the boiled water into the corn flour paste.
You can start using the glue when it is cool enough to touch. To use, tear sheets of newspaper into strips and dip them into the glue. It is easier to tear newspaper into neat strips when you tear along the grain of the paper. Try tearing the newspaper both vertically and horizontally to discover which way the grain runs.
You can make just about anything you want with this glue...
HOME-MADE SALT CLAY
You will need:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cooking oil
Food coloring
What to do:
Place the flour, salt and oil in a mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon.
Combine water and food coloring then gradually add the colored water to the flour mixture.
When you have created things with the clay, you can bake them to harden the clay. Put the oven on low heat (300ºF/150ºC) and bake for 1-2 hours.
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SIDEWALK CHALK
It's easy to make your own sidewalk chalk in a rainbow of colors.
Ages: 3-10
Time Required: Less than 1 hour to make; overnight to dry.
You'll need:
- Several empty toilet paper rolls
- Aluminum foil
- Plaster of Paris mix
- Dry tempera paint
- A small disposable container that will hold about a pint (such as an empty plastic margarine tub)
Making the Chalk
- First, take several empty toilet paper rolls and tightly cover one end of each roll with aluminum foil.
- In a small disposable container (such as an empty tub of margarine) mix one cup Plaster of Paris with one cup of water and several spoonfuls of dry tempera paint.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the open end of the toilet paper roll. Let the mixture sit undisturbed overnight.
- When the mixture is completely dry, peel off the cardboard and use as sidewalk chalk.
TIP: Save clean up time (as well as eliminating the risk of a clogged drain) by just throwing away the container used to mix the chalk.
The nice chunky chalk is great for even little kids just learning to scribble and draw. Older kids can tell their stories with a summer-long sidewalk mural.