This blog has thematic ideas for toddlers and preschoolers!

Friday, August 27, 2010

A Fun End to a Great Summer!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Magic Bead Bracelets


The beads are white until....


You put them in the sun! 

Shell Collage Wall Hanging

Shell Collage Wall Hanging

Make sure to coat the aluminum pan with vaseline and lay the piece of yarn in the pan before pouring in the plaster.


Place the shells where you want them and sprinkle in some sand.


It will start to harden after 30 minutes, but I let it sit for a few hours before I took it out of the pan.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Sand Dough Recipe

Sand Dough


You will need:
1 cup sand
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. alum
3/4 cups of water


Stir together sand, cornstarch, and alum in saucepan.  Add the water and stir until it is smooth and cornstarch has dissolved.  Cook dough over medium-low heat stirring occasionally.  The dough will start to thicken within a minute or two.  Scrape mixture from sides of pan while stirring.  After 3 minutes the dough will be the consistency of playdough.  Remove from pan and let cool.  The sculpt away!  The clay will take about a week to completely dry.
I used white sand and brown sand.  I had the older kids sift their own sand to make it more of a process.  They added all the ingredients to the pan and then I turned on the stove and they brainstormed what they were going to make!  Make sure to use very dry sand, otherwise it will be really sticky!  These are our sand sculptures!

Marshmallow Masterpieces

We used toothpicks and marshmallows to make cool shapes and towers!  This kept them busy for a long time!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Summer Fun with Bugs!

Making Bugs in our Creepy Crawler Maker