Easiest Playdough

What You Will Need

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
food colouring



Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil. Add the water slowly.

2. Cook, over medium heat, stirring until the dough becomes stiff.


3. Turn onto wax paper and let cool.


4. Knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth. Divide the batch into smaller balls to be coloured with different dyes. Add a few drops of the food colouring.


5. Knead the colour through the playdough.


6. Play.

When not using the playdough keep it in an airtight container.

Marble Painting

(marble painting by 2 year old Thomas)

What You Will Need


a box (a shoe box works perfectly)
an assortment of non-toxic paints
scissors
a few marbles
paper (coloured or white, the choice is yours)

Instructions

1. Cut the paper to fit in the bottom of the box.


2. Roll a marble in one colour of paint and place it in the box.


3. Repeat step 2 until all marbles are covered with paint and laying in the box. This can be a messy job, have a towel or some wet-wipes at arms reach.





4. Tilt the box in all directions. The marbles will leave a paint trail behind as they roll around the bottom of the box.



Because the marbles are round and can't fit flat into the corners, a natural border is made on these pieces of art.

See The Lady Bug

Sing this song to the tune of "Frere Jacques"...

See the ladybug, see the ladybug.
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl.
See it crawling higher,
See it crawling higher.
Watch it crawl, up the wall.

See the ladybug, see the ladybug.
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl.
See it crawling lower,
See it crawling lower.
Way down low, to my toe.

The original "Frere Jacques" in French...

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,
Dormez vous? Dormez vous?
Sonnez les matines,
Sonnez les matines,
Din, din, don! Din, din, don!

The original "Frere Jacques" in English...

Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping?
Brother John? Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing,
Morning bells are ringing,
Ding dang dong, Ding dong dong.

She Sells Sea Shells

Try this traditional tongue twister...

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

Daisy Chain

What You Will Need

a bunch of daisies (the number of daisies needed is dependant on the size of chain to be made)
a long thumbnail or a small knife



Instructions

1. Slice the diasies stems from mid stem, lengthwise, to 1/2 inch above the stem end.

2. Thread one daisy through the stem slit of a second.

3. And continue threading new daisies to chain until it is the length you want.

4. To close off the chain thread the head of the first daisy through the stem of the last one.

You can make a necklace, crown, bracelet or garland for on a table.

Bear Belinda

A fun word game for young and old alike.

1. Sit all players in a circle.

2. Give sometime for each person to think of the name of an animal that starts with the same letter as the first letter of their name. For example my name is Belinda and I pick Bear, therefore my new name is Bear Belinda. It is not important that the animal name describes the person, but instead that it is alliterate of their first name.

3. Pick a leader to start. The leader says the animal name they have selected and their name. If I were the leader I would say 'Bear Belinda.'

4. The person on the leader's left says "Bear Belinda" and then adds their own name, for example "Hyena Heidi."

5. The next person says the names of all the ones before and his/her own.

6. This game is great fun and gets much harder as is progresses. If a player is stuck and can't remember a name, hints can be made by making the sound of the animal or acting like the animal in question.

Enjoy!

"Who Am I?" Guessing Game

What You Will Need

old magazines
scissors
tape
a group of players

Getting Ready For the Game

1. Cut from the magazines pictures of objects.

2. Keep the pictures hidden from the players. Tape one picture on each child's back. Make sure that the child hasn't seen the picture on their back.

How To Play the Game

1. In turn, each child turns their back to show their picture and then is given the opportunity to ask any other child a question about the picture.

2. The answers must be 'yes' or 'no' only.

3. When the child figures out their picture, tape a new picture to their back.

4. Have the game last about 10 minutes, or until each child has guessed at least one picture.

Additional Details

- At the beginning of the game give some examples of questions to ask such as
"Am I alive? Do people eat me? Am I a hero? Do I have tires?" etc.

- If the party has a theme, use pictures related to the theme. For example a Bob the Builder party could have pictures of a hammer, a screw driver, a bulldozer, etc.

- Use pictures that are geared towards the age group playing. For example, four-year old would have a hard time guessing 'whisk'.

Five Little Ladybugs

Show your child your hand and wiggle all your fingers and thumb as you sing this traditional nursery rhyme:

Five little ladybugs climbing up a door
One flew away then there were four

(Bend your thumb into your palm and continue:)
Four little ladybugs sitting on a tree
One flew away then there were three

(Bend a finger into your palm and continue singing, wiggling the remaining fingers:)

Three Little ladybugs landed on a shoe
One flew away then there were two

(Bend a finger into your palm and continue singing, wiggling the remaining fingers:)
Two little ladybugs looking for some fun
One flew away and then there was one

(Bend a finger into your palm and continue singing, wiggling the remaining finger:)
One little ladybug sitting in the sun
She flew away and then there were none

(Then tickle your child and kiss them on the head.)

Peter Piper

A traditional tongue twister ...

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Sash Shop

Say this 2 times fast... to be honest I can hardly say it once slowly... whew!

Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes
as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

LadyBug Snacks

What You Will Need

1 red apple
1 teaspoon of peanut butter
a handful of raisins
2 grapes
green lettuce



Instructions

1. Cut the apple in half, lengthwise, and arrange on the lettuce.



2. Put tiny dots of peanut butter over the apple
skins/backs.



3. Push raisins onto the peanut butter.



4. Snuggle grapes in the stem end of the apple.
5. Place 2 raisin eyes with peanut butter on grapes.



6. Admire and Eat.