Easy Playdough Recipe

Do you need some fun to brighten up your snow day?  You probably already have all the ingredients you need to make playdough.  Try this easy recipe or find more options here.  Not only is this a fun cooking project to do with your family, but you get to play with it when you're done!

Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring by drops**

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms.

2. Add food coloring and mix thoroughly until desired color.

3. Cool on foil. Store in covered container.

**You may prefer to add the food coloring to the water before mixing, though this will give you less control over the final shade.  As an alternative, try adding koolaid, peppermint, lemon extract, glitter or any other fun items to your playdough!

Leave a comment below to let us know what fun activities your family has in store for today!

Spanish Tip of the Week- Pretend Vacations

Take a pretend vacation and practice Spanish!

It is cold out lately in Boston- and then it's fairly mild- and then it's cold again.  All this back and forth just seems to make the colder days that much colder!  If you are like many of us, you're spending a good portion of these "colder days" planning imaginary vacations to warmer places.  So why not put those plans to good use?  Even if you can't get away right now, you can use some items you probably already have at home to spend some quality time with your children and practice Spanish at the same time!  Plan and execute a pretend trip to a Spanish-speaking country.  Whether you are fluent in Spanish or can only say a few words, use as much as you can when you "arrive".

During the months of November and December, many of our schools did Transportation and Travel themes to coincide with the holidays when families are often actually traveling.  Here are some pictures from our Needham school where the teachers and children created an "agencia de viajes" or "travel agency" in their dramatic play area.  

You can make one at home quite easily.  Ours had a travel desk, and a lounge-area for planning journeys, but you could use anything-even your kitchen table.  If you are a member of AAA or other such organization, you can obtain free travel guides and maps to use as well.  Otherwise, you can use any materials you happen to have around the house, or print information and pictures from the internet.  

Once you have planned your journey, you are ready to get on the airplane!  This can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.  All you really need though, are a few chairs arranged in rows, and maybe an aisle (depending on how big your plane is, of course).  The teachers at Pine Village Needham even created a beverage cart out of a set of plastic drawers on wheels.  It came complete with plastic cups and a pitcher for the children to serve drinks.  If you don't have one of these carts, you can use anything you do have around the house, such as a tray or even a flat piece of sturdy cardboard. You and your children can pretend to have the plane take-off and land.  Once you disembark, remember to use as much Spanish as you can as you play out all the activities you will be doing on your trip.  Maybe you would like to go horse-back riding, or swimming, or biking.  The sky's the limit!  

 Just don't forget to bring your passport!

If you like what you've seen here, you will love the Pine Village Spanish Immersion Summer Camp!  During the summer months, we take imaginary vacations to a different Spanish-speaking country every two weeks.

Session 1: July 1 – July 26 (closed on Wednesday, July 4^th)

Session 2:  July 29 – August 23

iVengan y Exploren con nosotros!!

DIY: Handmade toys for school and home

Many parents, relatives, and caregivers enjoy creating handmade toys for their children.  This is a really great way to continually give your children new materials to explore, without breaking the bank.  Re-using materials from your home also sets a wonderful example for children of how to use re-purposed materials in a way that is environmentally friendly.  Below are some examples of toys and games made by Pine Village's talented teachers.  We hope you enjoy looking through them and trying them at home!

In our South End school, teachers glued magnets to Popsicle sticks so that children could use them to construct designs and shapes! This activity is great for older preschoolers, and Pre-K children!  Though these sticks were bought new, this activity could also be done with any materials you have on hand at home! 

Reminder: Because this activity utilizes small magnets which could be swallowed,
it should never be done with children under 3 or any child who mouths objects! 

Children can use these new magnet sticks to
create fun designs and practice shapes.  In
order to create a square of just one color,
children also need to practice sorting
and matching skills.  The possibilities- and
the learning potential- are endless!

In our JP Revere Street school, one of our teachers recycled plastic lids to create colorful lacing boards.  This is a great way to build fine motor skills, and a wonderful example of reusing items you already have at home.  All you need is any plastic lid, a hole punch, and yarn, string, or even an old shoe lace!

If you try this with yarn, try taping the ends to avoid fraying.

Here are a couple of great uses for clothes pins!  Teachers at Pine Village in Needham made this fun number matching game using clothes pins and a paper plate.

Teachers at Pine Village South End made a similar game for color matching.

Lastly, in our Kendall Square school, teachers glued clothes pins to cork boards so they can easily change which projects are up on the walls. 

These are just a few ideas for materials that are inexpensive and fun, and also promote learning through play.  Leave us a comment and let us know- what are some handmade items your children enjoy using at home?