Silky Smooth Dough

Sometimes plain playdough can get boring....mix it up a bit!!! This recipe is for silky smooth playdough

Mix 3/4 cup of conditioner to 1 and 1/2 cups of cornflour and mix with a spoon until blended. take into your hands and knead until smooth adding more conditioner or cornflour as needed-will depend on the room temperature.

The right consistency will be smooth yet break in half if pulled apart. Add food colouring last if required. Just a few drops in the center of dough and knead till evenly tinted.

Coloured cloud dough

                                                          Coloured Cloud Dough!

This dough is fluffy and light and lots of fun. I had made it with Tara a few years ago but this time we added colour!

Recipe is: 4 cups of flour

1/2 cup of baby oil

finely grated chalk pastels

We used a kitchen grater on the finer side to firstly shave our chalk into separate containers first. Then we made a big batch of the flour/oil mix and added the colours after just mixing with a spoon till combined.

Consistency should be crumbly but hold when compacted.

Please be aware baby oil is toxic if eaten so this activity must be supervised at all times.Sandpit moulds, bento moulds and ice cream scoops work well with this dough



Zoku product wrap

The Zoku pop maker had been on my wishlist for a while but i wasn't prepared to splash out $60 on an ice-block maker when we had a perfectly fine plastic one that had latest us years but in the end.... I am sure glad i did!
Possibly the best kitchen gadget i have purchased so far!
Not only does the Zoku freeze ice-blocks while you watch in 7 mins, it gives you the control of what goes into it.
For us ice-blocks are a treat but the kids don't have to know that they aren't filled with palm sugar, artificial colourings and preservatives. hehe!
The variety is endless and once the kids are asleep the Zoku can turn into mummy and daddy's vodka lemon lime ice-blocks treats
All that leftover soggy cereal in the kids bowl at breakfast time goes right into the Zoku and makes for a milky energy boost in the afternoon.
Greek yogurt,strawberries and Cheerios made Tara smile here
Bit cold for Mason at the start

YUM!! Homemade chocolate magic shell to top it off

This is Tara's favourite. In the morning when making our fresh juice in the juicer i add some to the zoku and freeze then its ready for an afternoon treat. Pure beetroot juice layered with carrot juice underneath. Good way to increase those extra vitamins while pretending its a treat!

Zoku do make a holder for your ice-blocks to store them in the freezer but we find a snap lock bag works for us and really who wants to store them when they look this good!

Pancake shapes

With Shrove Tuesday last month we celebrated with our usual round pancakes but i had noticed a few products on the market that could help you make shaped pancakes. The products looked great but they were way overpriced so i searched my local Coles and found a Decor brand sauce bottle http://www.decor.com.au/usage/viewproducts.aspx?id=577
to try and replicate my own.

It worked perfectly. The mixture was thin enough to get out easily but thick enough to make delicious heart shaped pancakes that surprised Tara in her lunchbox for morning tea!

Glitter Dough

"Would you like to make play dough today?" ......"Yes, please! Can it be lilac and sparkly?".....
Not the answer i thought i would get but i shouldn't be surprised this little fairy loves anything girly.
Tara made her average play dough recipe then added a slight purple colour and some purple glitter. It looked quite pretty in the end. I forgot to get another photo but there were plenty of stars, wands and butterflies made.

Fruit Cars

How adorable are these little fruit cars?? Great morning tea for any little one on the go.
Just slice up an apple or pear into narrow pieces and use toothpicks to add grape or cherry wheels
Remind your little mechanic to take off the toothpick axles before they start munching!

Caterpillar Frankfurts

After a big day of Hungry Caterpillar fun partying, Tara was able to choose what we had for dinner. Her decision was "Caterpillar franks" of course! We thought we would share with you our meal...
First you hold a long Frankfurt steady while you pierce lengths of uncooked spaghetti in it and pull through the other side.Continue this all the way down the Frankfurt. Place the Frankfurt into water and boil until for a few minutes or until pasta is cookedCaterpillars franks ready for the birthday girl....

Reindeer Noses

Sick of boring candy cane gifts for friends?
Well this year we gave out these cuties!
Made with 8 maltesers and 1 jaffa, they got a smile from all of Tara's classmates. Here is a similar label that the folks at Pigeon have handed out free so print these off as many times as you need and get to work sorting your treats-great activity for the kids to get involved in to practise counting,sorting and of course not EATING!

http://www.pigeonbaby.com.au/pigeon/reindeerNoses.pdf

Tara's Tucker box Christmas style

Looking for a healthy Christmas lunch idea for the kids? This reindeer sandwich should do the trick!
Toast one slice of bread, while waiting get two slices of bread and make your favourite filling sandwich. Cut off the crusts and round the corners with a knife. With another slice of bread cut out a "B" shape
So starting with the normal square sandwich you made place the "B" shape facing down on the end of the sandwich to act as the cheeks. put a red cherry tomato on top for the nose. Cut out two small cheese slice circles and add olives/sultanas or red grapes as eyes.
The toasted slice of bread are the antlers so once toasted cut using scissors into a twisted antler shape. Add ears by cutting out shape from leftovers and add a coloured spread on top. Lastly the tongue can be made with a cucumber or as we used slice of cabanossi.

Proud as punch of her Christmas lunch!

Rainbow fruit snack

We were having some guests over for a play date so decided to make a healthy snack to enjoy. Tara cut up all the fruit herself, peeled some mandarins and added some mini marshmellow treats to make....
A stunning fruit rainbow! Great for St Patrick's day or a rainbow party. For a healthier option exchange the marshmellow "pot of gold" for dipping yogurt.

Juice Bar

The purpose of the exercise was to distinguish different flavours, expand vocab and create a juice that our would delight our taste buds!
I used our juicer to juice up different fruit and vegetables. Each small glass had a separate fruit or vegetable flavour that Tara had a guess at.
As a Montessori principle, when laying out work always encourage starting from left to right. This strategy can lay the pathways for early reading.

Tara tasted each flavour and told me if it was sweet or sour and what she thought it may be

We had Rockmelon, Kale, Pineapple and Carrot

Step 2 of the activity was to tip a little of the flavours in a larger cup and taste test until you get the exact quantities you like for your own juice but Tara insisted she loved them all and mixed them all in.

Juicilious!!!!

Glow dough

We loved our glow water so much we thought why not try making some playdough with it. Using 1 cup of cornflour and 2 cups of water i mixed it and placed in the microwave for 3 minutes. It became a hard thick layer of dough. I added a touch more glow water and kneaded it until it formed a ball.
Such a simple recipe, no stove top needed and i was really happy with the outcome. Easy to mould and soft enough for little hands

Tara got to work making some glow stars for halloween

Glow Goo

What do you get when you mix glow water with cornflour? GOOOOO
This recipe was just cornflour with cold glow water stirred until thickened. This was the start of making playdough before i microwaved it but Tara saw that goo and wanted to explore it so we added some spiders and other creepy crawlies and she had a blast.
It is sticky,gooey and gets everywhere but the ingredients are all washable,non toxic and so much fun. Tara made some hand prints on our pavers outside which look super creepy at night!

Fruit Pulp Sensory

We make our fresh juice with our juicer from home so we are left with this soft, gooey, squishy pulp which i knew would be just perfect for a sensory tub seeing as Mason now 9 months seems to be mouthing everything, i knew it would be safe for him to join in too!
For around 2 months, each time i made juice i gathered the pulp and kept it in a snap lock bag in the freezer and just added to it each time until i had a container full
I added some scooping utensils, play people pegs and let the kids explore it. Please note, this is a non toxic sensory tub but beware of any little scratches or cuts on children's hands as the acid will sting

Tara made some pulp castles and added some sticks to decorate

Then we made some mud pulp pies

Lastly a little pulp chick! Cheap, easy and so much fun!

Tara's Tucker box

I only have two photographed lunches this month as the whole getting out of the house before 8 am with everyone dressed and fed is still a learning experience for me. I have heard mums pack lunches the night before school but for me, nothing is better than a fresh lunch so i quickly whipped these up and got a photo before we headed out to school.
Sultana cup with a panda divider
cheese stick diced with toothpicks and
Sandwich cutters with animal stamps This was a special day out Tara and i had that had a theme about "cars"
milky way car with a tiny teddy and smarties wheels
A boiled egg in a car mould
A cars container filled with cranberries
A car shaped sandwich with toothpick word "cars"
A bear divider with pea flavoured snacks that we pretended were spare tyres!

Homemade Rusks for Baby

I think getting older siblings hands on and involved in helping with their new little brother or sister is the key to a happy household. Mason is cutting his first teeth right now so Tara made some homemade teething rusks for him to chew on.
If you would like the recipe we used it was very simple and they turned out lovely. Tara used her playdough tools to mould some unique bird,fish and even candy cane rusks for her little brother

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of dry baby cereal
1 very ripe banana, mashed until smooth
2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir in flour and cereal. In a small bowl mix in the banana,oil and 2 tbsp water. Add dry ingredients to the wet until you have a soft dough.
Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface and mould into smooth shapes. Cook for 10-15 minutes then cool. Store in an air tight container.

Spring onion trees for Dino world

I remember curling spring onions in my childhood so when we had a spare day i showed Tara how easily it is done..
A bowl of icy cold water and a cutting of spring onion. Tara cut the spring onion length ways a few times
Then placed them in the water

Within seconds the spring onions had curled up!

I had planned on using these in a chicken soup but Tara had other ideas! "They are palm trees mummy!"

So we got started on creating a habitat of trees which led into...

Another Dino land! I'm not quite sure what it is about dinosaurs but they end up in many of our activities

And are hours of fun!

Tara's Tucker box

Starting Tara at preschool one day a week was a lot harder for me than it was for her. The way i hid all my anxiety was to create her a yummy lunch that would bring a smile to her face.
Here are my first few creations

Popcorn butterfly-A simple snap lock bag half filled with popcorn twisted in the middle and secured with a peg. Add pipe cleaner for antennae and googly eyes. Butterfly ham sandwich-used a dollar store sandwich cutter. Apple & strawberry cowgirls-diced fruit threaded onto a cowboy hat toothpick. Bunny boiled egg-Just hard boil an egg and place in egg mould while warm Jam snails with sultana eyes-Use a slice of bread,butter and jam one side then roll it into itself until it forms a roll. Cut 1cm snail portions then add two sultana eyes

Watermelon ball people- using a melon baller make balls of watermelon then add a toothpick Heart tuna sushi-made using a heart shaped sushi mould with soy sauce in Mr penguin, Strawberries cut with toothpick leaves, Sausages cut with animal toothpicks and tomato sauce in the blue piggy square

Tara helped me with this one as she her lunches are now becoming the highlight in preparing for preschool.

Baybel lady - unwrap the baybel wax on one side use a sharp knife to cut out hair design, on a bed of sultanas, strawberry people, gingerbread sandwiches with fruit strap heart or buttons -we used Tara gingerbread cutter from her playdough cutters and Tara's own creation was the pac man rice cake with an apricot eye munching on cabanossi

Gluten free slice with strawberries, seaweed rice dippers with a tuna dip in her square containers

Risotto cake "yum", star jam sandwiches thanks to Tara's playdough cutters, Apple and pear heart made by using a sharp knife to dig out a heart shape in the apple then cut the same design from a pear and place the pear into the apple and push until secure, corn on cob and flower cheese and crackers