Homemade Moon Dough!!

Okay, this is too great not to share! Kids these days are totally over play dough and into this moon dough stuff. I went to Walmart just to scope out the prices, and see if it was worth it to invest in some for the kids.To my surprise it was around $13 for the smallest container! I decided to put purchasing moon dough on hold for a later date, and am I ever glad I did!

That night I went on pintrest, just browsing the craft section. Nothing too interesting caught my eye, until I clicked on a link that said "Cloud Dough". I was totally thrilled when I seen 2 ingredients on the list. Ingredients which I had sitting in my cupboard!! I raced to the kitchen, grabbed a spoon and rubber maid bin and got to work. It literally took 5 minutes of my time and no money at all. So here it is... the moment you've been waiting for. The ingredient list.

All you need is:

-Corn starch

-A bottle of shaving cream

Mix those 2 ingredients together and you have instant moon dough! The only unpleasant experience I had was that I only had men's Gillette shaving cream in my closet so it was an overwhelming smell. I would suggest using unscented, or a flowery woman's shaving cream. Other than that I hope this helped you guys save some money, and enjoy with your kids!

School's out for the Summer!!

As of last Friday school is out, and that means SUMMER VACATION!!!!! Well for the kids at least. Lately the daycare has been so hectic and chaotic I haven't had a moment to think. The kids have been out of control. I don't know if it is from the hot weather, super moon, their age, or what, but they have been crazy! Fortunately for me the last day of school means one of the last few days of chaos. Starting next week we will only have a few kids, which means quiet easy going days filled with fun and sun.

   For the summer I am trying to put together a binder filled with work sheets, games (indoor and outdoor), and crafts. This will make it easier on my boos and I instead of struggling to figure out what we should do for craft, or what we should do outside that day. However these kids seem to have either done everything, or just get bored with things super easily! So I'm putting the question out there to all parents, aunts, uncles, creative people, fellow ECE's or anyone with a great idea.... What the heck should we do this summer?? If you have an idea let me know in the comments below or send an email!!

Painting With Condensed Milk

Coming up with new and exciting craft ideas is always a challenge. The kids have done everything several times over, and we don't want to bore them by doing the same thing over and over. So the other day I over heard someone saying that condensed milk dries, and when it dries it stays shiny! I thought this would be the perfect material to paint with, so I stopped in at Walmart and grabbed a can or two!

I started out by mixing a few drops of food colouring into the condensed milk.  I then set out papers and paint brushes, and let the kids create! they loved the face that it was sticky, gooey and oozing all over! When the kids were finished painting I hung the pictures up to dry, We started to notice that the paint was too runny and started to drip, so we took the papers and folded them in half, pressed down and reopened them. This created a mirror affect. Once the condensed milk was dry we hung the paintings on the wall. The kids were very proud of their art work on display, and they thought the glossy shine was pretty cool too!

a few side notes for this craft:

1. Condensed milk doesn't smell too nice. If you want to have a more pleasant smell try adding a drop or two of vanilla or mint extract to each cup.

2. We tried gluing the paintings onto a piece of coloured construction paper, for a "framed" sort of look. The glue ended up soaking through to the condensed milk, and the pictures became runny again.

3. The condensed milk is very sticky. Make sure you have some sort of wipes or wash cloth on hand to wipe the children's hands after.

4. Enjoy the sticky, ooey, gooey messy craft. The kids will love it!

Painting with bubbles!!

Painting with anything is always going to be a messy craft, especially when children are involved. Painting with bubbles is on a whole new level of messy. However painting with bubbles is one of the most enjoyed crafts that the children have done.

First we started by mixing water soap and a splash of paint in little dixie cups. Then we put long straws into the cups. You must use long straws!! We discovered that if you use shorter straws it will most likely result in a bubbly mustache of sorts. After we figured out or straw crisis, we placed some paper in front of the children and let them go at it.

For the most part there was lots of giggles, paint spillage, and miniature lakes forming on the table. But every once in a while you get the child who we refer to as "the sipper". Instead of blowing bubbles, this child will suck the concoction of paint, soap and water up through their straw and instantaneously react as anyone would. By freaking out and spitting the disgusting mixture out everywhere!

After a few attempts at making bubble art, we found the mixtures to be a bit too watery, so the children figured out a new method of painting. They would dip the end of the straw in the mixture, take the straw out, point at the paper, and blow. This would result in wonderful little spatters of colour and bubbles everywhere. The children had so much fun, but this is definitely one craft I would recommend for outside!!

Puffy Paint!!

So at work most of the kids have been sick with ear infections, fevers, sore throats, and the oh so dreaded slapped cheek (Also known as fifths disease). In order to make the slow week seem a bit more fun and bright we decided to paint with puffy paint!! The last time we had tried this we used shaving cream, glue and food colouring, but this time I found a recipe that is non toxic and works much better! I will provide the recipe down below.

The kids really enjoyed using the pant, and the coolest part about it was all you had to do was put it in the microwave for 30 seconds (or a bit more depending on how much paint was used) and instantly the paint had hardened!! This is definitely a must try for anyone with kids. It's super fun, super easy, and a really simple clean up!!

Puffy Paint:
1 cup flour
3 table spoons baking powder
1 table spoon sat
food colouring
enough water to make a paste like texture

Here are some pics of the kids in action!! If you try it out let me know if your kids enjoyed it, and send pictures!