Confessions of a Work-at-Home Mom: A Snow Day Craft
Remember those days at the end of summer, the ones during the few weeks before school was ready to start? The days after you’d done pretty much all you could think to do in one summer? The ones you spent lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling fan until its rotation appeared to reverse in what is one of the most exciting optical illusions ever, mostly because you discovered it on your own when you were bored to tears?
All of this is how Tulsa-area kids are starting to feel. If school is out tomorrow (and many speculate that, with another heavy blanket of snow on its way to Green Country, it will be), it’ll be the seventh straight snow day for our students.
When you’re of school-going age (or a parent of a child who is), people, seven days might as well be an eternity.
Breathe in, breathe out. Here’s something to do as a family that could help take some of the edge off.
Homemade Playdough (read: Homemade Super Happy Fun Times)
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 c. flour
- 2 c. water
- 1 c. salt
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. cream of tartar (optional for best elasticity which, trust me, is something you definitely want for a good batch of playdough)
Step 1: Throw all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan.
Like so.
Don’t forget this stuff:
Whatever it is. Mystery in a spice can.
Step 2: Turn the heat to low.
Like so.
Step 3: Stir constantly until the mess you made in your pan starts to hold together. It’ll start to look like mashed potatoes.
Step 4: Continue stirring until the dough forms a ball; turn off heat.
More chemistry intrigue!
I love making Playdough, in case you can’t tell.
Step 5: Allow the playdough to cool before handling. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take long.
Step 6: If desired, color the playdough with food coloring. Unsweetened drink mix works OK, too, in a pinch.
Here’s how:
Feel free to take out some of your snow day aggression on these little balls of dough, both when you’re making wells for food coloring and when you’re rubbing it in.
Punch!
Let’s do…red! I love red.
I love pretty much all colors, actually. I am equal opportunity enthusiast when it comes to color.
Add even more fun to the mix with cookie cutters. We like the ones from a set of Oklahoma-themed cookie cutters we got for Christmas.
Ha! Yes.
When you’re done playing, simply store your Playdough in an air-tight container. Or, slum it like us and use plastic wrap. Either way, this stuff keeps for a long, long time.
It’s like the snow day activity that keeps on giving.
Which is a totally, completely separate thing from the snow day that keeps on giving.
As we Tulsa parents have recently found out.
Now, don’t let tweens and teens tell you that they’re too old or too cool for Playdough. Playdough is like LEGO – they’re universally and forever entertaining, irrespective of age or coolness factor.
Enjoy!
