Super Soft Playdough (28/11/2014)

I We just couldn't get enough of the playdough! We kept the playdough from the day before into an airtight tupperware and here we are again! After a day, the dough became kind of softer and stickier, so we added about ¼ cup of flour to get it going again.

Made by the mom.  A good way to show the girls how to replicate something from an image.  This is from our alphabet playmat. 

From working at the table....

To tossing on the playmat… The bits and pieces will drop here and there so we might jolly well play on the ground.

She enjoys it! I brought the playdough back onto the table so she can have an ‘appropriate’ desk to handle them.

But there’s no boundary when it comes to play, right?  So she inevitably brought it down to the floor yet again!  Haha, kids! 

Recently, J will say "let's go into the tunnel" whenever we’re travelling in the car.  This was so ever since she understood what a tunnel is.  So I made her a tunnel that she can relate to.  Till then.

withbabyloves

Super Soft Playdough (27/11/2014)

All hands-on activities with the girls always get me feeling excited! 

Taa-daa~~~ This time I have the Soft Gel Paste – Food Color to make colored playdough.  I’ve always wanted them to play safely, and my heart and mind would be at ease too! Without me getting hysterical about them tasting the playdough or having their hands in their mouth while playing. I asked J to choose a color and she chose purple. 

I followed the method here to make the playdough.  It requires cream of tartar but I didn’t add this because I didn’t have time to purchase it.  Also replaced vegetable oil with olive oil.  It did turn out soft, but I did add about ½ cup more flour than those instructed.  Hmm, will have to do one with all the ingredients and test if there’s any difference.

This is the Gel food coloring that I’m currently crazy about.  I got it from a local online store at $3.50/bot and the coolest thing is that I received the parcel just after TWO days!  It’s much cheaper AND faster than buying from Amazon though!  This is one of the best thing I like about online shopping.  It’s really so convenient!  But, if you know where I can get this product at any cheaper price, do tell me, please!  Because I would definitely gonna stock-in once they’re used up sooner or later, and any cheaper would definitely benefit me.

Here’s J, rolling and kneading away. She loves it! And can play with it for a reallllly long time by herself!
Yes, do you notice the two snails in the picture? Haha, one was done by uncle R & another is none other than the mom herself!

M, pinching the playdough in snippets using her finger tips!

Here's another shot of M poking at the playdough. 

Yes! It’s an elephant! Done by Papa. Haha! I don’t really wanna know what else you’ve guessed la! Papa also made a toilet bowl look-a-like and got us hooting non-stop!  Everyone enjoyed the construction of animals/objects out of the playdough.  I would say it’s an excellent get-together activity for the whole family!

Withbabyloves

2-Ingredient Playdough (25/8/2014)

After hearing much about the 2-ingredient homemade playdough.  Here is our version~
Like finally I have the additional time to play with the girls..~*  

Initially I was so amazed by the 2-ingredient playdough. It's like, WOW! Haha!! Read on!

The ingredients are:
- 2 parts corn starch
- 1 part hair conditioner of any brand
- Optional: coloring

Due to the inedible ingredient (hair conditioner), a full supervision by an adult is required throughout this activity.  In our case, I sat with J (22 months old) throughout the activity which lasted us for about one full hour.  Yes! Playdough can be really engaging! My eyes were exclusively fixed on her while she was enjoying the ‘game’.

Initially I wanted to get the dough ready for her.  However, seeing her ‘loitering’ around the house and watching television, I thought why not have her participate. By involving her in preparation, she can understand how exactly the playdough came about. I tried to refrain from saying the discouraging ‘no’ word, ‘cannot’ put in your mouth, ‘cannot’ rub your eyes, be careful with this.. and that…’ etc… (Haha, mommies with kids attending Shichida should know what I mean ya).  In the end I just laid back and guided her in playing it the ‘right’ (safe) way.  Well, there isn’t really a right way when it comes to free play, right?  So I just watched and be her assistant when she required. 
 
First, I got ready all the ingredients and tools on her desk. (But kept the 2 ingredients away from her reach though she had tried her hands on them a few times, but I just pulled away to ensure she don’t mess up the place.   

J happily scooping and pouring the ingredients onto the tupperware.

And then mixing the ingredients.. Concentrating, hard! She would say ‘Stir stir stir~~~'.

A potential hazard is that if either of the ingredients were to spill on the floor, it creates a slippery surface, especially for the hair conditioner which can be dangerous.  M (10 months old) was crawling around the house during the activity, playing with her own toys.  I made sure our helper was always by M’s side, as was at the stage where she puts everything and anything in her mouth.  Thank goodness we have a helper! =)
 
With an appetite on hands-on activities, I’m so very sure there will be more of such activities to entertain the girls henceforth. 

Here she is, kneading the playdough =) She doesn’t have much strength to press fully onto the mould to shape the playdough yet.

Playdough can boost children’s cognitive development on top of grasping the fine motor skills as they pinch, poke and press on the playdough.

Review
This will be the first and last 2-ingredient playdough with hair conditioner for us.  As I really feel uncomfortable about the chemical that my child is handling.  And the conditioner comes with a strong fragrance too.  I would not recommend this type of ingredient as it’s quite risky if the toddler use her hand to rub her eyes or nose synchronously playing with the playdough, and they are fast in doing that!

Check out our newly-found playdough activity! Coming soon!

Withbabyloves