Thursday, November 11, 2010

outdoor exploration

we have had an absolutely gorgeous fall day so we decided to take full advantage and go out exploring. First stop, the sandbox! Throwing sand is always fun;


Owen has gotten a lot better at scooping with the shovel as well.


Next I followed the little guy around as he explored the backyard, finally settling on a pile of leaves where the rest of our time would be spent. He threw them, snuggled them, crawled in them, tasted them... great fun.




finally "we" (I) gathered up some outdoor materials to play with inside.


I got out the playdough and added in the outside stuff. I had grand visions of him rolling the pinecones in dough and pressing the leaves in it and things like that, but that just didn't happen ;) It probably would have been enough to just explore the outside stuff on its own without the playdough. Or perhaps it would have been better if I was helping more, but I let him do his own thing while I worked on his daddy's birthday cake.


The playdough, however is awesome, and here is my recipe:
1-cup flour
1/2-cup salt
2-teaspoons cream of tarter
1-cup water
1-Tablespoon cooking oil
food coloring (optional)

Put everything in a pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You're looking for the dough to start separating from the sides of the pan (the time this takes depends on how big your batch is). The smoothest results come from stopping when it still seems like it’ll be a little too sticky. Remove and let cool for a bit on wax paper. Add color and knead to distribute color. Add a scent (e.g., mint, wintergreen, clove, strawberry, etc.) to keep it smelling fresh.

1 comment:

  1. Welcome to blogging...I'm sure you are going to have so much fun! Your little boy is lucky to have a mama like you that allows him to make such a wonderful mess!! :) The activities you have shared so far are super sensory experiences for him!

    Take care,
    Georgia

    ReplyDelete

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