Homemade moon dough

I'm pretty sure you have heard of moon dough and you know it has nothing to do with the Earth's satellite, but with the kids fun.

What is most fascinating about the whole story is that it requires only two ingredients, and the kids can be entertained for hours - yes, hours I said.

It surely is an example of a messy play - so I would definitely recommend it to be one of the outdoor games.

All you need is to mix flour and oil in a ratio of 8:1 (for example - 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of oil) - small hands will be more than happy to help with that:

You will get a mixture similar to modeling clay, but with a different, silky texture and much easier for shaping.

Put in a few plastic toys (we used a playdough set) and in no time you will get some "delicious cookies and ice cream", as my girls called it:

The girls came up with the idea to add some water, "because they wanted to make pizza dough, just like dad does" so the amount of messiness kind of culminated:

But they were having fun the entire afternoon - so tell me, who can pay for it?

 

    

 

How to make a toy boat

Some of my earliest childhood memories are related to playing with paper boats in the muddy pools - I remember how happy and careless I was at the time  ....

I'm sure most of you are familiar with this popular origami technique, and if by chance you are not, see here how it works.

However, the one thing I was really annoyed with these boats, even as a child, is the fact they get wet fast and therefore become unusable.

That's why me and the girls tried to make boats out of more durable materials.

1. Cork boats

This is actually one of the easiest things we've ever done. Couple of corks, rubber bands, toothpick and a little sponge and we got a mini fleet in a moment or two:

Just a short notice: definitely 3+ toy!

Egg boxes boats

Here we used polystyrene egg boxes, chopsticks and a spongy cloth. 

Daddy-engineer added a cork on the end of a sticks (actually to the end of a sail), so the water does not end up in a boat:

While I was delighted with the idea at the first glance, sponge (especially when it becomes wet) is heavier than polystyrene, so we quickly got a shipwrecked boat.

Cheerful team then had to sail without sails: 

After this experience, using the leaf as a sail sounds as much better idea, and we certainly intend to try it.

We also tried to make boats out of ice cubes as shown in this picture, but it was also not very successful - toothpicks and straws bent during freezing so it is impossible to maintain such a boat on the surface, and besides - the summer heat causes ice cubes to melt too fast ....

Enjoy the summer and let the play begin!

Homemade bubbles....small and large...

Summer is the perfect time for fun with all kinds of bubbles.

You can easily make your own bubble solution-  ideal is the mixture of distilled water, dishwashing liquid and sugar. Sugar is the secret ingredient which prevents the bubbles from bursting. Instead of sugar, you can use the gelatin or glycerin (available in pharmacies), but sugar was a winning combination for us.

We added 1 cup of dishwashing liquid and a half cup of sugar in 2 liters of water . Stir it gently, careful not to make too much foam. Also, it is not irrelevant what type of detergent you use - the best are those labeled as classic, while balsam and similar types do not provide very good results.

For making really huge bubbles you need two dowels connected with two pieces of string - where the upper is shorter than the lower and lower contains a metal ring (for pulling it down).

You can have the best results if you put the bubble solution overnight in the refrigerator and use it on a rainy day, when the air is more humid. Also, it is necessary to pull dowels really slowly.

Good fun guaranteed! 

Larger the bowl, happier the kids ...

We had so much fun....

If you cut a plastic bottle at the bottom and add a cotton sock to it, and then soak it in a mixture of water and dishwashing liquid, you can really get a lot of bubbles.

My girls called it "the bubble snakes."

I wish you a lot of refreshing fun during these hot summer days!

 

Pool noodles - for swimming or for playing?

I can't describe you enough how amazed I am with the simple thing called the pool noodle. One thing, various possibilities - is there a better craft material? Especially when it comes to children crafts and kids summer fun.

Here's what we have been doing lately with his majesty The Pool Noodle:

1. A Backyard target

Originally, I found the idea here (it reminds me of the Olympic rings, doesn't it?) and it was the moment when I fell in love to the homemade toys. So simple, while ingenious and impossible to buy in a store.

I connected them by using a duct tape, and added some support poles, one on each side.

The initial idea was to make them standing upright, but it did not really work, so we made a little different and a simpler target, which we hung on a flower rack. In this case, we connected the rings with a piece of string, which is more durable than a duct tape.

2. A jumping game 

When we decided that our target still can not stand alone, my girls came up with a new game:

3. Jolly rings

When we finally disassembled the target station , girls came up with another game, that just reminded me of a stacker baby toy.

4. Storage for balls

This is something the girls also thought of. The Younger was really entertained for a while inserting the balls inside and then again out.

Actually the best part of the story is how you can just give this toy to a child and a child will instantly find dozens of ways to play. Of course, The Younger had to taste them, but quickly concluded that they are not delicious, and gave up snacking.

Opportunities with the noodles are indeed many, believe it or not, you can even use them as a bed rail.

Interested in other pool noodle ideas? Look here.

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