Indoor Snowday!

So…The last couple days, we were playing outside without jackets and tomorrow we are supposed to have the worst Winter storm of the year…Typical Missouri weather!  It looks like we may be stuck inside for a couple days, so I had to come up with some fun hands-on activities to keep my boys busy.  {Basically I don’t want them to sit in front of the TV all day!}  Anyway, I thought some of you might be in the same predicament and could use some tried and true activities.  Each of these has been tested and approved by my boys!

1. Homemade “Snow” Playdoh

I discovered this recipe a couple years ago and have been making it since…It is super-quick, easy and smells great!  The original recipe comes from No Ordinary Moments.  {I make it so much that I typed the recipe from memory…She has lots of other fun and yummy recipes on her site!}  To make it “Snow” Playdoh, I omitted the koolaid and added silver glitter…Who knew it would be such a HUGE hit!  Glitter makes everything better, right!?

How To: Combine 1 c  flour, 1/4 c salt, 2 T cream of tartar, 1 c water, 1 T vegetable oil and 1 envelope unsweetened Koolaid (optional) in a medium saucepan.  Over medium heat, stir until mixture starts to come together.  Then, remove from heat and continue stirring until it forms a sticky ball.  Remove from pan and knead until it is a very soft, pliable dough. **Will be HOT when removed from pan, so be careful!** Store in a sealed container or ziploc bag. Stays soft for a very long time!

So, while we were playing with the playdoh, I had a great mom moment…What if we read the book Katy and the Big Snow and plowed the snow (playdoh)?!  Talk about hours of fun!

(Book is from the library and snow plow is from our Geo-Trax)

2. Indoor Snow 

We made this last Winter and the boys LOVED it!  I set it up in the Mudroom and they played in it for days…until daddy finally got tired of walking through it.  Of course I cannot find the original recipe  I used {or pictures taken from my pre-blogging days…}, but here is the general idea:

Use an 8:1 ratio of flour to oil.

8 cups flour mixed with 1 cup oil {baby oil or vegetable} White flour makes a smoother dough, more like snow.  Whole wheat flour or cornmeal works great for Spring when you want to have “dirt” to play with.

I just place the ingredients in a wash tub or large bowl and mix with my hands.  Add shaping toys or construction vehicles…My boys could scoop and dig for hours!

**There are dozens of recipes on Pinterest for this called Moon dough or Cloud dough if you want to search a different variation.

3. Indoor Moldable Snow

This is what we made today and the boys had fun with it…It was a little too gooey at first, so they liked it better after it dried out a bit.  It’s a bit time consuming, but easy and uses ingredients you probably have at home.

Ingredients:

1 bar Ivory soap

1 cup HOT water, not boiling

1 roll toilet paper, shredded into little bitty pieces

How to:

Grate soap with a cheese grater.  Tear toilet paper into pieces {kiddos can do this} and pile into a wash basin or empty storage tub.  Combine soap and 1 cup water.  Pour over paper and mix together with your hands.  Add some measuring cups, spoons or small vehicles.  OR mold into snowmen and decorate with hats, scarves, carrot nose, etc.

Have fun with your indoor Snow Day!

Ariean

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