Colored Rice

Most of us don't want to deal with glitter, so we turn to sequins and other sparkly objects instead.  You can make your own colored rice as another alternative!

WHAT YOU NEED
white rice
white vinegar
food coloring

WHAT YOU DO

Combine 1/2 cup white rice, 5 drops of food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar.  

Stir until the food coloring is evenly distributed.  

Spread on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.  

Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes to dry. Store in plastic baggies when cooled.

IDEAS FOR USE
sprinkle rice over glue on a piece of paper, dig for buried treasures in a bucket of colored rice, pour into jars and seee what patterns you can make... other ideas?  Leave your comments below!

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

MATERIALS
applesauce (store bought, not homemade)
cinnamon (bulk)
white glue
wax paper
rolling pin
cookie cutters
one drinking straw
ribbon, rafia, etc. for hanging

WHAT YOU DO
You want a one-to-one ration of applesauce to cinnamon.  1/4 cup to 1/2 cup each should be fine.  Measure out the cinnamon and applesauce for your tot, then let him pour it into a mixing bowl.  Let him stir and then finish off the mixing for him.  Add a bit of white glue (up to a tablespoon).

Lay out a sheet of wax paper sprinkled with cinnamon so your "dough" doesn't stick.  Cover rolling pin with cinnamon also and help your child roll out the dough into a thin, flat sheet.  If the dough seems too wet, just add more cinnamon.  Let your toddler cut out shapes with cookie cutters then use a straw to poke a hole at the top where you will hang with ribbon.  You can also use a template and trace around that - try tracing your child's hand!

Dry in a 200 degree oven for two hours (turning once) or let air dry for 24-48 hours.

Hang with a festive ribbon!  Try decorating some with clear sparkle sugars (I used red because that's what we had but the clear/white ones would look SO much better!).  You can also add them to your potpourri dish, they smell SO yummy!

Bake Together!

Early toddlers may seem a little young for this, but they will enjoy the quality time they spend with you and can actually help quite a bit!

Use a boxed brownie mix or a simple cookie/muffin recipe.  Measure everything out and show your tot what you're doing.  Help them pour everything into the bowl and have fun! Help them turn the mixer on, teach them how to crack an egg.  Supervise closely and be ready for spills and messes :)

It helps if you have everything out ahead of time and then bring your child in to help.  I try to have all my ingredients and utensils on the counter so I don't have to leave him standing on the chair alone.  With his short attention span, having everything out helps move things along before he gets bored.

Recently, my tot and I made banana bread together!  Click here for my favorite easy recipe.

You can never supervise too closely.  Case in point: In the photo above, we were pouring in eggs.  In the photo below is what happened when I watched but didn't help.  He actually almost dumped the egg into the bowl but as he pulled the cup back, the egg dropped to the floor! Haha!

Homemade Play Dough

This is kind of a "twofer" activity!  Activity 1: make play dough.  Activity 2: play!

Rumor has it this recipe came from Parents Magazine.  I wasn't able to find it online or in my magazines to give credit where credit is due.  It's a great, all-natural recipe though!  Natural, stain-free coloring too.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup flour

3/8 cup salt

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

natural coloring of your choice:

• brown = 3/8 cup + 1 Tablespoon hot water + 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• pink = 3/8 cup hot beet juice
• yellow = 3/8 cup hot water + 1 teaspoon turmeric
• orange = 3/8 cup hot water + 1 Tablespoon paprika

Allow your child to add the ingredients after you've measured them out.  Explain what you're doing as you measure!  Give them a chance to mix the play dough first and then you can finish combining all the ingredients.  Then, split the play dough in half and play with your tot!  Use rolling pins and cookie cutters too!

This is the orange playdough using a tablespoon of paprika: