I’m a breastfeeding mama. My toddler doesn’t seem to remember that she nursed until she was 13 months old, but what she does know is that she isn’t going to leave me alone to nurse her sister. I can do a lot of things while nursing, like type this post with my left hand, but having a toddler-who-can’t-sit-still on my lap while I try and nurse my sweet-baby-who-needs-me-too isn’t ideal.
Thus, I love it when something novel will capture my toddler’s attention for at least 15 minutes at a time a few times a day. Play dough is the latest diversion.
We have fun making it together. (Okay, she doesn’t really help, she’s too busy pulling all the tupperware out of the cupboard.)
Today we experimented with different colors. Since I don’t have food coloring in the house, I got pretty creative. It was brilliant! Natural alternatives. And way cheaper than food coloring. The colors came out nice and earthy.
Here’s my play dough recipe:
add to a pan on the stove:
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vegetable oil
color
stir it up and heat over medium heat for a few minutes.
once the dough begins to solidify a bit, turn off the heat, let cool for just a minute, then remove and knead.
play dough will keep in an air tight container for 1-2 weeks
That’s it!
Here’s how I did the colors:
brown: 1-2 Tbs cocoa powder
yellow: the water was mint tea and we added turmeric til I got the color I wanted, maybe 2 tsp
orange: 1-2 Tbs paprika
pink: I boiled a few frozen berries in the water, then strained for use in the play dough recipe
And of course we made enough to share with friends!
What diversions capture your young children’s attention while you need to get other things done?