All we need is love and play dough

The theme for this month is all about LOVE.  We are using the colors red, pink, purple, and white with all of our art and sensory play.  The favorite so far is our pink play dough.  I make it from scratch and used a little bit of peppermint extract to give it a fun smell.  We are using Valentine heart picks, cupcake liners and red glitter to make our play "funcakes" .  Also high on the most wanted play list is our rice bin. With funnels and scoopers and big silver spoons learning to pour and scoop is all that is needed for hours of fun!  Okay it is really minutes, more like 15 to 20 minutes and then another 15 to 20 minutes of sweeping.  But once again we are learning how to take care of our surrounding after we have our fun!

Play Dough Recipe:
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring
Mix first 4 ingredients in a pan. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 – 5 minutes. Dough will become difficult to stir and form a “clump”.  Remove from stove and knead for 5 minutes–add food coloring during kneading process. Play dough will keep for a long time stored in a covered plastic container or plastic sandwich bag

Colored Rice:

To color rice add about 2 tablespoon of alcohol and food coloring to dry rice in a ziploc bag, mix thoroughly, then spread out on to a baking pan. Heat in oven at 200 degrees until dry or place in sun to dry.