Flour, oil and water

Play dough
- 3 parts flour
  2 parts salt
  1 part oil
  A pinch of creme of tartar (optional)
  Food colouring (optional)
  Enough water to bring it together
  Add all of your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix in your oil, if you want your playdough to be marbled with flecks of colour though out add it here to. If you want your playdough to be one solid colour, add it to the water and add enough water to bring all of it together into a smooth elastic dough. You will have to kneed the dough for about 10 minuets before use you want your dough to bounce back slightly when pressed.
Moon sand
- 1 part cooking oil
  16 parts plain flour
  Rub flour into oil a third at a time until you get a soft crumbly texture that will clump together but not hold and isn’t sticky. Use a powered colure if you wish to colure it as food die will not work with the oil. Set up with balls of tin foil for space themed fun.
Salt dough.
- You will need
  1 part water
  1 part salt
  2 parts flour
  Mix flour and salt in a large bowl, add the water and and combine. Allow your children to roll out, cut out and shape the dough. Place you finished items on a lined baking sheet and bake on your oven’s lowest setting for 3 hours or until the salt dough is fully dry. Allow to cool and paint.

Paint, glue, dye and paper

Bubble Painting
- Food dye (in colures that will mix well)
  Bubble mix
  Cardstock
  Disposable straws
  Paper cups (one cup per colure)
  Lay out your cardstock. Split your bubble mix between your paper cups and dye your bubble mix with food dye. Dip your straw into each cup and allow your child to blow bubbles on to the paper. When the bubbles pop they will leave a colourful pattern on the paper. You can make your own bubble mix using the quick activity guide on my page.
Colure mixing
- Red, yellow, blue and white paint
  Zip-lock bags
  Masking tap
  Pour your paint into your bag, I like to use 2 parts white paint to 1 part the colures you wish to mix, this way the colures turn out brighter. Add either blue and red, red and yellow or yellow and blue paint together to make purple, orange and green. Or give your child the option of whatever colures you like (or have lying around).
Collage
- A sheet of white paper to glue everything on to.
  Glue, I find that clear craft glue or PVA works best
  Patterned/coloured/magazine paper
  Bubble wrap
  Allow you child where age appropriate and skilled to do so, to cut up everything but the while paper and glue. Use the glue to stick everything else to the white paper.
Pasta necklaces
- Penne pasta
  Pipe cleaners
  Food dye (optional)
  Allow your child to thread the raw penne pasta onto the pipe cleaners to create a bracelet. I recommend dyeing your pasta to add a pop of colure by mixing your dried pasta with food colouring.

Experiments

Flower dyeing
- 8 white flowers
  Red, yellow, blue and green food colouring
  4 tall slim containers
  Water
  Trim your flowers to match the length of your containers. Half fill your containers with water and add one colure of die to each. Make your coloured water fairly pigmented. Add your white flowers (I’d use 2 flowers per container) and leave in a space that they can’t reach but can see. Over a few days the flowers will change form white to what ever colure you’ve dyed your water.
Pasta towers
- Dry spaghetti or match sticks (just the wooden bit available from most craft stores)
  Marshmallows
  Cellotape
  Give them a roll of Cellotape and a handful of the other ingredients. Instruct them to build a tower. I often do this with my 4 and 5yos.
Obleck
- One part water
  One part corn flour
  Food colouring, optional
  Mix cornflour, water and colouring (if used) together in a tray. Pair with sand toys or kitchen wear for gooey, slimy fun.