Do the Monster Mash

Today was one of our bimonthly trips to the library and while Sean hunted for...gasp- TRAIN books, I picked out a few monster books. We have a few at home that Sean likes to read (Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton, Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak) and I had seen some cute projects on Instagram, so I thought I’d grab a few new titles.

 

We read Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen and Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. While reading we took note of how different the monsters looked in size, shape, and body parts. Sean counted eyes, used adjectives to describe, and created silly names for them based on appearance.

 

When we finished the book we whipped up half a batch of The Imagination Tree’s 4 minute no cook playdough. Anna has a very creative play based blog that I’ve been reading for a while. She has TONS of playdough ideas that far exceed simply busting open a jar of dollar store playdough. I usually make JELLO dough but didn’t feel like cooking. I prefer making my own because it doesn't dry out as fast as store bought, and it's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

 

Her recipe is simple: (I halved her recipe so check out her blog for the original recipe)

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¾ cup of boiling water
• Food coloring

 

 

Mix flour, salt, cream of tarter and vegetable oil in bowl. Add food coloring to the water and gradually mix in the water. Mix until it comes together and is slightly sticky. When it cools down knead it until no longer sticky. You may need to add a little flour if it’s too sticky. I separated the dry ingredients into 3 small bowls and added a little less than ¼ cup of colored water to each bowl.

 

 

I gathered some random loose parts and placed them in an old egg carton and Sean, Olivia, and I started creating monsters.

I used googly eyes, buttons, pom poms, cubes and craft sticks. I also pulled out some rollers, scissors and other random playdough tools.

 

This was a great activity for both kids. Yes! Olivia did try out the playdough, but since it has salt she quickly discovered that it was better for play than snacking!

 

 

After making several monsters, Sean decided he wanted to make a birthday cake for his monster like in his book Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton.  I love that playdough can really spark those creative juices!

 

 

 

Some other great Monster reads are:

• Go Away Big Green Monster

• If You’re a Monster and You Know It

• How to Potty Train Your Monster

• Tickle Monster

• That’s Not my Monster

• Go to Bed Monster

• The Book that Eats People

• The Monster Show

J-E-L-L-OOOOO!

Play dough is one of those simple childhood novelties that everyone has memories playing with. It is one of the best things that kids can play with #1- it’s CHEAP…hello Dollar Store #2- it ignites creativity #3- great for those fine motor skills necessary for writing and cutting, and #4- a great medium to practice things like counting, shapes, color, size, letters, and patterns.

We are play dough addicts in this house. I even carry a small fun size container of it in my diaper bag with a few accessories for traveling and restaurants. Since we are such enthusiasts I decided to try some of the pinterest recipes for homemade dough when Sean was 1. We have tried dozens of variations but the JELLO dough is our favorite. I found the recipe over at Modern Parents Messy Kids. It is soft and easy to handle, smells AMAZING, and easy to make. The only ingredients I didn’t have on hand was a box of JELLO and cream of tartar.

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar (found with spices in grocery stores)

2 tablespoons of cooking oil

1-      3oz package of any flavor JELLO

Process:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan until combined (will be slightly lumpy)

Place pan over medium heat and keep stirring until lumps are gone and dough comes together and forms a ball (about 5 minutes)

 

Turn off stove and place dough ball on floured counter and let cool about 20 minutes

 

Knead cooled dough with a tablespoon of flour, repeat until no longer sticky

PLAY!!!

 

 

 

 *When you are all played out just place dough in a plastic container or gallon size zip lock plastic bag and keep refrigerated until the next use. Should last several weeks when refrigerated. Play dough will keep its soft consistency even after refrigeration.

We have several dollar store and target dollar play dough accessory kits with cutters and rollers. I also provide other tools such as cupcake liners, candles, nature (rocks, sticks, leaves, pinecones), and thematic items. Play dough is great to center on themes just change the color and add themed items for holidays or topics of interest. Sean is a lover of trains and trucks so we have done several construction site invitations. You don‘t have to spend tons of money on brand named accessories just scour your house for random toys and household items.

I couldn't resist adding a few throwback photos of Sean with our first batch of homemade Jello dough when he was a year and a half.