Snow Dough

My kids have been wondering when we're going to get snow since it's gotten really cold outside.  Though I'm thankful we don't live in an area that typically gets "real" snow, I remember that magical feeling as a child whenever we did get to see some white stuff.  So, I decided to do a little unit on snow this week.  We learned about how snowflakes form and that each one is different--just like God made each of us different and unique.   We cut snowflakes out of coffee filters (um, forgot to take some pics of those) and Brilee had tons of fun playing with the leftover bits of coffee filter that was left behind by all the cutting.

Even after all this snow fun, the kids were still asking for real snow.  So, I remembered an idea I read on a couple of the many blogs I read.  I got this particular recipe from Teachmama.com  She called this "cloud dough" but also related it to fake snow, so I called it "snow dough" for my kids.  We had to go buy some baby oil since I've never had any in the house!  All you do if find a large tub and put 8 cups of flour to 1 cup of baby oil inside and squish it together.

The kids loved the texture and consistency of this stuff and played in it for a good hour this morning (they would have gone longer, but the excitement was causing some of the "snow" to get outside of the tub).  After about 5 minutes, I had to take Brilee elsewhere to be entertained because even sitting right down beside her, she would pull her hand out really quickly and the stuff would go flying everywhere.   Even though I had down the plastic mat I get out when the kids play with play-doh (can you tell I don't like cleaning up messes?) it was just getting to be too much with her.  She was content to go upstairs and play with their new kitchen set while I cleaned a little upstairs.  Sean & Lilly did surprisingly well on their own  (and I checked on them every 5 min or so!)

I would highly recommend this activity for any young kids who love different textures and are bored of regular play-doh.  I think this bin will come out every couple of days this winter!  It also gave the kitchen a nice, pleasant scent from the baby oil.