To help parents interact constructively with their children during this time of confinement, these six one-page tips for parents cover planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behavior, managing stress, and talking about COVID-19. Use them to your and your kids’ advantage, and have fun in doing so.
Family Support
3-Ingredient Play Dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 cups Water
- 1 cup Corn Starch
- Optional: 2-3 drops of essential oils
- Optional: 4-5 drops of food coloring
Instructions
1. In a saucepan with NO heat, add the cornstarch, baking soda, water and stir.
2. Place your saucepan on the stove top and turn your heat to medium.
3. Continue stirring the mix constantly. It will start to bubble slightly and that’s when it happens really fast. It will begin to turn solid. Once a ball starts to form (4-5 minutes) take your pan off the heat.
4. Place your dough onto a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Let it cool, it will be very hot. To speed the cooling process, flip it over and knead it a bit as it’s cooling down. Be careful, it’s HOT.
5. Once your dough is cool you have the option of adding in a food coloring or a scent. Option: add 2-3 drops of essential oil, and/or add drops of food coloring to achieve desired color, even 1 drop will give it some color.
6. Now it’s time to play. Get out the cookie cutters, lollipop sticks, and plastic utensils and have some fun creating!
Homemade Snow!
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Corn starch
- 8 oz. Hair conditioner
- Large bowl
Instructions
Mix ingredients in the bowl. You want it to be just sticky enough to make snowballs. If it’s too dry, add a little more conditioner. If it’s too wet, add some more corn starch.
You can store your snow for another day by keeping it in an air tight container. If it dries out a little, slowly add conditioner and a little water to get the right consistency.
