The Preschooler’s Busy Book (8 page)

This recipe uses a combination of unflavored gelatin and commercial Jell-O.

Ingredients

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

6-ounce package Jell-O

2½ cups cold water, divided

Materials

Small bowl

Medium saucepan

Baking pan, lightly greased

Cookie cutters or knife

1.
Dissolve unflavored gelatin in a small bowl with 1 cup cold water.
Set aside.

2.
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add Jell-O.
Bring to a boil again and remove from heat.

3.
Add gelatin mixture.
Stir and add ½ cup cold water.

4.
Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and set in refrigerator until solid (2 hours).

5.
Use cookie cutters or a sharp knife to cut into shapes.

Avoid using commercial Jell-O by trying this recipe.

Ingredients

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 12-ounce can frozen juice concentrate, thawed

12 ounces water

Sugar (optional)

Materials

Medium saucepan

Baking pan, lightly greased

Cookie cutters or knife

1.
In a medium saucepan, soften gelatin in thawed juice concentrate; bring the water to a boil.

2.
Add the juice/gelatin mixture to the boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
Add sugar for extra sweetening, if desired.

3.
Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and set in refrigerator until solid (2 hours).

“Any adult who spends even fifteen minutes with a child outdoors finds himself drawn back to his own childhood, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.”

—Sharon MacLatchie

Children of all ages have such an endless amount of energy.
Outdoor play, every day, in almost any weather, is essential.
Most children are as happy all bundled up for the snow as they are in shorts in the summertime.
Rain provides countless opportunities for play, whether walking beneath an umbrella or stomping in the puddles, and a brisk walk is appropriate almost anytime.
Playing outdoors in all types of weather is great fun for kids.
You should encourage your child’s outdoor play every day, and join her whenever you can.

The following suggestions will provide your preschooler with some fun and interesting things to do outdoors.
Most activities require a minimum of materials, and you will find that by making slight adaptations, most are suitable for any season and any weather.

Chalk

Have your child use white or colored chalk to draw on the sidewalk.
Teach her how to play games, such as tick-tack-toe or hangman, or simply let her create masterpieces to her heart’s content.
The “paper” will always be big enough for whatever project she undertakes, and you won’t have to worry about display or storage space when she is done!
Special sidewalk chalk is available, but regular chalk will do—just be sure to have lots, as it wears down pretty quickly.
Also make sure to limit your child’s creativity to your residence’s sidewalk, unless you ask the neighbors’ permission first.

Paper cup

Straw

Dish detergent

Water

Food coloring

Help your child make this simple bubble pipe.
Poke a pencil hole on the side of a paper cup, one inch from the bottom, and stick a drinking straw through it, halfway into the cup.
Pour dish detergent into the cup until the straw is covered.
Add a little water and a few drops of food coloring.
Blow gently until beautiful colored bubbles froth over the rim of the cup and fill the air.

2 cups warm water

1 cup liquid dishwashing soap

¼ cup glycerin

1 teaspoon sugar

Funnel, straws, six-pack plastic beverage holders, or other

unbreakable household objects

Mix together water, dishwashing soap, glycerin, and sugar.
Use various unbreakable objects found around the house to blow spectacular bubbles: funnels, straws, six-pack beverage holders.
Dip the objects in the bubble solution and blow through them, or wave them through the air like wands.
Store the bubble solution in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.

Paintbrush

Bucket of water

Painter’s cap

Give your child a clean paintbrush, a bucket full of water, and a painter’s cap and let her paint the outside of the house, the car, or the sidewalk.
Not only will your child feel proud of doing grown-up stuff, she will actually do something useful in the process, and get fresh air and exercise in addition.
If your child is old enough to think that painting with water is silly, put some soap into the water and tell her she is washing the house.
(In this case, you may not want her to wash the car; it could result in soap streaks.)

Sandpaper

Wood scraps

Glue (optional)

Paint or markers (optional)

Give your child a piece of sandpaper and some small wood scraps.
Show her how to sand the wood, and talk about the difference between rough and well-sanded textures.
Sanded scraps of wood can be glued together to create wood sculptures and painted or decorated with markers.
To avoid splinters, you may want your child to wear gloves for this activity.

Small rocks

Gold or silver spray paint

Spray some small rocks with gold or silver spray paint to resemble gold or silver nuggets.
Bury the nuggets in the dirt in your yard or sandbox, give your child a shovel, and have her dig for buried treasure.
Give younger children some directions, like cold or hot, so they don’t get too frustrated.
Give older children a treasure map to follow.

Tent

Sleeping bags

Pillows

Flashlight

Snack

You don’t have to go far to give your preschooler the outdoor experience.
On a fine summer night, set up your tent in the backyard.
For children, there is something almost magical about walking in the dark, so go for a walk: listen to night noises and look at stars.
If a backyard bonfire is not allowed in your neighborhood, have a snack and a sing-along by the light of a flashlight before you pile into your sleeping bags for the night.

If your child is too scared to spend a whole night outdoors, limit the activity to the walk, and then pile into the house for hot cocoa.

Miscellaneous outdoor objects

Use a variety of outdoor objects to create an obstacle course for your child to run around.
Have her run around one way, then have her do the course in reverse.
You can time her, or she can race with siblings and friends.
Do not use objects that have sharp corners or that can tip over easily.
If necessary, cushion objects with pillows and blankets.

Blanket

Picnic food

Outdoor toys

You don’t have to trek to the park to have a picnic.
Set up a picnic in your own backyard: Spread out a blanket, set up the goodies, and bring out the balls and other outdoor toys to complete the fun.
In warmer weather, turn on the sprinkler or fill the kiddy pool for some water play.

Hopscotch grid

Marker

Hopscotch is a good game for counting, coordination, balance, and improving physical agility (and it’s a lot of fun, too).
Look for a hopscotch grid at the local schoolyard or draw one on your sidewalk with chalk.
Give your child a marker (a small chain works well as a marker), show her how to throw it onto each consecutively numbered square, and have her hop on one foot to the end of the grid and back again, being careful not to hop in the square where the marker lays.

Blanket

Snack

On a warm summer night, take a blanket and a special snack and go to a place where you can watch the sunset.
You may want to bring crayons or colored pencils and a pad of paper and have your child try to capture the colors of the sunset in a drawing.
If your child is too young to draw a sunset, have her find colored pencils or crayons to match the colors of the sky.

Paintbrush

Mud

In a bucket or other container, mix water with some clean dirt or earth (without stones, grass, glass, or any other particles); keep the mud thin.
Give your child a paintbrush and have her dip it into the mud and draw pictures or write words on the sidewalk.
Be prepared: She will most likely use herself as a canvas as well!
Your child will have fun hosing her creations off later, or you can leave them for the next rainfall.

Water

Tempera paint

Cardboard milk cartons

Mix tempera paint with water, pour into cardboard milk cartons, and freeze to make large, colorful ice blocks.
You can freeze them outside if the weather is cold enough, or use your freezer if you have room.
(If you like, make smaller blocks by freezing colored water in clean plastic food containers or ice cube trays.) Show your child how to build a wall by sticking the blocks together with water.
The wall will last a long time if placed outside, out of direct sunlight, and temperatures remain below freezing.

Baby bathtub or large basin

Water

Miscellaneous nonbreakable household items

Child’s toys and play dishes

Soap (optional)

On a warm day, set a tub of water on the deck or in the backyard and fill it with plastic cups, funnels, straws, sponges, sieves, and so on.
For more fun, add a little soap.
Dress your child in a bathing suit and have her wash her toys or dishes.

Blanket

Books

Pillows (optional)

After lunch on a hot summer day, spread out your blanket in a shady spot under a tree.
Take your child’s favorite books and toys, something cool to drink, and maybe a pillow.
Read, play, tell stories, or simply take a leisurely nap—both of you!

Garbage bags or a large sheet of plastic

Liquid dishwashing detergent

Hose or sprinkler

This is great fun for a hot day.
Spread out a large sheet of plastic or a few plastic garbage bags that have been cut open to lie flat.
Pour a little bit of liquid dishwashing detergent on the plastic, then turn the hose or sprinkler on it.
Your kids will have great fun getting a running start then sliding on the plastic.
This works great at the foot of a slide or on a gentle slope.
Make sure to remove any rocks or other sharp objects from under the plastic.