Gluten Free Play Dough

Gluten Free Play dough

I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. Sometimes I follow a recipe exactly, and sometimes I use a method and make it my own. I saw gluten free play dough and was intrigued. I clicked the link and followed the recipe listed here.  I do not have celiac’s disease, nor do any of the kids in my class, but I’m always down to try a new texture of play dough. Let me tell you, this one is fantastic!

I made two batches. I followed the recipe exactly, but instead of using apple sauce, I used water. The first batch (the purple batch) came out far too oily! The pink batch came out and was much more accurate to play dough. It definitely has a different texture than play dough with regular flour, salt and oil. The corn starch made it so fun to squish! It was so doughy and boyant! Its somehow lighter, softer, totally uses different muscles in the hand/fingers to manipulate.  I highly suggest making it! I had to add more rice cereal to each batch and knead it until it was done!

What you’ll need:

1 cup Baby Rice Cereal

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil (that’s the amount I finally settled on)

1 cup Corn starch

½ cup water with food coloring in it

Mix together in a bowl, and then knead the water in. It’s best to add the water in slowly. You will need to add rice cereal until it doesn’t stick to your hands. Have fun!

Xoxo,

GG

"Joey Baby"

 

 

I was on my way to the bank today when I passed a store I have lived 6 blocks from for almost 6 years. I've always wanted to go in, but I’ve never had the time, money, or reason to. It's a store called "Joey Baby" by Joseph Wahl Arts. It's a kid's store with furniture that he designs and makes, décor and some toys. Also, they have cute lunch boxes and containers. I bought this cool, fairly open ended toy called a "Cubebot." It reminds me of "Playable art beads." it's good for fine motor, imagination and coordination. There's also some patterning involved. As a huge Dodger fan, I had originally stopped to buy a "Go Dodgers!" sign. Joey makes his own vintage looking signs. I'm hoping to commission him to make some signs for my class. I'll post more about the signs when it happens. But for now, here's the toy I'm talking about that I bought. I love going into cute "ma and pa" type places. He was so personable and open to suggestion when I told him about a toy he should be selling. Hoping to collaborate with Joey in the future.

 

Here is where you can find more information about Joe's store and products. Maybe one day he'll be making us a crib and changing table set (both look gorgeous!)

 

Xo,

GG

Cooked Playdough vs Noncooked playdough

Hey All,


I was recently asked if I prefer cooked or non cooked play dough. I personally didn't notice any difference in consistency, and I can tell you honestly that I've only cooked play dough once. I am willing to give cooking it another go, but have to admit that if I was at home making play dough with one or two kids, it would be different than in a class. There are 11 children in my class this year, one of the smallest classes I've had in years. 11 two year olds. Its easy to let them stir and mix and pour and actually have a hands on part in mixing the non cook recipe. The time I used cooked dough I was cooking with 3 and 4 year olds. I could work with one at a time to mix over low heat, while my co teacher oversaw the rest of the children.





Here's the recipe we used:





Ingredients:


1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring by drops (we used red)








Directions:


1. Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms.


2. Add food coloring and mix thoroughly until desired color.


3. Cool on wax paper. Store in covered container.








While the dough's consistency was awesome, it was a bit difficult to wait for it to be cooled. When using a no cook recipe, you can touch it much sooner.








Click here to see the no cook recipe I use.

 


Have fun!
xoxo,
GG

Goop

I didn't make this recipe up. I've seen it made tons of times, and honestly have never had the idea to put it into the sensory table until this summer when it was ocean week. That week I made blue sparkly gak. When I worked with older kids I would put this on a table. Sometimes with scissors. A teacher who used to work at our school used to hang strawberry baskets from the ceiling. It would ooze down in clumps, and kids would give it a "haircut."  This week I made it with yellow tempera paint and put it in the sensory table/. The rules of this sensory item are that it must stay in the table. they can ooze it through their fingers. The reason it must stay in the table is that something strange happens to the items when mixed together that make it adhere to clothing. It's made with white glue and liquid starch. Start by mixing equal parts in a large bowl, I put in a squirt or two of yellow paint for color. Begin to stir until it starts to come together . Next, I dumped the concoction into the sensory table. I used my hands to mix the ingredients together until it was a solid slime like mixture. I usually just keep adding starch until it's not sticky and just good to play with. I'm sorry I don't have exact measurements for this one, but it's more of a feeling than an exact science. For those of you who say that they need exact measurements here is one I pulled from pinterest. You can keep it for a while depending on the time of year (germs) and how often you see children sneezing into it :) If it gets to sticky just add more starch a few days later and rub it onto the top.


xoxo,


GG

 

The Music Wall

My husband, Adam, and I got married last April. In fact, it was April 12; five months ago yesterday. When we got married, we registered. Ridiculously, we registered for pots and pans. We had SO many, why did we register for new ones? These are the things you see in retrospect, but at the time, the idea of all new matching pots and pans was very exciting- and thank goodness we did!

 

 

 

 

 

We purged through our kitchen and got rid of items we didn't need anymore. Mainly, we donated the items. I'm a loyal Pinterest user and one day I saw a music wall. The picture I saw had PVC pipes, some pots and pans and even a washboard! I had the idea to make a music wall of my own (well, for my school). I approached my awesome and completely supportive director with the idea. I told her that I wish I had access to an awesome piece of wood. She had just moved into a new house where all of the doors were replaced and had extra doors. After a few months of coordinating and planning, we finally picked up the door. Then, one day after school, Adam and I got to work.

 

 

 

 I'm a lucky girl and have a very handy husband. He loves to build, tinker, and create. He also is a firm believer in teaching me to fish, and rather than doing things for me, he likes to teach me how. We worked together with his drill and electric screwdriver and created this awesome music wall. We got hooks from  the local hardware store rather than a major chain. They also gave me about 30 miscut keys. I put them on keyrings and put them in my dramatic play area. Be sure to make friends with your local hardware store and let them know you're a teacher in their community. They're usually generous.


Here's a few photos of how the wall was created, in addition to Adam and I testing it out.

 

 

 

The music wall is in our music area behind our marimba. We purchased a few utensils at the .99 cent only store. We got some whisks, icing knives and black spatulas. What have you created where you work?


Happy reading! (I know this isn't goop related, but man, is it fun!)


xoxo,


GG