Homemade Playdough Fun

When my daughter first laid hand on play doh, it was love at first touch.  Her aunts, uncles & grandparents were only too happy to oblige her with play doh sets that came with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos to squeeze, mold and decorate the soft, colourful dough.  Pretty soon we were buying play doh refills since they dry out and become brittle after being exposed to the air for some time.  Then I discovered how easy and fun it was to make your own play dough at home and our lives were never the same.

ingredients for making your own playdough

The easiest, most foolproof recipe I’ve tried comes from this site.  (Be sure to check out her ideas on other play dough “flavours!”) The ingredients can be bought from your friendly supermarket, and the steps to making your own playdough at home are quite simple.  I just follow these instructions to the letter, and the finished product would look something like this:

Aren’t those the prettiest things? The best part is getting your hands on the warm, soft dough and kneading it into a nice, smooth ball. It’s very therapeutic.  Sometimes it will be stickier than usual (especially if you do this during the hot summer days).  When that happens, just pour some flour onto your surface and keep rolling your dough in it until it becomes smooth and less sticky.  I put the colors in, a few drops at a time, before the dough cools completely.  Experimenting with color combinations and other add-ons is the other fun part! Here are some of the ways we've had fun with play dough:  

A rolling pin and cookie cutters makes a very happy little pastry chef

Re-creation of the landscape of the Lorax movie

Cupcakes that are almost good enough to eat

Sadly, I don’t have pictures of our other playdough adventures and experiments to share with you.  But that only means there’s room to make more! The internet is full of playdough inspiration to steal and have fun with.  You might want to checkout:

 this mom’s monthlyplaydough themes

what we’re doing next, and its perfect for our outer spaceunit 

this family’s neat homemade Christmas gift idea

You see, the possibilities are endless, so is the fun!  Have you tried making your own playdough? Any playdough-making and playdough fun tips you want to share?

Have you been to Museo Marino?

My daughter's class has been learning about all sorts of vehicles this school year.  When the letter about her first field trip came, we were excited and intrigued.  We've never heard of Museo Marino before.  After a few clicks on google, we learned that it was a new museum in Manila dedicated to the work of seafarers. I wasn't able to go with my daughter, so I asked her to fill me in on the sights.

Here's what the museum has to offer, from a 5 year old's perspective:

• a secret movie house for watching movies
• emergency accessories of the boat
• a canoe
• a propeller
• artwork in frames
• lots and lots of maps in secret drawers
• flags with different patterns

If the above doesn't give you enough reason to go and check it out, here are some pictures of the museum's features that my sister took during the field trip:

Walls of seafarer stories

Video kiosks about the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen's Union of the Philippines and the All Japan Seamen's Union

Model Ships - the boys are going to love this

Portholes into the past

the camera couldn't capture enough of what can be seen inside the portholes

Maps and Timelines

Ship parts and accessories on display

the emergency accessories

(why won't this image rotate to portrait here? hmph!)

A life-sized lifeboat where you can have snacks under...

while admiring the colorful artwork about seafarers and their families

Bonus:  the flags!

According to this article, many other sections are still being developed.  All in all, its a good place to learn about seafarers and the hard work that they are doing for our country.  When are you going?

Museum Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday    Saturday 9:00 a.m. to noon 
Address: 814 J. Nakpil corner Pilar Hidalgo Lim Sts., Malate Manila      Tel No:  ( 02) 353-81-80 Email: museomarino@yahoo.com                                                    Free admission.

P.S. Homeschool Extras

This trip would be a perfect complement to a unit on water transportation.  Some suggestions to enhance this experience:

• a side-trip to the pier to see the passenger / cargo ships or to Manila Bay to see the docked yachts.  Have snacks along the area and wait for the sunset, too.
• a cruise on Manila Bay
• Do you know a seafarer? Why not invite him into your home and have your child interview him about life on a ship.  

Do you have other suggestions? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.

Photos by my sister Tiffanie