Indoor Activities for Preschoolers
It's always good to have some indoor activities for preschoolers planned so if the weather isn't cooperating outside, things will still be nice inside.
Home-made Modeling Dough
There's no need to pay for store-bought modeling dough. This recipe makes a colorful, pliable modeling dough that can be used for a couple of months if stored properly in a sealed container.
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon food coloring
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Mix water and food coloring in a saucepan. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until dough leaves side of pan.Remove from pan. When cool to the touch, knead for a few minutes.
Supply kids with cookie cutters, miniature rolling pins, plastic knives, etc. to mold and play with dough.
Magic Putty
Magic Putty is a slippery, slimy material. Kids enjoy making shapes that "melt" into a pancake shape. Or they can hold it in their hand to watch it "melt" through their fingers.
Mix the following together in a large bowl. Add food color if you'd like:
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 2 cups Elmers Glue
Mix together in a separate bowl:
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon Borax laundry detergent
Add the Borax mixture to the glue mixture. As you stir, a slimy putty will form. Place the putty mixture in another bowl.
There will be leftover glue/water mixture. If you want to make more magic putty, make another water/borax mixture and repeat the process. You can do this about four times for one batch.
After the finished product sits for a minute in a bowl, pour off extra liquid. It's now ready for the kids to play with. Supply them with clay toys.
Store Magic Putty in a plastic jar. It can be stored and reused for approximately one month.
Note:
Borax is a powered laundry detergent. Children should be monitored constantly while playing with Magic Putty.
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Post Office

Do you get a lot of credit card applications in the mail that you just throw in the trash can?
Before you throw them away, remove the return envelope and save a stack of them. You then have a fun, inexpensive activity for your children. Kids LOVE to play post office.
Supplies:
- Junk mail envelopes
- Shoe box
- Stickers, markers, pre-cut shapes
- Glue
- Photo of each child
- Exacto knife
- Velcro strips
Give each child an old shoe box to decorate anyway they'd like. It could be with stickers or markers or pre-cut shapes that can be glued on.