Natural VS Commercial

So one of the big ideas I'm exploring is how to use what we have around us rather than ruining our earth by ordering things from companies ... I mean I do love rainbow matchsticks ... don't get me wrong, they are useful and vibrant and the like BUT they are trees that were cut down ... then they were processed to be little match stick shapes, then they were dyed, then they were packaged, then they were shipped to a warehouse, where they wait to be sold ... and again, shipped out ...

So as I was pottering around in my garden and checking out my giant pile of clippings and prunings etc and I was wondering about how it can be used (other than be chipped down and sold as mulch/compost by the company that buys the waste from council) ...

So why not mix it up? Just don't take away all the colour in one go ... but look at ways of incorporating natural materials which are FREE and local and easily made? I just grabbed some landscaping pebbles from my garden, used the May Bush twigs which were at hand, plus playdough with no dye added, glass beads as well as the coloured match sticks ... 

Here are some landscaping rocks from Bunnings, thicker branches or twigs from the May Bush, drift wood (which I'd had for some hermit crabs who have since passed away), different leaves, and the landscaping pebbles ... All of these things you can either buy quite inexpensively ($2.49 per bag for the rocks) or find around the place...

There are some awesomely interesting seed pods out there too ... these came from a fire wheel tree... I wore gloves and long sleeves to scrape out the seeds as they have little prickley hairs which were irritating to me - so this is not a project I'd do with the children. I wore jeans as well and shook everything out and then washed it! But the seed pods last a really long time in the room for play with blocks etc so they are worth the effort.

I've previously used gum nuts - there is a tree in front of my parents home which drops gum nuts all the time - easily swept up and placed along with the twigs, sticks, rocks, seed pods, and pebbles. I should go and harvest some more when its time!

I can't post any pictures of what my old kids did with the play dough and natural materials ... but I can describe what some of the ideas were ... some made animals using the sticks for legs, others flattened out the dough and made artistic patterns with the nuts on the outside. Some created balls of dough which they then placed on top of sticks were were then stick into a base of dough - flowers. Others made the ever famous cookies and cakes with the dough.

I've also put a display of natural materials in block corner where the kids used the large rocks in their play. Mainly as additions to their block work. I guess you could call them embellishments! I like that term, I think its one I will use more often!

Embellish!

T.ink

Play Dough Equipment on a Budget

Ok, so I just posted about dough which made me think of what I had purchased previously for the dough table ... I checked my archives and yes, I do have the photos! These materials lasted a long time and they weren't the tacky coloured plastic you normally buy from the toy catalogues. These were real products and the kids used them with great enthusiasm! So, here they are:

I also bought some ginger bread cut outs - male and female from another discount store, as well as a set of crayfish (I once had a child who loved crabs and sea creatures, so he was happy to have that set at the table!)

Rolling pins which can roll, but also be used to make circular shapes in the dough ...

Wooden spoons of so many different sizes.

There are just so many things you could use at the discount store ... seriously ... think outside the box of the toy store catalogues and see what is out there for often a great deal less. Also, see what families might donate or use containers from homes! Yoghurt tubs, fruit cups, dumpling trays ... there are so many "throw aways" that we can use to jazz up the dough experience with the children! 

Play Dough Rainbow Style!

So, two things are happening here ... one is I wanted some colourful playdough to photograph to use in my portfolio formats and I am looking after my neice next week after day care so I thought why not make some dough that won't go to waste! So I've made the dough using essentially the cream of tartar recipe on the back of the container. Instead of cooking it in a saucepan, I just use freshly boiled water and mix it with a woden spoon, then with my hands wearing gloves (helps with the heat!). It turns out pretty much the same. I've been making it this way for 8 years now. If you need to refresh it, just add a little boiling water and it comes good again. 

The materials I used - just inexpensive no-name stuff where I could

The finished product!

So after I was finished with the dough, I cut it into wedges ... 8 to be exact.

Then I added drops of food colouring to each section and mixed them individually.

This is blue + red + yellow to make dark green ...

I wore gloves because ... well, you can see what the gloves look like, I really didnt want my fingers to be the same!

So we have red, orange, yellow, light green, aqua, dark green, blue, purple, and plain ...

So, here is the dough in a dumpling tray that I'm re-using before I recycle it. I love using small containers from the kitchen at the playdough table. The kids always seem to cut up dough, make cookies, form balls or snakes etc. and this gives them a means of storing or displaying their efforts.

Actually, this reminds me of all the awesome things I once bought to use at the dough table ... I found them all at a discount store ... I'll have to hunt around and see if I have the photos ... That can be another post!

I love making. I love creating. I love colour.

T.ink