Fun for the Kids

Homemade Rocks

Make a rock using this recipe. It even has a hidden treasure inside.

Materials Needed:

1 cup flour

1 cup used coffee grinds

1/2 cup salt

1/4 cup sand

1 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients together. Slowly add the water to make a stiff dough; you might end up using only half the water - add it slowly or your dough will be too runny!!

Knead on a floured surface until fairly smooth. Break the dough into desired rock sizes. Hide toys and surprises in the center of a ball of dough. Set in a safe place until totally dry—at   least 3 or 4 days.

Once it is dry, the dough will look and feel like a rock. You can carefully break open the home-made rocks with a hammer to reveal the hidden treasures inside.

Homemade Play-Dough

1 c Flour

1 c Water

1/2 c Salt

2 tb Cream of tartar

1 tb Oil

Cook until dough forms a mass in a pan. Turn it out on a plate, pick an old one, and cover it with a damp cloth, also an old one. Food coloring may be added. Store playdough in the refrigerator.

Finger Paint

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

4 cup Water (as 1 cup then 3 cups)

Food Coloring

Combine flour and 1 cup water into a large saucepan. Stir in water until smooth. Add the remaining 3 cups water and place over medium heat.

Bring the mixture to a sustained boil (cannot be stirred down) for 1 minute then remove from heat. Let cool. Pour into 3 or 4 separate cups (paper cups, plastic bowls, etc.) and add food coloring.

Store the paint in a air-tight plastic bowl, cup, or large baggie.

Cake Mix for Easy Bake Ovens

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup shortening

Combine all dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Store covered for 12 weeks.

To use: Combine 1/3 cup mix with 4 teaspoons water. Bake in easy bake ovens only.

Face Paint

1 tsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. water

1/2 tsp. cold cream

food coloring

Mix all ingredients together in an old muffin pan and you are ready to paint. This amount makes one color.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Salt or Seasoned Salt

Boil seeds in water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt. Place a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 250°. Stir after 30 minutes. Bake 1/2-1 hour more or until crunchy.

Bubble Soap

1 gallon Water (use distilled if your water is hard 

1 C  Joy or Dawn liquid dishwashing soap 

1/8  C  Glycerin 

Fill bucket or container with water. Add liquid soap and glycerin. Stir gently with hand or mixing spoon. Use bubble tools to blow bubbles. (Plastic holders from six-packs of pop make great bubble tools!)

Kids enjoy being in the kitchen, too!  Here's some easy and fun ideas for them.

Rock Candy

1 Glass jar (quart size is good)

1 Piece of string (cotton)

1 Pencil or stick

1 Paper clip

2 c Sugar + Additional sugar

1 c Water

optional:  Food coloring

Heat the water to boiling, and when the water stops boiling dissolve the 3 cups of sugar into it. Let cool some and reheat(but do not re-boil) and add as much sugar that will dissolve in it. Add a few drops of food coloring to the solution if desired.

Let cool for two minutes and pour the solution into glass or jar. Tie a short piece of cotton string to the middle of the pencil or stick. Attach a paper clip to the end of the string for a weight.

Moisten the string very lightly, and roll in a bit of sugar Place the pencil or stick over the top of the glass or jar with the string hanging down inside. Leave undisturbed for a couple of days.

Depending on how much sugar you were able to dissolve into the water, you should start to see crystals growing in a few hours to a few days.

Original Rice Krispie Treat Recipe

3 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows

or 4 cups miniature marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispies®

Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add KELLOGG'S® RICE KRISPIES® cereal. Stir until well coated.

Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day. Yield: 24 squares

Easy Popcorn Balls

2 qt Popped popcorn

1 c Sugar

1/3 c Corn syrup

1/3 c Water

1/4 c Butter

1/4 tsp Salt

1 t Vanilla

Preheat oven to 250. Put popcorn in a large, 4 inch deep buttered baking pan. Keep warm in the oven. Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, butter and salt in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Cook until mixture reaches 250 on a candy thermometer, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in vanilla. Remove popcorn from oven. Pour syrup mixture over popcorn, stirring to mix well. Form into balls. Makes approximately 8 balls.

Puppy Chow

9 cup Chex cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat.

Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.

Bacon and Eggs Candy

[adult supervision for younger children]

Small pretzel sticks

White chocolate or coating

Yellow M&M's

Lay 3 pretzel sticks side by side. Put a teaspoon or so of melted white chocolate in center to hold pretzels together and form the "egg yolk". Place a yellow M&M in center of chocolate for yolk. Let harden at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Fritos

1 c Peanut Butter

1 c Sugar

1 c White Karo Syrup

Combine ingredients in a heavy sauce pan, boil and pour over Fritos.  You may use 9x13 cake pan or make individual squares.

Easy Fudge

1 container of frosting (not the whipped)

12 oz pkg baking chips

Put both in microwave safe dish and cook 1 minute..stir and cook another 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Pour into a 8x8 buttered or foil lined buttered dish. Put in refridgerator to speed up the setting. Cut into small pieces.

Two new Uses for Kool-Aid:

Kool-Aid Play Dough

2 1/2-3 cups Flour

2 cups boiling water with 1 pkg of Kool-Aid(any flavor or color)

3 Tbs oil

1/2 cup salt

1Tbs. alum

Mix ingredients and knead with flour(may take up to 1 extra cup). Keeps well, very colorful, has wonderful fragrance.

Kool-Aid Finger paint

2 cups flour

2 pack unsweetened Kool-Aid

1/2 cup salt

3 cups boiling water

3 tbs. oil

Mix wet ingredients into dry. The kids love the color change. Then paint away.

What to do with old broken crayons?  Here's what we used to do: Melt them all together to make bigger ones.

Snacks don’t have to fattening. Fruit and vegetables are ideal snacks, high in vitamins and minerals, these types of snacks can take the edge of hunger.  When doing the shopping get several healthy snack foods; when you have the right foods at hand it is easier to prepare healthy snacks.

Here are some fun snack suggestions:

Cheese and crackers

Yogurt with fruit

Pita pocket bread filled with chopped raw veggies

Raw vegies with dips

Mini pizzas made from English muffins topped with pizza sauce and low fat mozzarella cheese

Half a baked potato topped with low fat cottage cheese and chives

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Monkey Bread

2 Cans Flaky Layer Biscuits

1 stick margarine

1 Cup sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons cinnamon

Open biscuits and divide them among however many children are helping, placing them on a large plate. Have kids separate or tear each biscuit into two pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Combine sugar and cinnamon and divide among zipper sealed bags, giving one bag to each child. Have them drop their dough balls inside and seal, then give it a good shake. Place coated dough into bundt pan. Once all dough is in pan, sprinkle 2-4 Tablespoons of cinnamon sugar mixture over top. Melt margarine and pour over top. Bake at 350 for thirty minutes. Let sit in pan for five to ten minutes before turning out onto plate.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

You CAN make popcorn in the microwave without the prepackaged products from the supermarket. All you need is popcorn, lunch bags, tape, and some flavorings.

Why make your own Microwave Popcorn? A box of microwave popcorn sells for at least $2 and you will get 3 or 4 servings. Ordinary popcorn is about $1 a pound and you will get about  8 servings. You will save a bunch of money for just a little work.

in addition, there is concern about a chemical that is released when microwave popcorn is popped. So, since you didn't add anything but popcorn, your microwave popcorn is anxiety free!

Here is how you do it:

1. Put 1/4 cup popcorn in a brown paper bag. Fold top over a few times and tape it.

2. Place in microwave folded side up for 2 to 3 minutes or until there is 5 seconds between pops.

3. Eat plain or add flavors (such as salt, butter, sugar, etc.)

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