Day: November 8, 2019

Holey Hand

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This simple trick is a tangible way to show kids how each eye sees the world in just a slightly different way. Kids will marvel at the fact that the brain blends together two views into one picture once they have a “hole” in their hand!

All you need to do is hold an empty paper towel tube up to the left eye, holding it in the left hand. Leave both eyes open, and place the right hand directly in front of the open right eye. Slowly begin moving that hand forward, keeping it against the side of the cardboard tube.

Ideally, you’ll start to see a hole in your hand! I had to help Travis with a few mechanics. At first he zoomed his hand forward too fast.

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Then it wasn’t quite at the right angle.

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But then I got a big smile and laugh once he had the trick of it down. Grown-ups, you’ll want to try this, too!

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Jiggly Rainbow Cups

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Here’s a cute way to “taste the rainbow”, as the old slogan goes! You’ll need jel dessert in all colors of the rainbow. Jell-o of course comes available in everything from red to purple but is not vegan. Instead, I prepared a big batch of Lieber’s clear unflavored jel dessert. We divided it among 5 cups, and used food coloring to make:

  • red
  • yellow
  • green
  • blue
  • purple

This was a great refresher on color mixing, since I only had food coloring in primary colors!

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I also had Simply Delish’s orange flavored jel dessert, so we used that for the orange layer.

Jiggly Rainbow (1)

Now you’ll need to layer your dessert. We spooned a layer of purple into a cup and placed in the freezer for about 15 minutes to speed up the setting process.

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Continue adding layers and freezing briefly until you have a full rainbow.

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Unfortunately our three dark layers (purple, blue, green) and three light layers (yellow, orange, red) sort of blended in with one another. Shining a flashlight helped reveal the distinction!

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Meanwhile Travis thought this was just the best dessert ever. Of course there was the obligatory poking and squishing that must happen with jel desserts.

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Then it was time to spoon through the layers, and he kept me updated on his progress: “Mom, I’m up to the yellow!”

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A super fun way to play with rainbows.

Peanut Butter Play Dough

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I guarantee this is the yummiest play dough your kids will ever play with, and it’s unbelievably easy to make!

In a bowl, combine 6 large marshmallows (we use Dandies) and 4 tablespoons peanut butter. Microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds, until the marshmallows sotfen. Stir together.

Peanut Butter Play Dough (1)

Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, stirring with a spoon to combine and then working the dough with your hands until it is no longer sticky. Although there were still some chunks of marshmallow visible, our dough worked great.

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I had intended this as a sensory project for Veronika, but big brother Travis loved it, too! First Veronika just enjoyed picking up the dough…

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…and was delighted when she noticed it tasted sweet!

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Her favorite thing to do was poke at it with craft sticks, or tap it with her fingers.

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Meanwhile, Travis had fun forming the dough. We rolled it into snakes and patted it into flat pancakes.

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Then we used leftover Halloween cookie cutters. It made fantastic shapes!

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Note: Make sure to cover the play dough if you want to play with it over multiple sessions, as it will dry out and become crumbly.

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