1. Finger painting with a twist. Try different finger paints besides the traditional store-bought kind. For example: chocolate pudding painting. Just buy a can of prepared pudding at the grocery store. Or Gelatin Finger Paint: Mix 1 packet gelatin and 2 tablespoons hot water in a small bowl being careful not to over mix. Let cool for 5 to 10 min. before use Paint on foil for a neat effect. For more edible food craft ideas, visit create-kids-crafts.com.

2. Plasticine. It’s fun to squish, squish and create with playdough. No need to go out and buy some, there’s a great recipe below. Make an easy clay rose to get an idea: 1. Roll out a long, thin snake and press it flat. Roll it up loosely like a rug from one end to the other. Spread and press each layer a bit. 2. For the leaves, flatten a piece of modeling clay with your hands. Cut out 2 leaf shapes with a plastic knife and press them into the bottom of the rose. To see a photo of the playdough rose and other cool playdough creations for kids (little and big), visit my website below.

3. Bubble blowing without tears. Here’s a great recipe that uses “tear-free” baby shampoo that won’t sting the eyes if bubbles splash into little eyes. 3 cups of water, 1 cup of baby shampoo, 1/3 cup of light corn syrup. Mix everything together in a large bowl.

4.Obleck. Who says young children have short attention spans? This only fascinated my 2 year old. old at that time for 45 minutes. Recipe: 1 cup cornstarch, 1/3 cup water, 5-7 drops food coloring (optional). Mix water and food coloring. Slowly add the cornstarch. Don’t stir. Let the mixture sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Take a handful of oobleck and squeeze it into a hard ball. Open your hand and the oobleck will turn from solid to liquid. If it gets too dry after a while, just add a little more water.

Kool-Aid Playdough Recipe (adult assistance and supervision required)

1 cup of flour

½ cup of salt

1 small pack Sugar Free Kool-Aid (6g package)

1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil

1 cup of boiling water

Mix flour, salt, oil, and Kool-Aid. Add boiling water; stir and knead until cool and smooth. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. This playdough will be the color and scent of the Kool-Aid you used.

Remember to supervise young children with these ideas to make sure some of them don’t put things in their mouths.