We had a fun time today. Friday night, Daniel experienced his first stomach flu, and was miserable. The poor little guy couldn't even keep a sip of water down. Thankfully, after he went to sleep, he had a pretty good night. Because of that, we decided to lay low today, even though he seemed fine. We figured it would be better to do that than for Gail and/or myself to risk spreading it around the church family.
After lunch, we braved the overcast weather and took a trip to the local park, where I got to watch Daniel play on the slides, and marvel at how much bigger he is than the last time I was able to go there with him (which was about a year ago!)
When we finished on the swings and slides, we went for a walk around the pond, and Daniel got to see tadpoles, and even a fish (not sure what kind). However, the fun part of the day was when we got to make moon sand. If you've got kids, you've probably noticed this stuff next to the Play Dough in the toy section. It's basically wet sand that you can mold and play with. I looked it up and found a recipe. It's very complex:
1 part water
2 parts cornstarch
4 parts play sand (You can add food coloring to color the sand different colors, or Crayola sells colored sand.)
Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water, then add the sand a cup at a time.
I'm not sure how the end result compares with the actual moon sand product. I think my proportions may have been off a little, and our sand was pretty damp to start with, but the nice thing is, it's pretty forgiving, and after it dries out, you can "recharge" it with a few tablespoons of water.
Any of you with kids (or kids at heart) need to make this recipe, especially if you've never played with cornstarch and water. When you mix it, you must do it by hand to really appreciate what's going on. Slowly move your hand, and it's liquid; move it faster and it's a thick paste; slap it or squeeze it, and it feels solid. We (allright, I) had a lot of fun just playing with the cornstarch and water, but when you add the sand, it retains similar characteristics.
Anyhow, that was our day, and so far no one else seems to have come down with the flu, so we're pretty thankful.
1 comment:
I love it...cornstarch and water is so much fun...you have to read "Bartholemew and the OOBLEK by Dr. Seuss and then make cornstarch and water...dye it green...so much fun! I will have to try your recipe...thanks for posting it...if you want the recipe for burping playdough or "gak" let me know. I can also get you the recipe for silly putty and the like...preschool teacher...gotta love it!
Post a Comment