Advent Activity--Day 2--Peppermint Playdough with Glitter

Our advent activity for December 2nd was making homemade playdough scented with peppermint and with gold glitter mixed in. Homemade playdough is one of my favorite things to make for the boys to play with and it's so much fun to add different scents, colors and mix-ins. I wrote an extensive post about my homemade playdough recipe on my other blog. You can read that post here if you are interested.

My oldest son (who is 7) has been very excited about our daily activities. The night we were going to do this was pretty busy. He had spelling homework to do and a piano lesson to practice as well as a shower to take, etc. Therefore, we didn't even get around to making the dough until about 8:15 p.m. I told the boys they could play with it until 8:45, then they had to go to bed. They had so much fun making it with me, but they especially enjoyed playing with it afterwards. Having the peppermint scent (made by adding peppermint extract to the recipe) added a special sensory dimension to their play. This recipe is so perfect. It makes enough for each boy to have a good-sized lump and it is so soft and easy to roll out. We LOVE homemade playdough!

This photo shows my little one mixing the ingredients in the pan. The key is to mix it all up before cooking it. That way the color gets blended in well.

Here is our finished "lump". You can kind of see the gold glitter flecks in it.

Here are the cookies my 7-year-old made. He wanted everyone to pretend to eat the cookies.

These little hands belong to my youngest son who is 3 1/2. He also loved making trees with his hunk of dough.

And here are my bigger boy's hands making cookies. I am going to say it again. I am so glad I have committed to doing these little projects with the boys each day in December. Believe me, my to-do list is VERY long. I have a Christmas program to coordinate for my preschool next Friday, Christmas gifts to MAKE yet, holiday baking to do, Christmas cards to order and send, not to mention the daily laundry to fold, dishes to wash, clothes to put away, school lunch to make and pack.........the list could go on and on. I am no different than anyone reading this. We are all so busy. I am just glad that I am taking time to slow down a tiny bit each day to focus totally on the boys. It is time well spent.