Family Fun in the Kitchen

Play Dough Recipe 
Not New, Just Tried and True

 

Twenty-five years ago, when my 4 small children kept me very busy, a dear lady in Gainesville, Florida typed this recipe on a card and handed it to me. Now, when grandchildren come to visit, I pull out that oil-splattered index card and continue to make memories around play dough.

 

 Combine in sauce pan:  1 cup flour

                              1/2 cup salt

                              2 teaspoons cream of tarter

 

Combine in a bowl:  1 cup water

                              2 tablespoons cooking oil

                              A few drops of food coloring

 

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir thoroughly to combine.

 

Stir constantly as you(the adult) cook the mixture over low to medium heat. Consistency will change dramatically when done. The dough will come together in a ball.

 

Put the dough on a cutting board or waxed paper. Push, pull, punch, and knead it as it cools. Add a few more drops of food coloring, just to see it mix in!

 

Secrets to Fun: 

 

I let the child stand on a chair or step stool right next to me at the kitchen counter. He or she measures, stirs, chooses the color, pours, and kneads to the best of their ability. My job is guidance and praise. At a safe distance, the child watches as I cook the dough on the stove.

 

We take the dough to the kitchen table or a child-size table and we make things together…. using bowls, plastic forks, cookie cutters, all kinds of safe-but-real kitchen gadgets.

 

When interest wanes, we put the dough in a plastic bag or air-tight container and store it in the frig.

 

For more fun, we fill the sink with sudsy water and wash all of the bowls, pans, and kitchen gadgets.

 

(Many thanks to Odessa George of Gainesville.)

Lots of family history happens  in the kitchen.

Heirlooms and Stories

Everyone has a story to tell, and the items we save are part of that story.  Any personal possession inherited by someone can be called an heirloom.  We touch those items and feel a connection.  Heirlooms revive memories of people and significant moments in their lives … perhaps even moments we shared with them.

When my mother suffered a stroke at age 75, her memory was greatly impaired. She lived in a lovely assisted-living home for the remaining 5 years of her life. During those years, I hungered to hear my mother tell the wonderful stories she had always related about her childhood. It seemed that those stories were lost.

 

Even though my mother needed special care through those years, often she was able to go on fun outings with me and my family. Sometimes, Mom just spent the day at our house.  One Sunday afternoon, I showed Mom some items I had saved from her former home. When she held onto those items, her memory was jogged and she began telling stories. When Mom touched those familiar items, her eyes would sparkle. She would retrieve a memory and tell me a story of our family.

 

That’s one of the reasons that I began to see the sentimental value in the material things that surround me and my family.