Slime

It's been over a week again! I wanted to write several posts with crafting ideas and I was flooded in various groups with free things to do, to download, to watch, etc. that I haven't been able to go through, yet, and update my list in one of my previous posts. We also had some isolation drama. Not being able to see his friends, nor be able to do all the fun outdoor activities we're usually doing, is starting to take a toll on my 4yo. He had quite some down days this week that we've been working through. And on top of that, my phone dropped one time too many and the screen fell of. The case is the only thing that keeps it attached to the rest of the phone so that I was able to keep using it for a few more days, save all the pictures I had not yet transferred to my computer, and, after almost five years, order a new phone. It's supposed to get here in a day or two, so yay!

Anyway, since my 4yo wasn't really in the mood for lots of crafting, I brought out the slime kit I had bought a few weeks ago and which we had tested with one of his playmates. (I still have painting posts to write from when he was in a better mood, so I'll try to get those uploaded soon.)
Slime always makes him happy, even though I'm not that happy when he sticks his Hot Wheels cars into it to play mud or car wash and I have to get the slime out from inside the tires afterwards.

What I like about this kit, though, is that it's not as messy as other slimes we've had before, it comes with a HUGE selection of differently coloured slime, and it has lots of beads and pearls and glitter and even glow in the dark powder to add into your slime.

    

I was sent a recipe today to make slime at home. I'll post the ingredient in German for now (trying to get the kids into bed early today after daylight savings time) and will add the translation later.

Guarkernmehl-Slime:
* 200-300ml warmes Wasser
* 1 TL Guarkernmehl
* Lebensmittelfarbe
* 5gr Natron
* Kontaktlinsenlösung

You'll find instructions on www. slime-diy.de and there is also a youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Wp4eXtynw minute 18:50). That video has 12 different recipes for slime. I was intriqued by the nutella-marshmellow one!

Calling all sewers - face masks

While lying awake and browsing Facebook, I came across a discussion in a babywearing group about whether baby wraps are a good fabric to use for homemade face masks (they’re not as the fabric is meant to be somewhat stretchy so it can mold around the child; you need a tight multi-layer fabric).

But that discussion brought up a Forbes article about homemade facial masks which included a link to a facemask pattern. I can’t sew, I can’t read patterns, but if you can, consider making as many as you can to protect yourself, your family, and to donate some to your local hospital. With supply shortages we will need them sooner than later...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/20/calling-all-people-who-sew-and-make-you-can-help-solve-2020-n95-type-mask-shortage/#4cddba924e41

https://freesewing.org/blog/facemask-frenzy/

Wash your hands!

Stay home!

Stay safe!

Free things to enjoy during the pandemic

Many companies and websites have risen to the occasion and offer free things to teach and educate, to entertain, or to workout at home. The ones I personally like, I will share here. I'll keep adding to the list when I find new things. Some offers will be limited to certain countries, unfortunately, so most links will be available in Europe and I hope my American readers will have access to them as well.

1) Wash your lyrics
https://washyourlyrics.com/
Tired of singing happy birthday to get your 20 seconds of hand washing done? Enter song title and singer here and get your personal hand washing poster for your favorite song!

2) Schlosspark Theater Berlin - Schmetterlinge sind frei
https://www.facebook.com/SchlosspaarkTheaterBerlin/
The Schlosspark Theater is streaming their performance of Butterflies are free every evening at 8 on their facebook page for free since their theatre had to close

3) Scholastic teaching material from Pre-9k
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html?promo_code=6294&eml=CM/smd/20200312//txtl/sm/ed&linkId=84269747&fbclid=IwAR1Xr6B76nEXeukvjev2EWgDkNam9ruRgFGH9SNvrqLvYXALd-gRJqqRKwA

4) Audible - free audio books
https://stories.audible.com/discovery/enterprise-discovery-21103929011?ref=adbl_ent_anon_ds_ds_dbb_0-0

5) Makerist

Kostenlose online Kurse bis 25.3.

https://www.makerist.de/topics/gratis-online-kurse

6) Bügelperlen
https://www.buegelperlenvorlagen.com/
I don't know if you all know what ironing beads are: they're little plastic beads you place on a board, then cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil, place a dish towel on it, and then use an iron to melt the plastic so they melt together. I used to do those as a kid myself and loved it. This website will give you loads of free patterns to make with your kids.

7) Colouring Books

- Salamanders

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7h-GsB_Mhdyhrb_U5ebqRiGDI9CmBCM/view

- Kokadi Babywearing 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kokadi/files/

8) Easter Activities for kindergarten/daycare kids
https://www.kigaportal.com/ng/ng6/de/ideen/eltern

9) Rezeptbuch gegen Langeweile
https://www.gwrs-fichtenberg.de/archiv/schuljahr-2019-2020/rezeptb%C3%BCchlein-gegen-langeweile/
PDF Download - Aktivitäten im Alltag, Experimente, Sachen zum Bauen und mehr

10) Nähen/Sewing
- Kuscheltiere /plushies
https://cholyknight.com/ lots of free patterns for toys

11) Papier schöpfen - how to make your own paper (German)
https://m.geo.de/geolino/basteln/4346-rtkl-bastelanleitung-papier-selber-machen?fbclid=IwAR2kOHhbqmzKNbW8hkTNFD0qxuNAU0E37kaNlkT2NRC3bF1qbe_WuC92DZU

12) Wochenpläne U3 und 3+
https://www.prokita-portal.de/wochenplan/
weekly things to do with kids under 3 and 3+

DIY Knetseife - play dough soap

Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly is important, now more than ever.
This 5-minute craft is great for kids any age and only needs 3 ingredients that you probably have at home anyway! It was shared in one of my many WhatsApp Mom groups and came originally from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/182958803599369397/

You need:
- body wash / Duschgel
- corn starch / Speisestärke
- vegetable oil / Pflanzenöl, z.B. Rapsöl
- bowl, spoon / Schüssel, Löffel
- air tight container for storage / Luftdichtes Gefäß zur Aufbewahrung
If you want to make your soap in different fun colours, you'll also need oil based food colouring / fettlösliche Lebensmittelfarbe.

I don't have any measurements to give to you, this recipe is more of a "keep an eye on it" kind of thing.

You start with a good squirt of your favorite body wash and keep adding corn starch while stirring. We had to add corn starch several times. You should get a crumbly consistency without having any corn starch left in the bowl.

    

Add a dash of oil to make it nice and creamy and you're done! 

                                             

Now your kids can have fun washing their hands or playing with it in the bathtub! You can tear pieces off and seal the rest in a container. But don't worry should your soap get dry. A little bit of warm water will soften it up again.

                                                       

 

                              WASH YOUR HANDS! :)