Guest Blogger Nana Pat (Pat Pauli Dreyer)

The Tattooed Grandma asked me, Nana Pat, to write something for her blog about some of the things I do with my two grandsons. I am helping to raise them; I like the sound of that rather than babysitter. I have them two to three times a week for 10-11 hours a day. We play outside at the water table and sandbox, we play inside with toys I saved from my children and some new yard sale finds, we ride bikes up and down the driveway, we play school to learn reading, writing and numbers and we try to make crafty things. The boys don't care too much for artsy crafty things so I have to be creative. Finger painting was good, gifts for mom and dad were ok, but food crafts were a big hit.



We have made banana bread, cookies, slime, Play-Doh and ice cream. Slime was really simple. We used 1 box of corn starch and a pitcher of water, and food coloring. Start with about a 1/4 cup of the corn starch and slowly add a 1/2 cup of the water. Slowly add more corn starch and water, mixing thoroughly until you have the amount you want and the mixture is as thick as honey. About a box of cornstarch and 1-2 cups of water should make enough slime for 2-3 kids. You can add food coloring or split the mixture up and make each batch a different color. Once the desired color has been reached, dip you hands in and feel the slime. As you play with it, notice how it acts like a solid, then a liquid. It should not splash if it is made correctly. The kids will love it!

Edible Play-Doh was also a big hit! We had used real Play-Doh with some of the kits that it comes in. But edible Play-Doh was more fun because you got to eat it when you were done. We used Peeps from Easter (but regular marshmallows would probably work as well) coconut oil (it’s really a solid) and powdered sugar. In a large microwaveable bowl place three Peeps and one big tablespoon of the coconut oil. Set the microwave for 20-30 seconds. The Peeps will grow puffy and big. Stop the microwave when the oil melts and the Peeps grow puffy. Take the bowl out and start stirring. It will be very sticky, so add 1-2 teaspoons of powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar as needed. If you use marshmallows you could add food coloring for color, not necessary for Peeps because they are colored already, but you could add some for a deeper color. Put the powdered sugar on your hands to make it easier to handle. It's oiler than Play Doh, but much more yummy! After playing with the mixture, it can be stored (fresh Peeps store for 2-3 days, stale Peeps harden quickly) or eaten!



We also made ice cream from snow. This winter we put bowls outside to collect freshly fallen snow. You need about 8 cups of snow, 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk, 3/4 cups of sugar or to taste, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (for vanilla ice cream.) You could also add chocolate chips, chocolate milk, cocoa, strawberry Quick or any flavor you want. Thin plastic bowls reduce melting (I found out the hard way not to use metal bowls) and some people use chocolate syrup, but I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa because of the sugar and sweetened milk already there. You need to stir, stir, and stir. (No hand mixers, they will make it thin.) Put it in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and stir, stir, stir again. We took turns stirring. They loved it! I thought the vanilla was good, but the boys prefer chocolate ice cream. So I added the cocoa powder and that was a winner!



Enjoy the kids and the fun!