Ice Storm:

We have been iced in for four days, I now have so much empathy for all those who have small children and live with snow or ice days every winter! In Dallas it only happens every few years and with a 2 and 5 year old, I have been forced to be very creative. We have been having so much fun with our circumstances and thankfully we have had electricity unlike many in the city!!!

What have we done for 4 days:

1). Gingerbread play dough:

This was a favorite because the kids used Christmas cookie cutters to make Christmas shapes including; stocking, gingerbread man, snowman, Christmas tree, and star. My little guy loved to roll it into big balls and little balls. It aroused many senses including touch (tactile stimulations are great for toddler development) and smell (very Christmas spice scents that made mine want to eat it, so close supervision was important to not use the taste sense) and sight (visually it was different than their typical play dough colors). Both children rolled, pounded, kneaded, and manipulated the dough for over an hour. Such an easy and quick recipe I used that my 5 year old had her apron on to help measure, pour, and help stir the ingredients.

Here’s the recipe I used:

1cup all purpose flour

½ cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tarter

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup water

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together dry ingredients. Next mix in the water and oil and stir until thickness forms. Cook over low/medium heat until thick dough forms. Place on parchment paper and knead until smooth. Makes 2 cups. I stored in a mason jar and they have played with it multiple times.

2.       Finger paint:

The kids usually paint at school and rarely at home because of the messiness and time. But today with the ice keeping us in, paints were out and they LOVED it. They painted with brushes, sponges, and then their fingers and hands. What kid doesn’t like to get totally messy and be creative at the same time. I used statements like, “You are working so hard”, “You are really proud of that”, and “You enjoy getting messy”. Kids love being praised for their efforts and they felt that they accomplished a Monet Masterpiece. Great way to increase positive self-esteem and boost their ego.

3.       Cinnamon Ornaments:

The kids loved making their own ornaments to be given to grandma and grandpa and teachers. They were really creative and enjoyed helping roll out the dough and cut with Christmas cookie cutters. The dough also made the whole house smell yummy like cinnamon!

Ingredients:

¾ cup Applesauce

4 ounces of ground cinnamon

Christmas Cookie cutters

Straw and Colorful ribbon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200F. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in a small bowl until small ball of dough is formed. Roll dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/3 inch thickness. Peel top plastic layer off and cut dough into Christmas shapes using cookie cutters. Make a hole at the top of the ornament with the straw and place on the baking sheet. Bake 2 ½ hours. Cool on a wire rack and let stand for 1-2 days until dry. Insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang on the tree.

4.       Chocolate Chip Cookies:

We love to bake but this time we baked Chocolate chip cookies for teacher gifts and our neighbors and froze them, the kids especially loved this activity because they got to eat some as we baked!

5.       Christmas trees:

We decorated small Christmas trees in each of their rooms and the play room. Why not share the joy of decorating trees with the kids. My tree down stairs is all white and silver, elegant and chic, and Off Limits to the kiddos. SO my daughter who is creative, decorative, and wanting to be hands on insisted she hang all the ornaments on the tree in the play room. I said “ok”. I am not expecting perfection just merely a place for her to express her creativity!

6.       Snow ball fight:

We couldn’t miss out on enjoying the Winter weather that us Texans only see every few years! So we bundled up to deliver our Christmas cards to the neighbors. The kids loved eating icicles and making snow balls. They even had a mini snow ball fight, what a great way to get out some pent up aggression and energy out on each other.

7.  Christmas Shadow boxes:

With two old boxes we cut out one side, wrapped them in construction paper and gift wrap paper, and we made the coolest shadow boxes. We gathered old Christmas items that would fit in the box, some mini trees, angels, fake snow, and of course Minnie and Mickey Mouse (since we did Disneyland this year). I helped glue, after my 2y/o kept eating the glue stick, but they chose what they wanted in their box and where they wanted to glue it. Both kids made really cute shadow boxes to express their joy for the Christmas season and keep in their rooms next to their Christmas trees.

SO in a nutshell that is how we spent 4 days of being stuck in the house and unable to drive anywhere. We also watched lots of Christmas movies, cleaned out closets, separated toys and clothes to be donated, organized the pantry and even wrapped presents early!!! It was wonderful to catch up on Holiday traditions that sometimes get forgotten in our busy schedules!

Playful blessings,

Dr. Brooke