Doughy Dinosaur Bin (plus 100 more kids’ activities!)

My kids love when I pull out a sensory play activity. This time we got our inspiration from the new book, 101 Kids Activities.  Check out our doughy dinosaur bin!

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We’re just a month into summer vacation, and my kids have let me know more than a handful of times that they’re “bored.”  Most of the time, I let them solve this dilemma on their own.  But sometimes I help them create an opportunity for play.

Nothing fancy.

Pretty  inexpensive.

Often messy.

Almost always fun.

To do our doughy dinosaur dig, we gathered:

• hair conditioner (old sunscreen would work too)
• corn starch
• food coloring
• spoons and tongs from the kitchen
• a bowl and spoon for mixing
• toy dinosaurs
• three bored kids

The play recipe is simple: one part conditioner to two parts corn starch.  To make enough dough for all the kids, we used more than half a bottle of conditioner and a large container of corn starch from Sam’s Club.

Stir, stir, stir.

If you want, add food coloring.  Knead.  This is some super soft dough.

Layer the bottom of a container with your toy dinosaurs.  Press the soft dough over the dinosaurs and start digging!

We’ve had so much fun finding boredom busters in this new book, 101 Kids Activities, by the amazing Holly and Rachel of the wildly popular Kids Activities Blog.  (Seriously, check out their Facebook page!)

101 Kids Activities is the perfect antidote to boredom. Not only does it have a giant collection of creative and colorful activities, it also shares modifications for kids of all ages.  If your kids are a bit older than mine, you can hand them the book and let them choose and create an activity all on their own!

Here are some other fun activities we tried:

Building with grapes and toothpicks

DIY marshmallow shooter

Making fizzy paintings on the driveway

For more ways to beat boredom, follow me on Pinterest!

Follow The Measured Mom’s board Indoor / Rainy Day Play on Pinterest.

Follow The Measured Mom’s board Outdoor Fun for Kids on Pinterest.

© 2014, Anna G. All rights reserved.