Four Easy Recipes for Grandma Fun

My career has been about recipes–editing recipes, promoting recipes; even judging recipes for competitions. Today, I’m most excited about recipes for grandma fun.

This week, we take a look at four recipes that will help you entertain the grandkids when you’re out of ideas.

• #1: Experiment with DIY ice cream, a tasty science project
• #2: Create your own squishy slime
• #3: Whip up a batch of giant bubble solution
• #4: Make playdough with kitchen ingredients

None of the recipes are mine, so I’m sending you to the websites where I found them. But before you go, check out the list of ingredients for each recipe so you can inventory what you have and assess how readily you can purchase the remainder. With Covid fears, you may be avoiding shopping trips, but everything should be available online.

There are many versions of the recipes below, so google to find more options.

For more grandma fun. check out how to organize water play for the grandkids.

Recipe #1: Shake Yourself Up Some Ice Cream

This is a fascinating experiment for kids, and also teaches them some science while they earn a yummy reward. Salt added to ice cubes makes the melting water colder than regular ice. This enables a plastic bag of sugar and cream (nestled inside a bag of rock salt and ice) to freeze into ice cream when shaken vigorously.

Miss T and I tried this experiment and it was magic! Our recipe was from More Curious Jane: Science + Design + Engineering for Inquisitive Girls, a book I highly recommend to spark creativity, learn about science, and have fun.

Since Curious Jane’s recipe is not available online, here’s a similar recipe from Parents to try.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 quart-size, zip-top freezer plastic bag
• 1 gallon-size, zip-top freezer plastic bag
• 4 cups ice
• 6 tablespoons rock salt
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Please go to the Parents website for the complete recipe.

My Tips:

• Be prepared to help kids by taking turns with the shaking.
• Wrap the outer plastic bag in a dishtowel–the bag gets very cold and hard to hold.
• Have the child eat the ice cream directly from the plastic bag–it’s less messy that way.

Recipe #2: Make your Own Slime

Some recipes for slime call for laundry starch or borax, not found in my house. However, others call for contact lens solution, which I do have.

The contact lens solution must have some form of sodium borate or boric acid. Check ingredients on your bottle. My brand, Boston Simplus Multi-Action Solution, contained both boric acid and sodium borate, so we were good to go.

What you’ll Need:

• 1 bottle (6 ounces) Elmer’s Glue (white school glue)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons contact lens solution (must have sodium borate and boric acid)
• Please go to the Best Ideas for Kids website for the complete recipe.

My Tips:

• Glitter (optional) didn’t show up well in the slime; I’d skip it.
• I bought a gallon of glue so we can make more slime whenever the kids want, and I’ll have use of it for other craft projects.
• Slime can get stuck on clothes, upholstery, carpet, and hair–so the grandkids aren’t allowed to take the slime home; they can only play with it under grandma’s supervision. (Check out these direction for how to clean slime, just in case you need it later.)

Recipe #3: Making Giant Bubbles

Giant bubbles are endlessly fascinating for kids. I bought an excellent bubble-making kit containing four giant wands and some bubble solution.

However, instead of buying refills, I made my own bubble solution. The recipe I used made very good bubbles that didn’t break apart. Many recipes call for distilled water; this recipe notes that regular tap water is okay. I didn’t have distilled water, but it turned out fine.

What You’ll Need:

• 6 cups water (distilled is best but tap water is fine)
• 1/2 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (not baking soda)
• 1 tablespoon glycerin (found in drugstores near the pharmacy area)
• Giant bubble wands (instructions for making one with drinking straws and yarn are included on the website)
• Please go to the Happy Hooligans website for the complete recipe.

My Tips:

• Use a shallow baking dish or baking pan (not as shallow as a sheet pan) to hold the bubble solution; it’s easier to dip the wand and distribute the solution evenly.
• Expect the first bubbles to break; the solution will get better as you continue.

Recipe #4: Make your own Playdough

We always kept cartons of Play-Doh for the kids, but eventually they dry out. I made this easy, no-cook recipe for little N. You can find many more versions online.

You’ll Need:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup boiling water
• Food coloring
• Please visit the How Wee Learn website for the complete recipe.

My Tips:

• This recipe made slightly under 2 cups of playdough.
• If you don’t have Play-Doh toys as we have, give kids kitchen tools like a garlic press, potato masher, forks, blunt dinner knives, and cookie cutters to cut and shape.
• Store the playdough in a zipper-top plastic bag for no more than for a few days.
• Since there are no preservatives in this recipe, it’s best to toss the playdough after the kids are done playing with it.

Any of these recipes will stand you in good stead when the grandkids come to call. But if none of these work for you, there’s always cookie baking to keeps kids entertained.

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