Rainy Day Indoor Activities: Play-Do Gone Horribly Wrong

So pretty much once a week, if not a bit more often, I try to do something crafty and fun with my little ones. They are a bit to small to do anything really over the top, but we try to do something a little more in depth than just coloring.

So Friday, I found myself with a couple of free hours that didn't need to be devoted to cleaning, school, or work. It wasn't warm enough to go for a walk, and all the diapers were changed, so I decided I would pull out some Play-do.

I pulled two of the high chairs from the kitchen and put them at the dining room table, and the put William in his saucer. I only took out one jar of the Play-do and split it into three sections. I set it in front of each girl with specific instructions:

"Don't Eat It."

I sat down and showed them how to smash it, how to roll it, how to pull it apart. Then I did my best to form a little dog to show them how they could make things. At this point, they still had not touched the pink dough, so I shoved their hands down into it. Elizabeth immediately picked it up, but Victoria's jaw just dropped. She had no clue what was going on. She continued to lift her hand and then place it back on the clay, and every time her mouth would fall open.

Elizabeth started to pull it apart and make little piles. Every now and then I would catch her trying to eat it, but I would say no and she would laugh. Finally, Victoria started pinching tiny pieces off and placing them to the side. She would grin and laugh and everything was fine.

We played for about thirty minutes or so, and then it was lunch time. I cleaned up the play-do, washed their hands off and wiped down the table. I went over to make them a sandwich, and came back with that and a few crackers. Going and sitting down myself, I picked up my book.

Ten minutes went by, and I went back to the kitchen to get something, and that's when I saw it.

Elizabeth had confiscated some of the pink play-do into the side of her high chair, where I could feel it when I checked for stray pieces. She had pulled it out at some point during her lunch and at least tried to eat it. She had hot pink juice running down her chin, and her over-shirt (I had covered up their day clothes), was stained. The look on her face was that of someone who has just tried spinach for the first time.

Well, I went over and cleaned her up, and there were no lasting side effects. I definitely know that the next time we do something like that, I'm going to do a much better job of making sure there are no "left-over's!"