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Recipes for Play: Creative Activities for Small Hands and Big Imaginations
More than 35 activities and ideas that inspire children to explore the world around them.
An important part of childhood is being curious and trying out new experiences. What do things taste, feel, smell, sound like? What happens when you add red to blue, mix earth with water, or drop a blob of paint from a great height? These childhood experiments are vital for development and provide hours of entertainment.
Recipes for Play contains easy and inexpensive ideas for engaging your child’s senses. Many wonderful hours can be spent playing with natural ingredients found in your kitchen cupboard or backyard garden. Make your own face paint in minutes, whip up a batch of oozy slime, create clouds of color with rainbow rice, and so much more.
Sisters Rachel Sumner and Ruth Mitchener have created Recipes for Play for parents and teachers―or anyone with a child in their life―who want to encourage tactile learning but don’t want their lives to be controlled by chaos. Each recipe has easy-to-follow instructions for setting up activities and simple steps for cleaning up once the fun is finished.
An important part of childhood is being curious and trying out new experiences. What do things taste, feel, smell, sound like? What happens when you add red to blue, mix earth with water, or drop a blob of paint from a great height? These childhood experiments are vital for development and provide hours of entertainment.
Recipes for Play contains easy and inexpensive ideas for engaging your child’s senses. Many wonderful hours can be spent playing with natural ingredients found in your kitchen cupboard or backyard garden. Make your own face paint in minutes, whip up a batch of oozy slime, create clouds of color with rainbow rice, and so much more.
Sisters Rachel Sumner and Ruth Mitchener have created Recipes for Play for parents and teachers―or anyone with a child in their life―who want to encourage tactile learning but don’t want their lives to be controlled by chaos. Each recipe has easy-to-follow instructions for setting up activities and simple steps for cleaning up once the fun is finished.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2014
32 people are currently reading
442 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 13, 2021
Good book but I was a bit disappointed with the ideas, I was expecting some new and different ideas but these are pretty common and more or less what you can just find by googling.
November 19, 2024
Some fun ideas. Best ideas I’d already seen elsewhere.
September 20, 2018
Literally just did the Fizz Droppers last night before cracking this book this morning! It's a handy resource of some of the best Pinterest projects out there for little kids. I did like the visual look of the book, and the five sense key guide found on each project. Also includes gluten free substitutes!
May 20, 2017
This was a great book! Loved the recipes.
May 3, 2020
Must have for teachers
Great book with lots of neat ideas and activities that would be grand for any toddler and or preschool setting
Great book with lots of neat ideas and activities that would be grand for any toddler and or preschool setting
October 15, 2022
Some really great ideas laid out in a simple, yet beautiful way
June 9, 2014
This book offers more than 40 ideas for creative play for small children. Most of these "recipes" can be whipped up with standard pantry items such as flour, food coloring, baking soda, etc.
This book offers some ideas that we've all seen before but there are a few that are new and look like they would be a lot of fun for kids and parents alike. The introduction to the book itself says that the book is aimed for preschoolers but is compatible with children of all ages. While I found this to be true of some of the ideas, most are indeed for children 5 and under.
Some ideas that were new or presented in a new way include: non-toxic yogurt paint, textured balloons, salt dough ornaments, bathroom painting, and homemade slime. The book is organized into three sections: indoor play, outdoor play, and portable ideas for on-the-go play.
For parents or teachers of small children, the book is worth the purchase and could keep the little ones entertained for hours.
A courtesy copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book offers some ideas that we've all seen before but there are a few that are new and look like they would be a lot of fun for kids and parents alike. The introduction to the book itself says that the book is aimed for preschoolers but is compatible with children of all ages. While I found this to be true of some of the ideas, most are indeed for children 5 and under.
Some ideas that were new or presented in a new way include: non-toxic yogurt paint, textured balloons, salt dough ornaments, bathroom painting, and homemade slime. The book is organized into three sections: indoor play, outdoor play, and portable ideas for on-the-go play.
For parents or teachers of small children, the book is worth the purchase and could keep the little ones entertained for hours.
A courtesy copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
November 26, 2014
I received an ARC for review.
First of all, I adore the eye-catching cover. It reminds me of the "I Spy" books. The pages are filled with adorable close-ups of little hands and craft materials.
There is a hilarious short letter to "Mess" personified at the beginning. We all could do to allow a bit more mess into our children's play for the sake of fun.
This book is packed with hands-on, sensory activities for young children. It is perfect for anyone looking for out of the ordinary, interesting play for the children in their lives. Each activity has the information of how much time the activity takes to set up and clean up, as well as the "mess factor". There are icons describing which senses your child will be using while engaging in that activity.
I thought the activities were ingenious, interesting, and quite varied. Though aimed at the average pre-schooler, many would be fun to older children as well. The author even takes precautions for children with allergies to gluten and dairy.
This would make a great gift.
First of all, I adore the eye-catching cover. It reminds me of the "I Spy" books. The pages are filled with adorable close-ups of little hands and craft materials.
There is a hilarious short letter to "Mess" personified at the beginning. We all could do to allow a bit more mess into our children's play for the sake of fun.
This book is packed with hands-on, sensory activities for young children. It is perfect for anyone looking for out of the ordinary, interesting play for the children in their lives. Each activity has the information of how much time the activity takes to set up and clean up, as well as the "mess factor". There are icons describing which senses your child will be using while engaging in that activity.
I thought the activities were ingenious, interesting, and quite varied. Though aimed at the average pre-schooler, many would be fun to older children as well. The author even takes precautions for children with allergies to gluten and dairy.
This would make a great gift.
September 1, 2014
Having an almost four year old, I am always looking for fun activities to do with her. This book is filled with really great indoor and outdoor activities that will keep the littles busy all summer long. If you want messy or clean, loud or quiet, portable or not...there is something for every need.
Some of the activities are ones we have done before, but included are recipes with all natural ingredients for food coloring, paints and dough. I love this. Especially for little ones who still like to put everything in their mouths.
One activity the little girl really enjoyed was Garden Soup. In a bucket she mixed water with leaves, petals, dirt and a rotting lemon she found in our yard. She took her time searching for her ingredients and for a proper stick to stir. She ended up finding one that looked like a whisk. When she was finished mixing she placed her bucket of "soup" in the sun to cook. This entertained her for about 30-40 minutes! That is a long time for this 3.5 year old.
Some of the activities are ones we have done before, but included are recipes with all natural ingredients for food coloring, paints and dough. I love this. Especially for little ones who still like to put everything in their mouths.
One activity the little girl really enjoyed was Garden Soup. In a bucket she mixed water with leaves, petals, dirt and a rotting lemon she found in our yard. She took her time searching for her ingredients and for a proper stick to stir. She ended up finding one that looked like a whisk. When she was finished mixing she placed her bucket of "soup" in the sun to cook. This entertained her for about 30-40 minutes! That is a long time for this 3.5 year old.
September 23, 2015
Great compilation of a good variety of crafts, and kudos for making them gender neutral.
YES I am sure that all these ideas are available online. Tell me: what ISN'T available online?!
What I appreciated were the colorful photos, humorous captions, and the easy, stress-free compilation of ideas in one place that I can choose from. I do not have time to sort through 40 blogs for 40 ideas, nor do I intend to print ideas out or write them down from the internet. And let's face it, I've seen plenty of cute things online that I promptly forgot about later.
This book is useful because I can just pull it out, open it up, and pick something out to do. Can't wait to try some of the ideas with my messy little monster!
YES I am sure that all these ideas are available online. Tell me: what ISN'T available online?!
What I appreciated were the colorful photos, humorous captions, and the easy, stress-free compilation of ideas in one place that I can choose from. I do not have time to sort through 40 blogs for 40 ideas, nor do I intend to print ideas out or write them down from the internet. And let's face it, I've seen plenty of cute things online that I promptly forgot about later.
This book is useful because I can just pull it out, open it up, and pick something out to do. Can't wait to try some of the ideas with my messy little monster!
January 14, 2016
I really loved this book! It reminded me of my childhood and the things I used to do with my own kids. Wanted more inspiration for the kids that I work with, and I found it! I love the way Rachel categorizes each activity by levels of set-up time, clean-up time, and overall mess factor. I tend to be messy anyway but it is nice to know that there are some "tidy" activities.
Rachel also is very funny: Under Outdoor Play-Touch tub-she offers many options of sensory play that are typical: rice, popcorn kernels, etc. but then adds..."Or get really madly messy and fill it (the tub) with the guts of a pumpkin--this won't keep for more than one play and it will require one hell of a clean-up, but goodness it is fun!" Yes!
Rachel also is very funny: Under Outdoor Play-Touch tub-she offers many options of sensory play that are typical: rice, popcorn kernels, etc. but then adds..."Or get really madly messy and fill it (the tub) with the guts of a pumpkin--this won't keep for more than one play and it will require one hell of a clean-up, but goodness it is fun!" Yes!
June 20, 2014
I really love the idea that the recipes for play are using lots of nature ingredients and gluten free.
I also loved the pictures which are colorful, bright and shiny.
The idea, the ingredients, and the instructions are simple and easy to follow.
This is one of those activities books you need to own on your shelf. Even if I haven't started any, I love going through all the pages.
I can't wait to practice them with my nieces and nephews, especially now that holidays is coming. I'm sure they'll love it too!
I received the eARC through Net Galley. Thank you very much! I love it! A lot.
I also loved the pictures which are colorful, bright and shiny.
The idea, the ingredients, and the instructions are simple and easy to follow.
This is one of those activities books you need to own on your shelf. Even if I haven't started any, I love going through all the pages.
I can't wait to practice them with my nieces and nephews, especially now that holidays is coming. I'm sure they'll love it too!
I received the eARC through Net Galley. Thank you very much! I love it! A lot.
April 7, 2015
I wish that I could say this book was fresh and amazing. However, I sincerely doubt that Rachel Sumner and Ruth Mitchener came up with all of these ideas on their own. It looks like a book of stolen ideas from Mommy Blogs. Things from colored rice to kid friendly face paint have been around on the internet and the Mommy blog circuit for years. It looks a great deal that these women just gathered up the best ideas they could steal from other women and got a publisher to put it together in a book under their names. Not a single original idea in this book.
August 27, 2014
"While adults may understand that eating a crayon is not the wisest culinary choice, we probably figured this out by consuming one at some point."
While true many of these activities are rampant on Pinterest, the colorful photos and humor weaved throughout make them feel fresh. Also like that more "eco-friendly" options are explores, such as homemade colorings using fruits and veggies. Would make an excellent new-parent gift.
*I received an ARC for review.*
While true many of these activities are rampant on Pinterest, the colorful photos and humor weaved throughout make them feel fresh. Also like that more "eco-friendly" options are explores, such as homemade colorings using fruits and veggies. Would make an excellent new-parent gift.
*I received an ARC for review.*
September 14, 2014
Thank you Goodreads for letting me receive this wonderful book for children's activities. The beautiful illustrations and easy recipes with common ingredients is wonderful. Young children will really enjoy the activities. Some things do look like they would be a "mess" but also a lot of fun.
February 17, 2015
Some good craft programming ideas in this one. I especially would like to try painting the sideways with a cornflour/water/food coloring mixture...that and the fizzy ice. Fun, creative ideas throughout!
December 23, 2014
Great recipes and ideas to do with young children. I love the section on travel play items.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews