A bad case of the stripes? What is that? Let’s find out…
Materials: YouTube, flour, baking powder, salt, water, food colouring, paper and a microwave.
Main Learning Outcomes: Developing fine motor skills, creativity and early literacy.
Steps:
(1) First, cuddle up together with your kiddo to read the story, “A Bad Case of Stripes”, by David Shannon. If you don’t have the book at home, you can listen to it by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaQXmRvpvw
(2) First, start with one cup of flour and mix in 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and enough water to make it the consistency of pancake batter. Divide your mix into four parts and put them into snack size Ziploc baggies along with some food colouring. Have your kiddo squish it all around to mix up the colours! Seal up the baggies (or use an elastic band) and, as if you were icing a cake, snip off the teeniest little bit of the tip. Paint away! When you’re finished, pop the painting into the microwave for 30-45 seconds and watch the paint puff up and grow – such fun! It will be completely dry out of the microwave, so you don’t have to worry about any extra messes.
Tips: Try different patterns like stripes from our story, or any design that you like. Children of all ages can do this, and you can make as many as you’d like. What designs can you come up with?