May 2013 Product Safety Recalls

Follow this link and check your purchases for recalls.

Sand Play

If you are fortunate enough to live close to a beach, I'm sure you and the kids in your life have learned the fun of playing in the sand. Many of us are not so lucky and visits to the beach are few and far between or not at all. I am always on the lookout from every source for fun ideas for the kids during summer vacation and here is a great one.

Make your own sculpting sand:

Clean play sand (available at most home improvement stores)
corn starch
water

Mix together the sand and cornstarch at a ratio of 3:1 (12 cups of sand and 4 cups of cornstarch for example). After it's thoroughly mixed, add about 3 cups of water. Mix slowly adding water until it is a good consistency and packs nicely. Store in a plastic pail with a tight fitting lid. You can always add more water when it starts to dry up too much or starts to get dirty. Now, build, build, build!


Here are some good books to give you ideas:

Sea, Sand and Me by Patricia Hubbell

Super Sand Castle Saturday by Stuart J. Murphy

Sand Castle Bash: Counting from 1 to 10 - Jon Scieszka's Trucktown Series

Sisters Are For Making Sandcastles by Harriet Ziefert

Sand and Surf by Tanya Provines

Ideas For Teaching Bright Children

There is a new book that was just released that has some really excellent ideas for teaching bright children. There is an opportunity to ask questions of the author too. Follow this link to find out more.