childcare san antonio

Get hours of fun, from these homemade playdough recipes. Who says commercially made Play Dough is better? The kinds of playdough which can be created is merely limited by ones imagination. I have only ever had one concern about making playdough… what if I mix in the cream of tartar along with the alum?

Childcare San Antonio wants you to get your note pad ready to jot down some of these COOL recipes for the kids

Basic Playdough

3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
food coloring
Mix all ingredients over medium-high heat stirring continuously until it forms a ball, and none stick to the side of the pan. Put on wax paper to cool enough for you to knead. Remember to store in an air tight container.

Smelly Colorful Playdough

One-half cup salt
Two cups water
Two tbsp oil
Two cups flour
Two tbsp alum
Kool-aid packets (regular) for color
dissolve salt into boiling water. Stir in Kool-aid packet for color, slowly add cooking oil, flour, and alum into mixture. Knead until playdough is smooth.

Oatmeal Playdough

1 part flour
1 part water
2 parts oatmeal
Mix all ingredients well until mixture is smooth, knead and play

Microwave Playdough

Combine the following ingredients in a 1.5 quart casserole dish:

1 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
food coloring

After stirring well, place in microwave and cook on high for 60 seconds. Stir and cook again for 30 seconds. Stir and continue cooking, stirring and checking the mixture every 15 seconds. The playdough is done when it pulls away from the sides of the casserole dish and is no longer soupy. Shape into a ball and place to cool. When the playdough has cooled enough to handle, knead until smooth.

Soapy Playdough

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsp liquid tempera paint
1 tbsp liquid soap
1/2 cup water
Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl, then mix all liquid ingredients into the other bowl. Stir the two mixtures together and knead until smooth.

Plastic Playdough (The Ultimate book of Kids Concoctions)

4-6 drops food coloring
1/4 cup white glue
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Mix glue, water and food coloring together in a small bowl. Combine flour and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add the flour/cornstarch mixture to the water/glue mixture. Mix until a stiff dough is formed. Remove dough and knead on a floured surface for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to mold plastic dough on a surface covered with wax paper. These can be molded and dried. They try to a plastic like material.

Sand Playdough

1 cup sand
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup water
Mix ingredients in saucepan and cook until thick. Allow to cool, knead and allow to harden enough for use.

Strawberry Cake Playdough

1 pkg. strawberry cake mix
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp oil
3 cups water
Mix ingredients. Cook over medium heat until ball forms, remove from heat and knead until smooth.

Childcare San Antonio knows that MORE playdough recipes, the better!

Lemon Poppy Seed Playdough

1 pkg. lemon poppy seed muffin mix
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp oil
6 tsp cream of tartar
3 cups water
Mix ingredients. Cook over medium heat until ball forms, remove from heat and knead until smooth.

Chocolate Playdough

3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients over medium-high heat stirring continuously until it forms a ball, and none stick to the side of the pan. Put on wax paper to cool enough for you to knead.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
red and yellow food coloring
Mix all ingredients over medium-high heat stirring continuously until it forms a ball, and none stick to the side of the pan. Put on wax paper to cool enough for you to knead.

Salt Playdough

1 cup salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
Mix ingredients and cook over medium heat. Remove from heat when mixture looks thick and rubbery. As the mixture cools, slowly roll in flour.

Coffee Playdough

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
6 tbsp oil
6 tsp cream of tartar
3 cups water
wet grounds from morning coffee
Mix ingredients. Cover over medium heat until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead.

Peanut Butter Playdough

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 tbsp honey
plastic zip bag
Mix ingredients into zip bag. Close bag and knead until the mixture turns into dough. Must use and not store peanut butter playdough. You may not have to worry about this since most will probably eat it.

Saw Dust Playdough

1 cup fine saw dust
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp liquid starch
1 cup water
Mix ingredients together in bowl until dough is stiff. Extra water can be added if dough is to dry. This dough can be sculpted and allowed to dry for 2 -3 days.

Snow Playdough (for those years when we actually get snow)

1 cup Ivory Snow laundry detergent
2 cups warm water
food coloring
You’ll need an electric hand mixer or egg beater. Add food coloring to warm water, then add to laundry detergent. Mix well with beater until fluffy. Use just like regular playdough. Do not allow children to eat.

Java Dough for those that don’t like straight Coffee

1/4 cup instant coffee flavored
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
Mix water and instant coffee together until coffee is dissolved. Combine flour and salt in separate bowl. Add 3/4 cup of water/coffee until a smooth dough is made. This dough can be cooked to harden sculptures in the oven @ 300 degrees for 30 -45 minutes.

childcare san antonio

Cornstarch Playdough

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup cornstarch
Mix salt and hot water and boil in pot. Stir cold water and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to boiling water and stir. Cook over low heat, stirring until “pie dough consistency”. Remove from heat and place dough on board. When cool, knead dough until smooth. Have fun playing!

Gingerbread Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tsp. veg. oil
lots of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg
red and green food coloring to make brown
Mix the dry ingredients. Play with the spices till you get the scent you want. Mix water and oil together first and add them to the dry ingredients and stir. In a pan, cook the mixture for two to three minutes, stirring frequently. The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the pan and clump together. Take the dough out of the pan and knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth. Allow to cool and store in an air tight container.

Applesauce Cinnamon Playdough(The Ultimate book of Kids Concoctions)

1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1 plastic zip bag
Pour cinnamon and applesauce into zip bag. Seal bag and knead until mixture turns to dough. Allow creations to dry 12 hours or until hard.

Playdough is a great sensory experience for children at home and during preschool. It also helps develop small motor skills, is very open-ended play, fosters imagination and can be used to ease frustrations in children with the kneading, pulling, pounding, squeezing and poking. So if you are needing a calming activity it is time to make the playdough.

Childcare San Antonio at Appletree Day School wants learning to be effective and fun.

So not only is preschool in San Antonio educational, but fun as well.  Give is a call at 210.509.1919 or just come on in for a quick tour to see if Appletree Day School is a good fit for you and your kids.

Emma Kelly is a parent that has had her two children at Appletree Day School for years.  Her son Dominick and daughter Eve have attended the school since they were 3 months old.  Since Appletree day school is basically childcare that also provides education, it is a “win win” scenario for Emma’s children.

Parents can rest easy knowing that Appletree Day School in San Antonio is perfect for their children

What set’s Appletree apart from the rest of the day school in San Antonio is the education and the way the staff has been able to cater to Eve’s special need’s.  Emma is very pleased with the care and attention her children are getting at Appletree Day School and she recommends this facility to any and all parents for their children.

Come by for a tour or give us a call at 210.509.1919 for your day school tour.

One of the fundamentals for “discovery” is active observation. Active observation happens when you actively move

Preschool in San Antonio

your frame of reference to take a look at something in a new way. How many of us have not been able to find something that was right in front of us? You look all around with great frustration, announce to the world, “It’s Gone!” (with great emotion) only to have somebody (often a spouse, or mom) walk right over to it and then smugly give it to you.

This happens because our vantage point, whether actual or psychological, doesn’t allow us to see. We have to actively change our reference point (actual or psychological) in order to perceive what is right in front of us the entire time. Most discoveries happen this way.

So how does this pertain to discovering our kids? Many of us develop colored glasses that cause us to view selectively the people nearest us. We unconsciously form assumptions that may have been true once they were formed but may no longer apply. To discover new things in our children we need to move our point of reference.
Among the best ways of achieving this is to raise our awareness by asking ourselves questions.

Active Observation Of Your Children Practiced By Preschool In San Antonio

Here are some awareness raising questions:

-What is my child’s favorite activity? Why?
-Has this changed recently?
-What has changed in my child over the last week?
-Who are their closest friends?
-Are they new best friends? Exactly what does their countenance let me know about their emotional barometer?
-Are they happy? worried? up? depressed? guarded? open?
-What’s their current passion?

Look for opportunities to see your children in new environments like at day care in San Antonio. Check out their activities. Observe them with their friends. Take them out to lunch. Work at viewing them from many perspectives. Simply by entering their world you’ll have new eyes available to discover the treasure that’s before you.

Preschool In San Antonio Believes In Active Observation Of Your Children

As a trusted preschool in San Antonio, Appletree Day School pays close attention to your children by active individual observation.

Give us a call at 210.509.1919 or come by for a quick tour at your convenience as you research reputable childcare in San Antonio.

Some of our parents have been great in giving us feedback.  We even have a few on video now.  Below is one of our first. If you’d like to volunteer a video testimonial, feel free to let us know. We’re glad to get the feedback and know we’re making our parents and students happy!

The following clip is from John Hairgrove, a proud parent and client of Appletree Day School.

Day Care in San Antonio – Other Testimonials

We have a few testimonials we’ve posted on our site and we will be bringing more in the coming months. In the meantime, if you’d like to read some of them feel free to click on this link Day Care in San Antonio AppleTree Testimonials.  Soon we’ll be moving this link to the main menu bar and including all video and written testimonials together so they’ll be easy to find, so keep checking back.

AppleTree Day School is considered at the top of the list for Day Care in San Antonio Providers call Us today

I know that this is a very busy time for everyone so I am sending you some coping strategies to assist you in enjoying your holiday to the max. Don’t worry they are short and sweet!

*Stick to your routines as much as possible. To avoid grumpiness, oppositional behaviors from your significant other, yourself, and children, keep to the basic schedules of eating and bedtime. Make  sure you give your children the gift of time to rest, create, and play.

*Identify and embrace your values and spend your energy on what  is really important to you. This may not be as easy as it sounds. We are constantly bombarded by the media/advertisements telling us  what we should do, how we should look and how we should spend  our time. Enjoy each other and take time to embrace and cherish the little moments with your special little ones. It goes by so fast!

*We are proud to have you be a part of our AppleTree Day School Family! Have a wonderful holiday season with the ones you love and don’t forget to let them know how much they mean to you… because you all mean the world to us!

Your Friends at Apple Tree Day School

We Offer Premier Day Care in San Antonio. Be sure and check out some of our other blogs about Day Care in San Antonio.

AppleTree Day School is considered at the top of the list for Day Care in San Antonio Providers

What To Look For In A Child Care Provider

If you need child care, after-school care, or a quality pre-school program, you want the very best setting
for your child. When choosing a facility you should visit more than one program and if possible, take
your child with you when you visit.
The following list will give you some hints to help you make a good choice.

A – Call The Child Care San Antonio Provider And Ask:

1. Is there an opening for my child?
2. What hours and days are you open?
3. Where are you located?
4. What are your rates?
5. When is payment due?
6. How long have you been in operation?
7. What ages do you serve?

B – Visit And Look For:

1. Positive interactions between caregivers and children
2. Children getting lots of attention
3. Children who are happy and comfortable with their caregivers
4. Clean, safe, and healthy environment
5. A variety of toys and learning materials that your child will find interesting

C – Ask The Provider:

1. Can I visit at any time?
2. How do you handle discipline?
3. What do you do if my child is sick?
4. Do caregivers have training in child care
5. Do caregivers have CPR and First Aid Training?
6. May I see a copy of your license?

When making your decision to select a child Care San Antonio provider weigh all of the factors you have learned. Choose a provider that will provide my child the opportunity to grow and be happy. Make sure the provider is affordable and will meet and exceed your requirements and expectations.

Apple Tree Day School is considered at the top of the list as a Child Care San Antonio Provider