Quiet time basket: Space

By far, our best quiet time basket yet.

This basket included a book about the solar system and a space workbook from the Target dollar section (they have a whole bunch on lots of different subjects! My girls love doing "homework"), glowsticks, a bouncy ball full of gold glitter that swirled around when you roll it (we lost it, so sad), a rubbery ball that lights up, astronaut bubbles (also from the Target dollar section), and "galaxy dust"--aka the most awesome playdough ever.

This picture absolutely does not do justice to the galaxy dust. It was sooo cool! I could barely keep my hands off of it. I used my favorite playdough recipe (found at the bottom of this post) and added an entire bottle of blue food coloring, an entire tube of neon purple gel food coloring and a TON of purple glitter. It was so deep and rich and glittery.

I found this divided tray at Wal-Mart. It actually has robots on them, but some of them look like aliens, so I thought it was perfect for the playdough tray. To go along with the playdough, I provided googly eyes, pipe cleaners, fuzz balls, and glow-in-the-dark stars. We had a blast making aliens!

The Best Playdough

2 cups flour

2 cups water

1 T cooking oil

1 T cream of tarter

1 cup salt

Scented oils or extracts

Mix liquids in a large pot over medium heat. Add dry ingredients. Stir until dough gathers, thickens, and gets a sheen to it. Let it cool slightly, and then knead it to the right consistency. When I add glitter, I knead it into the dough.