Fun at Home   FUN THINGS TO DO AT HOME   Kids' Gallery Playdough Receipe Activities   Here's something for all kids aged from 12 months upwards. Some will require parental or other family involvement. Make the most of this enforced stay-at-home time to share activities with your children and help them learn and develop creativity at the same time.   Make playdough! This is popular with all children and can be used to create all sorts of imaginative objects.   Ingredients   1 cup of plain flour 1/2 a cup of salt 1 1/2 tablespoons of cooking oil 2 tablespoons of cream of tarter* (available from Oliver's or Great) 1 cup of water Food colouring A few drops of vanilla/mint/strawberry flavour for fragrance (optional)   Method   - Mix all the ingredients together until smooth - Stir over low heat until a thick paste has formed - Take out the mixture, allow to cool, and knead with the food colouring   Storage   Keep in a sealed container (eg a Tupperware box) and refrigerate when not being used for play. The playdough should last for 2 to 3 weeks, but change sooner than this if it becomes dirty, dries out or is used very frequently.   * Cream of tartar is not necessary, but it acts as a preservative, extending the usability of the playdough   Please note: All the ingredients above are safe for children, even if eaten.   Keep a scrap book journal (be a "journalist")! Journals aren't just about lots of writing (although, of course, some writing would be good). Your journal can be like a scrap book with photos, drawings and souvenirs stuck in. You can talk about what you've been doing, interview other members of your family for interesting stories, or stick in tickets or programmes from shows you've been to. You can even write about books or movies you've enjoyed!   Start a collection! People collect all sorts of things. You might not realise that as well as the 'normal' things people collect such as stamps or stickers, there are other unusual ideas for starting an original and fun collection of your own. Have you ever thought of collecting packaging labels, or sugar packets, or rocks (which you can paint), or buttons, or shells, erasers or small cars?   Create an all-about-me (or all-about-my-family) poster! This would be a fun project for the whole family. Collect photos of yourself, your family members, your helper, your pets - anyone who makes up your own special family. Ask your parents to tell you funny stories about when you were a baby and the things that you did or said. Draw caricatures or cartoons of your family members and assemble the whole collage onto a big piece of card or thick paper and decorate it with crayons, paints aznd small accessories like beads. This will be a family heirloom to treasure!   Help out around the house! Hey, here's something that Hong Kong kids don't do very often and it can be fun! All children - especially toddlers - love imitating adults. There's no reason why preparing food for lunch, scrubbing the bath tub, folding laundry, sorting out kitchen cabinets, or vacuuming floors can't be fun and educational as well. Try it!   Paint the walls (literally)! Here's something completely different. Use washable (water-based) paint, put your child into the bath tub and let them paint the bathroom tiles. What a creative treat! This is guaranteed to provide lots of fun and pass lots of time. All the adult needs to do afterwards is hose or wash down the bath and walls.   More ideas will be posted on our website so keep checking!