Play tid bits and a hodgepoge of play hints

Begin play tid bits

To get gum out of hair—rub it with peanut butter To get gum out of clothing—rub it with ice

Band-aids come off more easily if rubbed with baby oil

If you don’t have a basketball hoop, make a mark on a high outdoor wall and use that as the target (not close to a window)

For bubble bath—add ivory liquid to the running water

In the bath with skinned knees, coat the sore with baby oil to keep it from stinging

When at the beach, beach-comb with a big magnet

Cut the bottom off an empty milk jug and fill it with the lid on. Take the lid off and it’s a funnel for sand and water play and dribble castles.

More play tib bits and hints

Bees love blue—don’t wear blue while playing outside Bees love perfume—don’t wear perfume when outdoors If a bee lands on you, hold still and leave them alone and they will leave sooner

For stings—use meat tenderizer with Papin in it. Or baking soda with a half and half solution of ammonia and water Watch for allergic reactions which include labored breathing, hives, swelling For wasp sting—dab with vinegar

A playing card attached with a clothes pin to the spokes of a bicycle makes a nice noise

Put a bird feeder outside the window and pull a sick child’s bed close by so he can watch the birds

An easy way to decorate a cake is with animal crackers or put the candles in life savers (for older children)

To make popcorn garlands, pop the popcorn a few days before so that it can get stale. Alternate popcorn and fresh whole cranberries.

And more play tid bits

Use small no longer used toys for decorations. Hang with brightly colored ribbons.

Several thin layers of clothes are warmer than one heavy layer—it traps air between layers and acts as insulation

A handy play tid bit: When painting use an egg carton for mixing colors Draw with chalk or felt tip pens on wet paper for a nice effect For brushes use: fingers, sponges, Q-tips, horsehair, cotton balls, crumpled paper, old toothbrushes (be sure to mark as paint tools!), twigs, feathers

A cereal box makes a good size storage box for comics

To make fancy finger sandwiches, use cookie cutters

Sharpen school scissors by cutting lines in a piece of fine sandpaper

Walk from unfriendly dogs—never run.

Make 2 toned ice cubes: use any two colors of juice (blueberry, cranberry, cherry, orange, etc.). Freeze half full with one color. When frozen add the other color to fill the cube and freeze Or make cubes with a surprise in them—put a piece of fruit in each cube space and freeze

To freeze a banana, peel a ripe banana and wrap in plastic to freeze

Make indoor hop scotch with masking tape

Still more play tid bits and nuggets…………

The best lemonade is made with real lemons. Add lemon juice to the pitcher and put slices on the glass for a nice finish For a mobile lemonade stand, use a wagon

Peanut butter and jelly can be mixed together for trips, picnics or camping

Never swim during a thunderstorm!

Roy G Biv = the colors of the rainbow

A clever play tid bit: If you lose one little piece of a many pieced toy, write to the company and you might be able to get the piece you’re missing without having to replace the entire toy

For itch relief use ½ cup baking soda in a bath Or paste of: 3 part baking soda and 1 part water

To keep shoe laces tied, wet before you tie them

When first learning to skate, use a hockey stick or broom or push a chair for support

Wrap wide masking tape where boots and pants or mittens and coat meet to keep out cold and snow

To make snow blocks, fill a cardboard box, wet it with water, pack it tight, and let it freeze, then turn it upside down and you have a block

Make a snow maze---stamp a trail. To make dead-ends, reverse and retrace steps

To dry clean stuffed animals---rub with cornstarch and then brush well

A few more play tib bits

If a tooth gets knocked out---put it right back in place. Or in a cup of milk or water. Get to the dentist within 30 min. and it will have a good chance of recovery

Take supplies along for travel in individual pouches, one for each kid, with such things as binoculars, paper pens, colors, clipboard, music player, talking books, comics, contained puzzles, pillow, blanket, doll, small cars or trucks. For exercise at stops, take a jump rope, small light balls (that won’t roll to far), etc.

For older kids, play the alphabet game on trips. A co-operative game, whoever sees an object that starts with the letter a, calls it out. Then b, and on through the alphabet

To make zippers zip easily, rub with a bar of soap

To counteract bad tasting medicine, suck on an ice cube first to numb taste buds

This concludes play tid bits...at least for now. More may be added as time goes on.