A is for Apple

We are totally immersed in our letter A fun.

I made apple smiles using sliced apples, a tiny bit of peanut butter, and mini marshmallows.  

Kate and Collin loved them.  Reagan ate the apples and peanut butter and left the marshmallows for her siblings.

I also made homemade play dough and added red food coloring and a lot of cinnamon.

 For fun, I stuck in a twig and a leaf to make an "apple".  Kate immediately removed the stick and leaf and threw them to the floor!  She had fun with the play dough though.

The play dough recipe I use is:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water
1 t. extract (this varies on the season or whatever I have on hand, but I have used peppermint, vanilla, lemon, coconut, almond, and maple); you can also use spices (for this recipe, I used about 2-3 tsp of cinnamon; I like it to smell good!)
1 t. glitter (optional)
food coloring (optional - I obviously used red today) 

I measure the ingredients into a nonstick pot and stir until well mixed.  It's important to add food coloring before heating the dough, otherwise the color will transfer to hands and surfaces.  Then I cook it over medium heat until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball.  I dump it out onto a cutting board and once it is cool enough, I knead it until smooth.  I love kneading warm play dough - super soothing!