January: a survival activity

Remember when, a few weeks ago, we were all like, 2016 is the worst, what a dumpster fire, I can't wait for this year to be over?  And then 2017 happened and now we're all looking a little shell shocked because of things like this :
http://fortune.com/2017/01/27/donald-trump-muslim-immigration-ban-conflict/

And this:
http://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/betsy-devos-incorrect-tweet-unwanted-attention-slams-on-twitter-4486592/

Makes 2016 seem sort of sweet and sad, or maybe like the last lap with the training wheels before dad forces you out on the open road with your two wheeler.  Eh, lame analogy, but you get it.


Anyway, the current sh*t storm that is modern civilization may haunt our waking and sleeping hours, but that doesn't make surviving January in the Midwest any easier, does it?  So, here's a little project that will keep you and your wee one happy for at least 10 minutes.  If you don't have a wee one, do it anyway because frankly I don't know how much longer we're able to import plastic toys from Ghina.

Here's what you're going to need:

Your favorite plastic figurines, bathed and dried.  Let your kid do the bathing and drying and you've added at least one solid, soaky minute onto this activity.

A pie plate, or any other small dish with sides.

Jello

A baking sheet

Tools for an archaeological dig.  And by archaeological I mean Jello.  And by tools I mean a spoon and a spatula and a towel.

Step 1:  Make Jello.  Do the speed method.

Step 2: Place your squeaky clean friends in the pie plate and tell them to brace themselves, it's gonna get sticky.

Step 3:  Allow three year old to pour Jello over forewarned toys.  Wear the 22 pounder in her carrier and do not be surprised when your shoulders ache later that evening.  Optional: let baby play with newborn pacifier to avoid drool in Jello.

Step 4:  Wait 90 minutes.  😬
I know, this seems like some sort of cruel joke, right?  Make a three year old wait 90 minutes while the Jello sets?  This is when you pull out the iPad and say, see you in 90 minutes! without an ounce of guilt because you are going to be doing a PROJECT that involves LEARNING when those 90 minutes are up.
*Bonus, put the baby down for a nap and perhaps you will have a chance to fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, scroll through the news and weep, take a shower, practice flipping a bottle and realize it's harder than it looks and also quite addicting, scroll through Facebook and feel very self-righteous, do eight pushups and feel quite embarrassed, organize your sock drawer.  Oh, and help the three year old check the Jello status every one to six minutes.

Step 5:  Bribe three year old to wear a pony tail so her hair doesn't get full of Jello.  Be prepared with Skittles and M&Ms.  Then take a picture because it'll last longer than the ponytail.

Step 6: Put a cookie sheet under the jello filled pie plate, give her some tools and let her go!

Step 7:  Add a pool of water for the toys to take a dip after they are extracted.  Or to see what happens when you mix loads of blue Jello with water.

Step 8: Prepare for things to get blue, messy, and a little weird. 😝

We had fun with this project and it was easy from start to finish. If we do this again, I'll probably put her in a short sleeve shirt or maybe have her wear an apron for easier cleanup.  I would also consider doing the prep the night before to let the Jello set overnight, as ours wasn't as solid as it could have been.

So while this activity won't change the state of the world, or make you feel better about your Facebook friends, it will give you license to eat as much Jello as you want.  Oh, and it will make your kiddo smile, which is about as much sunshine as you can hope for in January.

🌞