1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar (or equal parts baking soda and baking powder)
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons food colouring

Mix ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring and turning constantly, until dough is no longer sticky and suddenly gathers together in a glob (just like choux pastry). Take pan off stove immediately. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth.

Gathering Wool (Age: 2 - 4 years)
Players: any number
Equipment: 15cm lengths of wool; Paper bags
Distribute the bits of wool around the room – over chair arms, doorknobs etc. Give each child a paper bag. They must try and pick up as many bits as possible, perhaps with a time limit to make it more exciting.


Sticker Hunt (Age: 3+ years)
Players: any number
Equipment: stickers
Put stickers (stars, circles) in unlikely spots all over the  room – inside chair legs, on door handles then unleash the kids to find them. They can stick them on their hands or faces as they find them. This is easy to turn into a counting game too.


Treasure Hunt (Age: 5+ years)
Players: Any number
Equipment: prepared and hidden list of clues; prize
An adult may need to read the clues for younger children. Hide the treasure, then prepare a set of written clues, each of which tells where to find the next clue. The last one tells where to find the treasure. You could have one or two clues addressed to each child, and 1 prize for all to share. Make the clues tricky, e.g., ‘This should shed some light on it’ – the clue is under a lamp, etc.


Musical Statues (Age: 5+ years)
Players: 4 or more
Equipment: music
Use lively music for this game. All the children dance to the music, which plays for some time at the start. When you stop it, the children must freeze, not even blinking or wobbling. Anyone who does move is out. Start the music again, then stop and repeat the process, gradually increasing the freezing time to make it more difficult. Last one left is the winner.