I'm looking for ways to keep my step-daughter occupied during her visit

In My Humble Opinion
1

First, a little background is in order. My step-daughter is 39, rather deaf, mentally challenged and vision-impaired. She visits us for 4-6 weeks at a time, roughly four times a year.

She has corrective lenses to enable her to see a bit, though very fuzzy. She also has hearing aids but we rely mostly on ASL to communicate with her, no problem there.

When she’s at her home (with her Mom), she has a housekeeper to keep her company; and a ‘deaf church’ group that sends around a bus to take her to activities. Which is all good, however; where mr. bot and I live, there is no such support group for her.

I have found in the last year that she really enjoys making things with her hands, salt-dough projects and the like. She also likes painting. She was very proud of the Christmas Ornament that she made last Christmas, and I could see her self-esteem blossom as she showed it to everyone.

I would like ideas for more projects for her, beyond my limited scope. So far, I have had her paint bird-houses, rocks and salt-dough creations of her making. But I feel that she may become bored with that, do any of you Crafty Dopers have any other ideas for her?

Needlework is out, because of her vision problems. I just don’t want to bore her with the same-ole same-ole.

2

Papier maché is lots of fun. I am a former Girl Scout leader, and my Brownie Scouts were fascinated by their experimentation with papier maché. It’s inexpensive and non-toxic, but can be messy. Best to do this in the garage or on the patio.

There are some good tutorials here.

3

How about a cooking project? Something like home-made ravioli, which can be kind of time-consuming, but rewarding. She could show it off at a dinner party, possibly.

4

Is there a Hobby Lobby or other large craft store near you? Just wandering around should give you tons of ideas.

She might enjoy a kid’s “hands on” science discovery center.

5

cher3, thank you for the suggestion but she’s not into cooking. She can’t use a microwave, a saucepan or anything else of that nature. She’s a bit too disabled (mentally) for anything that generates heat or electricity. I want to keep her activities safe for her level of ability. Thank you, though, for the idea. I appreciate it!

Brynda, we have a Michael’s within a thirty-minute drive. That might be a possibility, I hadn’t thought of that! They usually do flower-arranging and scrapbooking workshops, but I could call and see if they are planning any polymer clay workshops that she might enjoy. Thank you!

pinkfreud, do you have an easy/simple recipe for paper/mache? I think that would be perfect. She could help make the paper/mache, then form her own creations and finish them as she saw fit. My former Mother-in-Law had a recipe for paper/mache, unfortunately she called it “Meatloaf.”

6

There are several recipes here. As I recall, my Girl Scout troop used a paste made from one part flour and five parts water. We boiled the glop for about five minutes until it thickened like gravy, then let it cool before bottling it. The paper that is used can be of just about any size, from confetti-type pieces to large strips of newspaper. The output of office crosscut paper-shredders can be used, but keep in mind that pulp-type paper similar to newsprint works better than slick, stationery-quality paper.

7

The second recipe in that link might be the best one since it doesn’t involve cooking at all. It’s the only one I’ve ever used myself, and have had nice results. You have to mix a lot to make it smooth, though.

Another thing you might like to try is mod-podge. It’s a lot like glue, but it dries really shiny - also non-toxic and cleans up with soap and water. A fun thing to do is get a shoe box, some mod podge, and several colors of tissue paper. You put the paper on every which way until it looks “pretty” then slater mod-podge on it, then let it dry. It’s no big deal if things aren’t perfectly flat, and it’s sort of neat how the tissue paper colors bleed a little when the mod-podge applied. Once it’s all dry the crafter has a neat box to keep things in.

I’ve also done a project with paper bowls to make turtles with kids as young as three (they need help, kids over 5 usually didn’t. I’m not sure if your step-daughter would need help or not) by mod-podging the bowl as the turtle shell. First, however, **you ** cut out a piece of cardboard to cover the opening of the bowl and throw in a few beans before gluing or stapling the “shell” closed. While the shell is being decorated, cut out a few simple shapes out of cardboard or green constuction paper to represent the head, feet and a little triangle for the tail and let them decorate those to glue on after the shell is dry. When it’s all done it makes a nice sound when shaken.

8

Have you used FIMO yet? It’s a bit on the expensive side, but it comes in a bunch of colours and can be fired in a conventional oven.

9

Have you looked into programs at your local art museum or such? The education department here does some work with disabled adults and a lot with children, there are programs on “art appreciation” that focus on things like texture or scale or whatever, and then there are art programs that are more craft-oriented. Of course I have no idea what’s available in your area.

I know it’s a cliche, but a whole lot of fun can be had with uncooked pasta; you can paint it, you can make jewelry out of it, you can glue it to things, all sorts of art projectness. I know it’s so summer-camp, but when I had to keep my neice and nephews on a rainy day once I had a real ball making necklaces out of painted ziti. :slight_smile:

10

I might be a little off-the-wall here but since she is sensory challenged with respect to vision and hearing why not focus on the other senses?

I would try engaging her help in cooking and fixing various recipes that you can engage her to accentuate her sense of taste! There is an excellent book (I suggest you copy appropriate items at your local bookstore or check out from the library) by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky titled The Elements of Taste. This book explores the 14 different taste sensations that foods exhibit and some I think would provide excellent and unique experiences. I’m 57 and just learning to experience the fine art of taste.

Have fun whatever you choose to do!

11

Don’t know if it is too advanced, but a potter’s wheel and clay…almost everybody loves to play with one of those and you don’t have to have a kiln.

You could make one from one of those microwave oven wind up rotating trays, and buy some clay. Once her project…vase or abstract art…is finished, she could paint it with water colors.

Also good for hand/eye coordination practice.

12

How about knitting? How about getting her to knit something for your (great?-)grandchildren? “Look what Auntie X made me!” followed by a hug is a sure-fire winner.

13

Or rug-hooking. Some of the ladies I hook with have failing eyesight, but the strips are so big (especially for rustic styles) that it doesn’t matter.

It’s very easy, but it takes a very long time to actually finish a piece. If she likes the schmatta, it could be a long-term project.

14

Firstly, you are an awesome stepmom. It’s wonderful that you are so interested in keeping her entertained - especially with appropriate activities.

As for the mod-podge or whatever it’s called, how about buying some basic picture frames. Have her either take cut out pictures from magazines or pictures of family and then have her stick them to the frame. Once it’s finished, put in a picture of her, or her mom, or you and your husband.

Play Doh is another option. It’s comes in so many bright colors, it’s easy to work with. It hardens pretty well. And, you can get all kinds of cool tools for making shapes and food, and people. I’m 25 and I still get giddy when someone brings out the Play Doh.

My favorite though, is Legos. I love Legos. I can play for hours, building houses or schools, or even just pillars of color. It’s so much fun and it’s visually pleasing. If she like’s something that she builds, you can carefully take it apart and glue it together while she’s sleeping. That way, she’ll be able to keep it forever.

I like the pasta jewlery idea. I had fun with that as a kid. I also had fun making little people out of pipe cleaners. I made jewelry out of the pipe cleaners too. It’s fun to take a few really long ones and make them into a cool head-band. Then, take a big gaudy silk flower and attatch it to the pipe cleaners. In no time - you have a cool accessory. When I worked in a factory and I got bored, I’d also use pieces of the wire we used to hold sawblade coils together, to make cool little things. I made some glasses, a person, a bicycle, a bracelet, etc. It’s amazing what you can do with some spare time, some boredom, and some spare wire.

I still love to color and play with finger paints. I also love to color eggs. You dont’ have to wait for Easter to color eggs. Make your own dye out of food coloring.
You can also have her make her own tie-dye shirt. Just get a white shirt and the dye - don’t forget some string. Then, just twist and turn the shirt and tie it off and start dyeing. It’s been a while so I don’t remember all the steps but I’m sure the dye has instructions.

One last suggestion ( I’m sure I can come up with more but it’s late and I need to sleep some time :slight_smile: ). Go to the craft store. Get a boring clear glass vase or bowl, or something like that. Get some glass paint. Go to town! I’ve always wanted to paint my own vase but I never seem to get around to it. Even better, get a bunch of silk flowers and make a flower arrangement in the vase after it’s painted!

15

Maybe macrame, with the larger beads? Would she be able to do origami at all? I searched and searched, and finally found some of the wonderful paper I’d found a couple of years ago. This stuff is very fun to work with, at least IMO. There is also the more “traditional” version of the paper here. (The multi-colored paper comes with a wooden stylus.) How about getting something like this, and using it for more than one project. Examples would be, getting a picture frame, and letting her make a “stained glass” artwork, or having her use them for collages or maybe even a pop-up project. The homepage of the site I got many of the product links in this post from is here, btw. It seems to have an extensive collection of art supplies, but I’m unsure as to prices or quality, or even if they are reliable as far as shipping online orders. Good luck, I hope maybe you can find some good suggestions to work with in this thread. :slight_smile:

16

Speaking as someone who has made quilts for almost 20 years - as long as the color or texture or some other little thing changes, your step daughter probably will not get bored doing the same craft over and over.

If you google Kid’s craft ideas or some such you will get page after page of crafting sites geared to kid’s ability levels.

17

FIMO (and Sculpey) are polymer clays. If you’d like to try working with polymer clay, let me recommend that you try the Sculpey III, which comes in colors, or the “plain” Sculpey, which comes only in white or terracotta but can be painted. FIMO is hard to work with for beginners - it requires a considerable amount of conditioning (kneading) to get it soft enough to work with. FIMO Soft is available now, and you can get it at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, but while it is not as difficult to condition as regular (or classic) FIMO, the colors change somewhat when it is cured and that can be an unpleasant surprise to someone who’s not prepared for it.

Whenever I teach youngsters or physically-impaired adults, I start with Sculpey III. It’s very soft, easy to condition and the colors stay bright and true. (The downside is it’s not nearly as durable as FIMO, but I think for your purposes it’s durable enough.)
One other suggestion (actually, elaborating on congodwarfs suggestion): suncatchers! It’s a good time of year for those, anyway, since it’s sunnier. You can buy kits at the craft store. Either the painted kind (they sell plastic frames and you just paint inside the lines) or the “make it and bake it” kind which are metal frames you fill in with plastic crystals, then bake in the oven. Or, Shrinky Dinks! They sell clear shrink plastic. You can paint your design nice and large, then cut it out, punch a hole in the top, and shrink it in the oven to make suncatchers or mobiles.

Good luck and have fun.

18

tie-dye instructions Also poke around that site for other fabric dying and painting ideas. My favorite method produces a marble-y effect, and it couldn’t be simpler or quicker, because it doesn’t involve string or rubber bands. Prepare your cloth, wad it up and smoosh it into the bottom of a bucket. Pour, spray or splash on fabric dye. Squish it around a little, then lift the fabric and drop it back into the bucket in a new position. Repeat with another color. The colors will run into each other and produce a neat effect. Rinse and hang to dry.

Batiking is fun and easy and (if you have a spot to do it outside) not very messy, even! People love to watch how the dye doesn’t stick to the wax. That site has every type of premade clothing blanks you could imagine, all in wonderfully dye-able fabrics. They also have dying kits for newbies.

Decoupage can be done on just about any object. In addition to tissue paper, pictures or patterns can be cut from magazines and decoupaged to plastic juice concentrate cans to make beautiful pen holders, the back of a clear plastic plate (put the pieces on the back of the plate upside down, so you see them from the front) for a beautiful serving piece, a plain wooden box to make a treasure or jewelry box, even a bookshelf to create a fun storage space. Yesterday I saw a lazy susan decoupaged with color copies of postcards from Italy. It was gorgeous!

19

Hi truthbot

I know you are after ideas for craft projects… so I hope this isn’t considered a hijack, but I thought if the two of you want a break from being crafty you could consider these ideas for spending time together:

Giving each other ‘aromatherapy’ hand massages using nice nice smelling hand creams can be very relaxing. I highly recommend using Jurlique Lavender Hand Cream (a bit pricey but divine smelling).

If your step-daughter enjoys spending time with animals, the two of you may like to do help out at a local animal shelter. My mum goes to her local cat shelter and spends time with the older cats who have been living there for a long time and don’t get much attention. She just talks to them and strokes them and generally gives them a bit of love. Obviously you need to love animals for this to be enjoyable. Plus I guess staff at the shelter would have to be happy about you coming in on an intermittant basis.

20

Making ravioli or something of that sort might still be an option – she could help with putting them together, and then actually cooking them for dinner would be your job. Or something like lasagna, which is more time-consuming than difficult – you’d probably want to do whatever chopping/shredding was involved, but she could definitely do the “putting stuff in in layers” part.