Monday, March 5, 2018

Non-Electronic (but Sticky) Fun for Kids

I'm not a writer who is much given to metaphors and similes. However, when I wanted to convey the experience of walking a mile uphill on a very hot day, pulling taffy popped into my head.

“Unfortunately, that provoking boy was right: I could not get onto Feather by myself on the public road wearing a dress and pantalettes, and I did have to trudge all the way home. It seemed to me that the boiling white sun stretched the distance from the village to my home like hot taffy.” - A BUSS FROM LAFAYETTE © 2016 by Dorothea Jensen

I am sure that the reason I thought about taffy being very hot and stretchy was from reading Laura Ingalls Wilder 65 years ago.

"In the kitchen Eliza Jane and Royal were arguing about candy. Royal wanted some, but Eliza Jane said that candy-pulls were only for winter evenings. .Alice said she knew how to make candy. Eliza Jane wouldn't do it, but Alice mixed sugar and molasses and water, and oiled them; then she poured the candy on buttered platters and set it on the porch to cool They rolled up their sleeves and buttered their hands, ready to pull it. . ,Then they all pulled candy. They pulled it into long strands, and doubled the strands, and pulled again. . .It was very sticky. It stuck to their fingers and their faces, somehow it got in their hair and stuck. -  Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy
 Anyway, below is a link to a recipe for old fashioned taffy. 

It's guaranteed to get your kids away from electronic gizmos for awhile, and it is lots of fun to do!

https://pioneerthinking.com/old-fashioned-taffy-pull-party-how-to-host-your-own