You'll need cornstarch, water, and food coloring or cocoa powder. If you're using food coloring to get the brown, dirt look, use equal amounts of red, blue, and yellow food coloring (2 drops of each should suffice). Starting with 1-2 cups of cornstarch, mix in the cocoa powder if this is how you're getting the brown color. With those ingredients mixed, or minus the cocoa if using the food coloring, slowly add in water and mix the two together. Stop adding water when you get the magic consistency, where it's hard when you touch it but melts when you don't. If you want, you can add in real dirt for texture or other kitchen materials, like rice flour or baking soda. This will give your play "mud" a grittier texture, like real mud.

Summary: Gather your ingredients. Add the dye to the water. Mix the cornstarch and water. Add texture materials.


Show your teachers how to exercise a skill rather than only saying why it is important. A boring discussion of why student engagement is imperative will do less to improve your teachers’ engagement skills than engaging with them strongly.  For example, start a speech about student engagement in a boring, monotone voice. Then, snap out of it and use a varied tone of voice and physical gestures to draw the teachers’ attention. The difference between talking about engagement and showing how engagement feels will illustrate how important that skill is. Come to your session with all your materials ready and a vibrant and exciting lesson for your teachers. Leading your best lesson for them will show how important organization and preparation are to effective teaching. After your lesson, take 10 minutes to discuss how you prepared for the day and organized your lesson. Sharing the strategy behind a day of effective teaching can help teachers improve their own habits. Encourage your teachers to find inspiration in the everyday “teachers” around them. Teachers can learn how to connect with a class by studying how performers connect with a crowd. Artists and community leaders may lack teaching credentials, but they can still illustrate valuable lessons about uniting material with an audience. Take your teachers to a play so they can see how the actors use intonation and body language to keep the audience’s attention.

Summary: Illustrate skills rather than just discussing them. Be a model of effective teaching. Lead a field trip out of the classroom.


There are some medical studies linking decreased levels of potassium, calcium, and magnesium to cramping. Eating enough of these nutrients and others such as protein can help relieve pain and may help with water retention and moodiness.  Fruits including oranges and bananas provide potassium.  Eating almonds, brown rice, and avocados can help you get magnesium.  Try yogurt and cheese, as well as dark green vegetables like spinach for calcium.  Eat Vitamin B foods like meat or eggs to help with food cravings and prevent moodiness or fatigue.  Eating complex carbs — like green veggies, whole grains, beans, lentils, peas, and starchy veggies — can help. You can also try supplements like calcium, vitamin E, and magnesium to help relieve PMS symptoms. Avoid too much sodium, which can cause water retention that may increase your discomfort. Examples of foods high in sodium are: processed foods, soy sauce, canned vegetables, and deli meats. Many women retain fluid during their periods. Making sure you drink enough water can help minimize water retention and may also help reduce cramping and tension. Drinking enough throughout the day may help you avoid back spasms and tension.  Water is the best choice to flush extra sodium that causes water retention. Try sports drinks or juices if you want something with flavor. Drink nine to 13 8-oz glasses of liquid daily, depending on how active you are.  Red raspberry leaf tea may help relieve cramps. Limit or stay away from tobacco and caffeine during your period. Not only can these substances can promote cramps, but they may also make any negative feelings you might have worse.  Give up or limit your alcoholic beverage intake while you’re menstruating. Alcohol can dehydrate you, constrict blood vessels and cause cramping, and generally make you feel worse.  Stay away from tobacco products, which can also make cramping worse and may also make you feel worse. If you are not able, chew nicotine gum or “smoke” an electronic cigarette. Getting enough rest, especially sleep, can help relieve the physical and mental side effects of menstruation. Sleeping comfortably in loose bedding and on your side may help relieve the physical symptoms, while getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night may help with stress and tension.  Try removing your flat sheet because it can constrict movement and cause further discomfort.  Sleep on your side with your knees slightly bent to help relieve any cramping or back pain. regularly. Studies have shown that regular exercise can ease menstrual cramps and discomfort as well as helping your mood. Aim to get 30 minutes of exercise every day to help minimize pain, discomfort and mood swings.  Do any type of exercise you like such as walking, swimming, jogging, or riding bikes. Exercise can also help stretch out your muscles.  Try gentle yoga to help yourself stretch out and relax, both of which can make you feel better and happier. Breathing deeply can naturally invigorate you as well as reduce tension and muscle tightness or cramping. Practice deep breathing techniques to help relieve your discomfort and any emotional symptoms you may have related to your period.  Inhale for two breaths and then exhale for two until you feel better. Deep breathing may help ease cramping and back pain by helping your body get enough oxygen. Sit straight up with your shoulders back to get the most benefit from deep breathing. Pull in your belly to expand your lungs and rib cage to get optimal amounts of oxygen to your muscles. for a few minutes. Take some time to meditate while you’re feeling tense and unhappy. Studies have shown that meditation is a powerful tool that can help relax you and improve your mood during your period.  Just five to 10 minutes can help you feel better physically and emotionally. Increase the amount of time you meditate as you like.  Find a quiet and comfortable place where no one will interrupt you. Eliminating distractions and giving yourself some alone time can make it easier to focus on your breath, relieve pain, and let go of any unhappy thoughts or sensations that may arise. Sit upright and still and close your eyes. Proper posture allows your breath and blood to flow. This can helps your brain focus and let go.  Let your breath easily come and go without controlling it. Aid your concentration by saying “let” on the inhale and “go” on the exhale. Framing is a behavioral technique that can help shape your feelings and may help decrease or eliminate negative emotions and pain. If you’re feeling down, think of being someplace or with someone that makes you happy. For example, if the winter is making your period especially unbearable, you, take a deep breath and think of yourself on a beach in Bali reading a book, enjoying a massage or just napping in a hammock. Menstrual symptoms such as cramping, mood swings, and other pain can causes an actual physical change in your body. Visit a massage therapist to minimize pain and help you relax.  Studies have shown that getting a massage can minimize muscle tension and relieve your pain. Consider Swedish or deep-tissue massage to get rid of pain and any discomfort you have. Find qualified massage therapists online or by asking your doctor for a recommendation.  Self-massage can also help you feel better. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of acupuncture or acupressure to relieve pain and other period-related discomfort, as well as promoting relaxation. Locate a certified practitioner and schedule an appointment to help yourself have a happy period.  Acupressure can relieve cramping and tension by increasing blood flow in your body. Balance out your brain’s hormone regulator with acupressure or acupuncture. This may also minimize pain and discomfort associated with your period.
Summary: Get enough nutrients. Drink sufficient water. Stay away from alcohol and tobacco. Sleep comfortably. Exercise Use deep breathing techniques. Meditate Frame yourself in a happy and relaxing place. Enjoy a massage. Undergo alternative therapy.