With the increase in schools and workplaces closed due to the pandemic, many parents have found themselves holding multiple roles.
ER nurse and Parkland resident, Shannon Taccalite, has firsthand experience.“My husband and I do everything we can to keep our kids active and off electronics. School is virtual, so it gets to be too much.”
A mother to 4 children, ages 2-20, Taccalite juggles working as a full-time nurse and a mother. Since the pandemic, Taccalite has had to find activities to keep her children busy for more than five minutes.
While home one day with her 2-year-old daughter, Demi, Taccalite decided to search online mom blogs for inspiration to keep her little ones busy. “At first, I experimented with colored pasta, colored rice, and rainbow shaving cream, but Demi and my 9-year-old son Massimo got bored quickly with the other stuff… not to mention it made a MESS!”
She found that the only thing that would keep her kids busy for more than 5 minutes was playdough.
“The dough kept them engaged, especially when I added little things for them to make a scene or cutters to make shapes,” Taccalite said.
Taccalite’s kids would grab the tablet or TV if they were bored, but when she offered to make the dough, they would get really into the process.
She decided to create her own dough for many reasons. “I didn’t want to go out to the store with the kids, so I used what I had on hand, and secondly, I could add oils to mine to make them smell good and change the consistency to what felt nice. The store-bought dough tends to be harder and doesn’t smell as good in my opinion!” Taccalite said.
Besides the fun experience of creating the dough with her children, Taccalite says that she and her children like to make it themselves because it can be customized.
After creating some for her kids, Taccalite gave samples of dough to neighborhood kids and her work friends’ kids. Each person who tried out the product said the same. “It kept my kid busy for longer than 5 minutes.”
With all the positive comments Taccalite received from the dough, she started to create and sell themed dough kits.
Taccalite makes the dough in her kitchen with the help from her children. “I wear gloves. I keep it super clean. It is all non- toxic, made with household ingredients. It took a while to get the consistency and smell, but with practice, I figured what worked.”
The non-toxic products she uses include vegetable oil, salt, cream of tartar, flour, glycerin, coloring, and flavor oils. When customizing each kit, Taccalite likes to use scents and colors to add to the experience.
“In the explorer kit, the black smells like dirt, the brown smells like wood, and the green smells like grass. The candy kit smells like jelly beans or cotton candy, so the kids get the whole experience! They picked their color, scent, and played with all of the accessories to create an entire scene.” Taccalite said.
Taccalite has always been into charity and giving back to her community. The Operation Underground Railroad has been a charity near and dear to her heart. With this in mind, she decided to give 5% of all proceeds she makes to the Railroad. With the business surrounding dough and her passion for donating, Dough Nation was born.
In the end, this will not be Taccalite’s full-time job, but it is a way to keep her children and other children in the area entertained during the quarantine downtime.
“My kids see what it is like to start a business. It’s a learning
experience. If you have an idea go for it,” Taccalite said.
If interested in trying a sensory kit, head to www.doughnation.shop to learn more.