So, if you have stuffing to cook, yam to bake and and an apple pie to make, make some playdough with your kiddies first and you’ll be able to get all of you Thanksgiving trimmings ready without their needy cries holding you back.
Tips: I put an old table cloth on the floor for us to work on. Playing with the flour is part of the cool part for our kids and it won’t be nearly as fun for them (or us) if we are insanely worried that it will spill all over the kitchen. When we are done, I just bunch it up and shake it out outside – no mess at all :-)
This is our favorite (never fail) playdough recipe. I often double it up and keep half in the fridge.
* 3 cups of flour
* 1/2 cups of salt
* 2 tbs cream of Tartar
* 2 tbs vegetable oil
* 2 cups of boiling water
10 drops of Essential Oil of choice
Add the flour, salt and cream of Tartar to a bowl and let your children play ‘snow’… ooooo, they love this game. The flour feels so wonderfully soft falling through their hands.
Cream of Tartar can be found with all the other spices at your local grocery store.
Next, add the oil and boiling water. The kids watch as I do this part. I always keep a little of the boiling water aside and add it if I feel like a the dough needs it… when the children have played ‘snow’ a little of the flour ends up outside the bowl and the dough might not need as much as 2 full cups of boiling water. Stir dough with a wooden spoon until it is cool enough to knead. As the dough cools with kneading, let your children kneed too… working with the warm dough is wonderfully soothing and pleasurable for them.
When the dough is well kneaded, it’s ready for playing with. If you would like to add some color to your playdough, now is the time to add a little food coloring.
We divided our dough into 4 and added 4 different colors.
We used a neon color set we found in our local grocery store… blue, yellow, pink and green.
Homemade playdough is such fun to play with, quite different from the store-bought kind. It smells wholesome and just feel so much more natural, really… you’ll be amazed.
We often fill a bowl with assorted beans and dried pasta to play with too.
Teddy’s little duck.
Kitty’s hedgehog that Teddy fell in love with.
Happy playing.
Blessings and magic,
Donni
15 Responses
You made some beautiful colours. I wondered if you might like to see the Let’s Play Dough ebook I have on my site – it has lots of ideas for things to add in with playdough, and a nice and easy bread recipe too. It’s here of you’d like a copy (and free!) http://nurturestore.co.uk/play-dough-recipe
fun- my monkeys love to make this too!
Great idea!
We use that exact same recipe, although I never th0ught of putting out beans and stuff before. I will definitely try it next time.
We also sometimes add glitter (at the flour only stage) and a few drops of essential oil with the food colouring. I like to kid myself that lavender oil has a calming effect….
i know what you mean about a little time first and then your time after. makes all the difference!
I will now be adding dried beans to our play dough sessions. they are great for adding eyes on the creations. Thanks for the ideas! Loving what they made!
I love homemade playdough. The kids do, too. And, I love that you make making it an activity in and of itself. I think we’ll go ahead and make a new batch this week!
Love homemade play dough! Just saw your ornament post & I wanted to confirm-If you use this recipe to make ornament do you leave it out to dry, or bake? Thanks so much,
vanessa
we love homemade dough and you’re right, it inspires us for hours! we also add some essential oils – usually lavender…it calms *me*, anyway!! those colors turned out beautifully!
love this recipe! we made this today at school. We’re rolling out the ornaments with it tomorrow. The kids can’t wait!
This brings back memories of making playdough for my son. Thank you! I’ve posted this on our school’s facebook page for our parents with young children.
– Kelly, Cape Ann Waldorf School alum parent and admissions director
Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing :-)
Blessings and magic,
Donni
Can these be baked like the salt dough ornaments? If so, what temp and for how long?
I know this post is an older one, but am hoping you can respond. I’m making ornaments so that my grandchildren can paint them when they are all here next weekend.
Thanks in advance for the help and the wonderful recipe! Happy Holidays and God Bless! ?
HI Mimi,
Yes, you can bake the dough to preserve it. I’d say use a low temperature for about 45 minutes.
xo Donni