Playdough Recipe For Little Fingers
With the Easter Holidays looming, it’s the time of year when I start to scour the internet for ideas on how to keep my spirited three-year-old busy during the day, while the first school term comes to rest. Of course, the easier they are to plan and more importantly, the more affordable these activities are to administer, the better!
Today I would like to share one of my kid’s most favourite pass-times with you, call it a classic if you must. PLAYDOUGH! This soft, squishy and colourful substance never seems to fails and my pre-schooler has endless amounts of fun with it. So, while checking on our supply, I noticed that the store-bought brand we had, had already started to dry up. Instead of rushing off to the shops, my kiddo and I decided to make our very own batch, from scratch!
Allow me to share my recipe!
Although this playdough does require stove-top heating, it still really is very quick and simple (and affordable) to make.
You will need the following ingredients
- A saucepan/pot
- 250ml water
- 250ml cake flour
- 125ml fine salt
- 1 tablespoon of Cream of Tartar
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
- Food colouring (colour of choice)
The instructions are also sooo easy, all you need to do is:
- Add the water, salt, cream of tartar and food colouring to your saucepan.
- Heat slowly on a stove-top until the salt dissolves.
- Add the flour and mix it in until a dough starts too form.
- Remove your saucepan from the heat and let the dough cool.
- Once cool, knead the dough until it is smooth.
Once your dough has cooled down it's ready for play time! Playdough is a great way to teach kids colours as well as engage in sensory play, which is very important for early development.
Why is sensory play important for toddlers?
By encouraging the use of all of a child’s senses (sight, touch, hearing, taste, smell, motion and balance) through play, you can support cognitive growth, language development, gross and fine motor skills and much more. Preschoolers require exposure to activities that stimulate all of these senses, allowing them to dive in and explore new materials and concepts. Using their senses is one of the most natural and most basic ways for toddlers to learn new information about the world around them. - https://www.himama.com/blog/what-is-the-importance-of-sensory-play
I often see my nephew playing this playdough, and he looks very creative with the toy.
My kids love playing with playdough. I use a salt and oil recipe which helps because my son likes to make models and when they get dry a little bit we just heat up the dough so that they can sweat and then the dough is fixed.
You know, I have never thought of doing that! That's an excellent tip, thanks!