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This blog is here for you to find fun learning activities to do with your children. We share great ideas we find and love on the Internet, as well as ideas we come up with on our own! We also like to share resources we find helpful.

To find ideas for your child, click on the age range blog label or on the theme/topic you are looking for (on the left side of the page). In each post, we try to list optimal age ranges for the activity, but you must judge for yourself if it is appropriate for your child. When you try an activity out, please comment and let us (and everyone else) know how your child liked it!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Homemade Play Dough

Preparation:

3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
6 tsp cream of tarter
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
1) Dissolve salt in the water.
2) Pour all ingredients into a large pot.
3) Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms by pulling away from the sides.
4) Knead the dough mixture until the texture matches playdough (1-2 minutes).
Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.
Optional: dye play dough with liquid food coloring. Knead the color in until it is mixed evenly.
Note: This recipe is made from edible ingredients and not toxic in small amounts for children. However, a dog got sick after eating a batch of playdough. It is not intended as a food item. Please be sure to put it away after your children have finished playing.
Activity:
-use in highchair, at a table, or on the floor on a cookie pan
Toddlers- 1) allow them to squish it, poke it, etc. 2) make some balls of the play dough and sort them by color 3) use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes 4) roll into cylinders and give your child a butter knife to practice cutting skills
Preschoolers- 1) do any of the toddler recommended activities 2) use play dough to make letters by rolling it into long cylinders and shaping it 2) make simple animals or people out of the play dough for fun. This can coincide with any theme you are working on this week (dinosaurs, bears, cats, etc.)
Skills Practiced:
-fine motor skills
-hand strength (when kneading or rolling)
-color recognition
-measuring/math
Pictures:

4 comments:

Maureen said...

I love homemade playdough. It's SO much cheaper and a better consistency too. William made some at school yesterday (in a lesson about solubles and insolubles) and was so excited! We keep ours in a ziploc in the fridge. It lasts forever. If it's too cold for little hands, we pop it in the microwave.

Sabrina said...

For some reason this post is no longer visible. I would love to read about the recipe you use for your play dough!

Valerie Plowman said...

Sabrina, it is fixed! Sorry about that. The text was all white.

Sabrina said...

Thanks so much!

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