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Playdough

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The Simplicity of Playdough

Besides a freshly baked loaf of bread, I can't think of a better use of a few cups of flour besides a batch of velvety soft playdough! The simple toys are the best, and playdough has to rank up at the top of simple toys. A handful of playdough, a plastic knife, and a rolling pin can be the inspiration for hours of creative play!

The Basic Playdough Recipe

and how to make it

If you've never made homemade playdough before, you'll be surprised at how easy it really is!

The only ingredient you might not have on hand is the cream of tartar. If you omit it, the dough will not be as soft and creamy, but it will still work.

Mix these ingredients together in pot. Cook them over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes away from the pan and forms a blob.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 Tbsp cooking oil
2 Tbsp cream of tartar

Important!

Would You Like a Recipe Card?

Click on the image to download a free PDF of the playdough recipe.

Making the Playdough

As you continue to cook and stir, eventually the mixture will start to stick together and form a big blob in the pan. When that happens, it's done. Take the playdough out of the pan and let it cool on a counter until you can handle it.

After it has cooled for a few minutes, add food coloring to hunks of your playdough.For glitzy playdough, you can add glitter -- the coarser glitter seems to work better than the fine kind.

Knead and add more coloring until you get a color you are satisfied with. Creating the colors is a big part of the fun of making homemade playdough!

Store the playdough in plastic bags or airtight plastic containers to preserve its softness for weeks.

Playdough is Serious Play

Playdough offers more than just play. There is serious learning going on when a tub of playdough it opened!

Playdough fun offers these benefits:

creative play and imagination

textile stimulation

small motor coordination

3D visualization

color blending

Futhermore, squeezing playdough can be soothing during a time of stress. Very active children sometimes benefit by holding a ball of playdough as they have their lessons. Having something to softly manipulate helps them to focus mentally on their schoolwork.

Playdough Mats

for learning and creative play

Print and laminate these free mats and then have fun using playdough to form facial features, numbers, letters, and more.

Play dough Mats for Brown Bear, Brown Bear: Learn the alphabet by creating playdough letters for each mat.
Literacy Fun with Playdough from Making Learning Fun: Playdoh Color Word Letter Tiles, Playdoh Color Words Cards, Playdoh Snake Letter Cards, Playdoh Pocket Chart, Playdoh Color Word Flip Book, Class Book with a Playdoh Theme, Shape Emergent Reader with a Playdoh Theme, and Play Dough Sight Word Stamp.
Playdough Mats -- Faces: Adorable faces with hair and no other features. Use playdough to add eyes, nose, etc. Very cute.
Cherry Pie Play Dough Mats: Print out the Cherry Pie play dough mat and cover with contact paper or laminate. Have children make small round balls (for the cherries) with red play dough, and place the cherries on the circles of the play dough mat.
Number Playdough Mats: Practice numeracy skills with these freebies.
SparkleBox Numeracy Playdough Mats: These are so cute -- make teeth for a crocodile's mouth, apples for the tree, frogs for the pond, sausages for the pan, petals for the flower and spots for the ladybird.

The History of Play Doh

If you ever wondered how Play-Doh brand playdough came to be a staple of childhood fun, read this fascinating series of articles!

Parent's Choice Play-Doh: Fascinating account of the history of play doh.

Play Doh and Tools for Molding It

Although the experience of making playdough with a child is really fun, sometimes you want the convenience of store bought craft dough.

We all know the Play-Doh brand as a safe, colorful option. And best of all are the Play-Doh tools, accessories, and play sets.

I still remember my childhood Play-Doh Barber Shop with the people whose playdough hair "grew" out of the holes on their heads.

Play-Doh: Fun Factory Deluxe Set

Amazon Price: $21.00 (as of 02/17/2012)

Playdough Video

Just for fun, give this a few seconds of your time. Very neat.

Art in Action: by asianjessica42 | video info

4 ratings | 1,232 views

curated content from YouTube

Edible Playdough Recipes

Instead of constantly telling your toddler to not put the playdough in his mouth, make some edible playdough and stop worrying. These playdoughs can be nibbled as you create!

Peanut Butter Playdough
Mix these ingredients in a large bowl. No need to cook.
3 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
4 cups powdered milk
3 1/2 cups corn syrup

Kool-aid Playdough
Mix these ingredients in a large bowl. No need to cook.
1/2 cup salt
2-1/2 cups flour
2 packages Kool-Aid (same color)
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups boiling water

Rosetta Stone has four more edible playdough recipes --Peanut Butter & Graham Cracker Play Dough, Chocolate Clay, Kool-Aid® Play Dough, and Oatmeal Play Dough.

Salt Dough

Salt dough is, obviously, made with a lot of salt. It is meant to dry much more quickly than it's soft playdough cousin. Usually salt dough is baked to speed the drying process.
Salt dough can be made into the traditional Christmas ornaments, of course, but there are many more ideas for this versitile medium: magnets, napkin rings, and pencil holders! Explore these links for ideas.

Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments: Recipe and directions.
How to Make a Salt Dough Nativity: This is an incredible tutorial for how to make a salt dough nativity scene.
Family Corner Magazine's Salt Dough Ideas: Crafts using salt dough for several holidays and just for fun!
Salt Dough Apple Wreath and Name Card Holder: This page has directions for a salt dough apple wreath and matching name card holders.
Salt Dough Necklaces: Maureen at Spell Outloud shares the salt dough charms that her children strung onto necklaces.

Salt Dough Maps

Salt dough can be used to make maps. This is a great geography project for school! Find complete directions at Salt Dough Maps.These pictures show my daughter's map of Alabama.