Explore n' Play
Play Dough
All our Play Dough is based on the basic play dough recipe below with our own specially added natural colours and ingredients for sensory play.
Basic Play Dough
What is Play dough?
Play dough is a simple type of moldling clay that can be made with everyday ingredients. It is a great material that can be used to help develop children's fine motor skills and hand muscle strength.
INGREDIENTS
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2 cups Flour
1 cup Salt
2 tbsp Cream of tartar
2 tbsp Oil
1to2 cups Water
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Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
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Add cream of tartar and vegetable oil
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Boil water and mix ingredients together with a spoon or spatula.
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Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and allow to cool slightly before kneading
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Play
Play dough sensory and seasonal fun activities.
*The following are varying seasonal options if you wish to add a theme to your play or they can be mixed and matched to your child's interest or discovery at that time. Using different colours or types of play dough, all are great for roll and play, or additional activity ideas have also been added to expand play.
Blackberry Play Dough
Mix up the play dough recipe as above but before taking out the bowl, drop and stir in a handful of black berries. Let the children observe the change in colour of the dough,
Tip out of the bowl and leave a few black berries for the children to add if they wish to create a darker colour, and squish the berries. Do the children notice how the black berry juice also dyes their hands and fingers?
Christmas/ winter holidays
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The following can all be made into Christmas decorations
-Roll out and cut with cookie cutters into shapes, and add a hole for a ribbon to be threaded through, leave to dry, when dry add a ribbon and hang on your tree
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Snow- White play dough (great for glittery star shapes)
Candy canes- Red and white play mint scented play dough.
(Add peppermint essence for scent)
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(roll out into snakes and twist together to make candy cane leave to dry and then add to the tree)
Gingerbread men- Use people cookie cutters to make gingerbread people, add buttons for eyes and decoration.
(Add ginger spice for scent)
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Santa red- Use Sparkly red play dough
Grinch green- Green sparkly play dough
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-Roll and play, use stocking and other Christmas shaped cookie cutters, buttons, fir tree twigs or small branches and pine cones
Spring -Easter
Birds- Discuss with the children what colours or from observations from walks outside what colours they would like to make their birds.
Add feathers, sunflower seeds, pipe cleaners,
Flowers- Discuss with children and from observations the colours they would like to make their flowers, make up different colours of play dough.
Add pipe cleaners, real or silk leaves, buttons or gem stones. You can
free hand roll and make flowers or use cookie cutters.
Summer
Beachy fun - Use yellow glittery play dough.
- Add shells, pebbles, silver foil, Popsicle sticks for play.
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Activity
For some under the sea play dough fun we added pasta to make sea urchins, we then left them to dry This was a one of the children's favourite activities.
Autumn/fall - Halloween
Fallen leaves- Use play dough in fall colours, orange brown and yellow, glittery if you wish for a bit of sparkle.
Bring in fallen leaves from outside and press down or roll with a rolling pin onto the play dough to imprint the veins.
*Play dough leaves can be leaves can be left to dry as an option and painted or decorated later.
Activity
Bring in small branches or twigs and stand in the play dough to make a winter forest, add small toy animals, sprinkle on extra flour for snow to further play.
Pumpkins- Use orange spiced play dough for sensory play.
- Add leaves and pipe cleaners to decorate the pumpkins.
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Halloween-Use white ghost play dough, or green to make dough monsters.
-Add googly eyes, string, cut up pipe cleaners, pasta, to make ghosts and scary monsters.
Activity
Make melting monsters.
Put monsters on to a water tight tray and add water, squeeze the monsters and feel them "melt" in your hands. Ask the children to describe how it feels.