I finally got around to making homemade play dough, and I'm so glad I did! This is going to be a new staple activity in our house! Aaron loved being my helper in the kitchen and was so fascinated as I mixed in the colors. He even got to knead it to help spread the colors and the glitter. (Yes, there's tiny bits of glitter in each color!) I love the texture, colors, and the fact that it's fine to play with multiple colors at a time. If we mix up the colors, I can easily whip up another batch!
We made one batch and split it into four balls to get four different colors. I feel like one batch is a perfect amount, and it'll last about 2 months. To get these colors, I just used regular food coloring (no special pastel colors) but made sure to start with only a couple of drops and slowly add more to get the pastel shade instead of primary colors.
Here's the recipe thanks to The Mama Notes, one of my personal favorites!
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup salt
4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups water
2 tbs of vegetable oil
Essential oils or food coloring if desired
To make the dough, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Continually stir until the dough starts to form. The edges will start to easily separate from the pan and become a soft, play dough consistency. Turn off the heat and let it start to cool. If you're only creating one color, add it now with any essential oils you'd like to use. Mixing it in the pot makes it easier to keep your hands clean from the dyes. If you're planning to make multiple colors, take it out of the pan and set it on the counter to cool. Divide the dough into as many parts as you'd like (I did four separate balls) and color each separately. To spare my hands from the dye, I flatten each ball, added the color in the center, folded it in half, and then kneaded it. I didn't get any on my hands and I didn't have to worry about trying to knead through a Ziploc bag. Feel free to add glitter if you want an extra touch!
Here are a couple of Easter activities to go along with your fresh play dough!
Easter Cookie Cutters:
I made Easter sugar cookies last week, and now this week we get to use them to cut shapes with our play dough! It's a great way to give your kiddos something fresh to play with and to reuse materials.
Play Dough Easter Eggs:
This is another way to get some use out of those plastic Easter eggs! Fill each egg with the matching play dough. You can sneak these into an Easter basket, or just set them out when it's time to play. You can also use the eggs to create circles in the play dough, or your kiddos might have fun refilling the eggs. Set it out and see what happens!
Easter Play Dough Mats:
I'm really enjoying this new way of playing with play dough! The pictures are very simple, but it gives a whole new way to play! Click here for my free printable to try this with your kids! It would be ideal to laminate the paper, but if you aren't able to laminate it, slip it into a sheet protector like I did or cover it with contact paper.
I hope you enjoy this activity as much as we do! I can't wait to see what you create with this recipe!
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