Playdough (cooked)

Purpose:  Playdough is one of the simple pleasures of early childhood.  Once it is made, you can use it to model letters or other shapes, help children develop dexterity, or just to have fun!

 

 

 

Materials/Advance Preparation:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp oil Food coloring (Cake decorators paste or liquid makes great colors)
• 1 Tbsp. imitation vanilla extract
• resealable plastic bags or plastic containers
• Combine in saucepan: 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, 1 tsp. cream of tartar

• Add and whisk until smooth: 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp oil food coloring

• Cook over medium heat until playdough is nearly set.

• Add: 1 Tbsp. imitation vanilla extract

• Stir until vanilla is blended, then remove and knead when cool.

• Store in resealable plastic bag or airtight plastic container.

 

Directions:

Use like any playdough for children's freeplay, for suggesting that they form particular shapes, which can include letters.  In addition, here's an idea that will really get the children's attention.  Omit the food coloring while cooking.  When the playdough has cooled, make a ball of it for each child.  Poke a hole into the ball and put a few drops of food coloring into it.  Use several different colors (one color in each ball).  Squeeze the hole shut.  Let each child have a ball (they could guess what color they have) and knead it until the color emerges.  As they knead, encourage them to describe what they are seeing and feeling and to notice when the first hints of color appear.

Note: This is the best playdough recipe we have ever found. The vanilla extract seems to improve the texture and adds a nice scent as well. You can triple or quadruple this recipe and cook it in a large deep frying pan. 

 

Eric Gidseg

 

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