This is such an easy homemade playdough recipe. It’s squishy, soft and great for little hands. You can just throw the ingredients in a bowl and have homemade playdough in minutes.
Is making homemade playdough easy?
I’m really not a homemade playdough kinda mum. I’m not great at sticking to recipes and i’ve ended up with far too many playdough fails. However, when I joined the local playcentre, one of the jobs was to make up the playdough for the session, so the experienced session leader gave me a lesson in how to make quick, easy playdough. She made it look soooo easy. Encouraged, I decided to make a batch for my sons birthday party (thinking it would just end up another faiI) but I just couldn’t believe how well it came out. Four Months later we still have a tub and it’s still super soft and squishy, so I wanted to share this recipe and encourage you to give it a try too.
Is homemade playdough cheaper?
The other big motivator to make your own playdough at home is how much cheaper it is. We did the calculations and making homemade playdough worked out 15 x cheaper that buying 12 standard pots of Playdoh. That’s a $28 saving (NZ dollars), we worked out it cost $2 to make 1.3kg’s. Then there’s also the packaging, you then save on having to recycle 12 plastic pots and 12 plastic lids too! Win, win – are you convinced yet?
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The Wonder of Playdough!
What you will need to make Easy Homemade Playdough:
Makes 1.3kg, equivalent of 12 standard 4oz pots of playdough.
- 3 Cups of Flour
- 1 Cup of Salt
- 1 Cup of Corn flour
- 1/2 a Cup of Oil (I used vegetable oil)
- 4 Tsps of Cream of Tartar
- 2 – 2.5 Cups of Boiling Water
- Food Colouring (I use colour splash gel food colouring)
- A Bowl, spoon and a Spatula. I have a cute Lakeland set for my son.
Let’s get Squishing! Homemade Playdough Recipe.
Time needed: 15 minutes
Instructions for making Easy Homemade Playdough:
- Prep your ingredients
Weigh out and measure your ingredients and get a large bowl and wooden spoon ready. Also pop on the kettle.
- Mix it Up!
Add all the ingredients apart from the food colouring and water. Add the food colouring then the water if you are making a large batch of one colour. Or add water, split mixture and then add in colour afterwards.
- Parent Help (if you are making with kids)
Adult supervision is needed for the boiling water, but apart from that a great child friendly recipe. I just get everything ready in the bowls for my younger son to help.
- Give it a knead.
Let the mixture cool down slightly then knead the playdough until its sofy and squishy. Add water if too dry and add flower if too wet.
Fun Playdough Ideas
- Make a calming lavender scented dough.
- Try mixing different colours and create new colours. Give them names like a nail polish or paint has. Make a Rainbow!
- Take a Birthday Cake Breath.
- Get some snail shells, create a playdough snail and make them a little snail sanctuary from natural resources.
- Use the playdough and make a farm maze with paper straws.
- Add playdough to your calm kit, alongside some of our breathing exercises. See our printable breathing activities for lots ideas.
Playdough Troubleshooting
- If the Playdough appears too sticky add a little more flour, until you reach a good consistency.
- If the Playdough is too dry, you can add a little bit more hot water to the mixture, add small amounts at a time.
Easy Homemade Playdough Recipe!
Can playdough support kids wellbeing?
Playing with Playdough is calming for children!
Just like squishy stress relief toys that children and adults use to help manage feelings and release tension from the body, squeezing play dough is a great way for your kids to calm down (I also love using playdough, I think that’s why kneading bread is so therapeutic!). If your child is experiencing big feelings, using playdough can be a great way to calm. The movement, the senses and focusing on using the playdough all help to lower stress. Playing with dough can help to:
- Ease tension
- Release excess energy
- Improve focus
- Express emotions
Playing with Playdough Encourages Children to be Creative!
Being creative is one of the ways that we can deal with stress and calm our bodies and minds. Through using the playdough kids can express their ideas and use their imaginations through art and make believe play.
Have lots of fun squishing! Hope you find the recipe works well. Take Care Emma x
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