What Can We Do With Play Dough?

Here's some ideas to make play dough time more interesting for children:

- Make impressions in the dough with things from around your home.garden, or things you have collected on    walks (shells,leaves, sticks, plastic animals,cars, barbie shoes).

-Push small items into the play dough to create faces ( buttons,paper clips, popsicle sticks, googly eyes).

- Use Mr. Potato Head pieces to make play dough people.

-Add children's safety scissors so the children cut the play dough.

-Create a bakery by making cupcakes, birthday cakes, cinnamon buns, cookies, bread. Add cake decorations, muffin cups, rolling pins, bowls, spoons, plastic knives, small cookie sheets, spatulas, cookie cutters,potato masher, etc....

-Create a restaurant by making pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries.

-Flatten dough and roll cars and trucks in it to make tire tracks.

-Roll snakes and balls and use them to shape letters.

-Sculpt animals-add feathers,eyes, fur, etc...

-Put fresh play dough in a syringe or icing bag and let children squeeze it out.

-Mix different combinations of colored play dough to make new colors. 
 Red + Blue = Purple, Yellow + Blue = Green, Red + Yellow = Orange
 Then mix all the colors together!

-Use small plastic animal toys (available at the dollar store) and let the child make different kinds of caves  and homes for the animals to live in.

-Make ornaments. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes so they will harden and preserve.

Source: Play Dough, Painting, and Prop Boxes Workshop by Krista Anderson

Play Dough

Recipe:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 Koolaid Packages (same color)
2 cups boiling water

Mix dry ingredients. Add boiling water. Knead on floured board. Can add more flour by sprinkling until desired consistency. Store in a sealed container. Some people store the container in the fridge to slow bacteria growth. Make new play dough each week.

You can also use food coloring instead of Koolaid powder.

Gingerbread Play Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg

Directions:
Mix flour and salt and cream of tartar in a bowl. Add spices until it smells good. Add boiling water (or hot coffee), and oil. Mix and knead with hands to form a soft dough.
Add rolling pins, cookie cutters and colored play dough to decorate each cookie with.
Have fun!