Playdough is a great way to work on fine motor skill development and something we have out in nursery every day. The children are always involved in making it which is a great opportunity for conversation, weighing and measuring are great for early numeracy development too!
Have a go at making your own playdough at home, you can add colour or different scents to it too! We were using dried out oranges, cinnamon sticks and ginger in our playdough just before we broke up!
You need:
- 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (baby oil and coconut oil work too)
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 1 to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)
- gel food colouring (optional)
- few drops glycerine (my secret ingredient for stretch and shine!)
Method:
- Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl
- Add food colouring to the boiling water then into the dry ingredients
- Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough
- Add the glycerine (optional)
- Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. * This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency!*
- If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right