Playdough recipes

I have several recipes for playdough, and I honestly have not made it for a while. I think we made some this past spring in homeschool and the kids loved it. As a teacher, I will tell you that play-dough is great for their little hands, because it builds important small motor muscles used in writing. It can be messy, but I've found that homemade play-dough lasts longer and is less crumbly than store-bought, as well as being cheaper. There are lots of books you can buy that might give you ideas of things you can make in your kitchen besides play-dough, such as this one...

The Ultimate book of Kid Concoctions: More than 65 wacky, wild & Crazy concoctions by John E. and Danita Thomas (found on Amazon.com for $3.18+)

This is another great recipe book for mothers, called Feed Me, I'm Yours by Vicki Lansky. My mom gave me this book years ago, and I used it often when making baby food for my babies. It also has great recipes for homemade playdough. It is a great book for new moms. (It costs $8.50+ on Amazon.com)

Here are three basic play-doh recipes:

Play-dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp powdered alum (or cream of tartar)
2 cups water
1 Tbsp oil

In a 2- quart bowl, blend flour, salt, cornstarch and alum. Whip in water and oil until mixed. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes stirring every minute until mixture is thick and lumpy. Cool on flat plate. Knead on floured surface until smooth. Mix in food coloring as desired. Store in jar or ziploc bag in refrigerator.  This has a good texture, but does lose some color when dry. Costs about 73 cents to make!

Play-dough 2 (no cornstarch)
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp oil
4 tsp alum
food coloring

Mis dry ingredients. Mix in wet ingredients. Place all in saucepan on stove and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Keep stirring until a solid ball forms. Let cool and smoosh!

No- Cook Play-dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup salt

Mix together and add 2/3 cup water slowly. Add food coloring. That's it!

Play-doh additions
Coconut oil (instead of vegetable or canola)
Kool-aid- smells good, adds bright colors
Pumpkin pie spice

To play with- tongue depressors/ popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straws (cut into small pieces), plastic knives/ silverware,  etc., Get creative! Also you can look at yard sales or Goodwill for inexpensive play-dough toys. That's what I did, and my kids LOVE our bin on play-dough stuff. Also an easy thing to ask for on birthdays/ Christmas (aka stocking stuffers!)

Enjoy playing and making these with your kids!