How To Make Homemade Playdough

Playdough is a great activity for a wide range of ages. It sparks the imagination, it allows children to be creative, it is a sensory activity, it helps to develop fine motor skills and it is good fun! Most of us know that you can buy playdough in the shops but this can end up being pricey, the smell isn’t always desirable, some children can have a reaction to the ingredients plus it is sold in a lot of plastic packaging. Your cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly option is to make your own and it couldn’t be simpler. Here is our homemade playdough recipe…

Ingredients:

• Plain flour

• Table salt

• Vegetable Oil

• Water

• Food colouring

Method:

• Measure out 8 tablespoons of flour into a mixing bowl. Measure out 2 tablespoons of table salt and stir this in with the flour.
• Measure out 60 ml of warm water into a jug, add several drops of your chosen food colouring and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Stir to mix.
• Pour your coloured water into the flour and salt bowl and begin to mix with a spoon.

• Once the colour has attached to the mixture, begin to knead either in the bowl or on a flour dusted surface. If your mixture is too wet, simply add a little more flour, if it is too dry, add a little more water (Tip: use your fingertips to drop the water over until you get a good consistency).
• Once you have a nice even consistency and colour, it is ready to use.

If you want to add some extras in with your playdough, lavender oil gives off a lovely scent and is nice and gentle on delicate skin. Oats are great for a sensory boost and if your child has chicken pox. You could also add flowers, pasta, pine cones, feathers and so on.

As long as you keep your homemade playdough in an air tight container, it should stay fresh for several months and can be safely reused. Enjoy!

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