Making Play Dough

Young children love to play with play dough. Why not? It is fun and also enhances their eye-hand coordination as they squish, pound and form it into fascinating shapes or build unusual masterpieces. Helping to make play dough lets children learn about measuring, mixing and builds their sensory capabilities while encouraging them to learn and use new words.

Remember, only allow them to do as much as is appropriate for their age and always supervise each step.

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
Food coloring
Food extracts, such as almond, vanilla, lemon or peppermint
Saucepan
Objects to stick in the dough, such as Popsicle sticks and straws
Objects to pound with, such as a toy mallet
Objects to make impressions with, such as jar lids, cookie cutters and bottle caps

Add the food coloring to the water. Then mix all of the ingredients together in a pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until it forms a soft ball. Let the mixture cool. Knead slightly. Add food extracts to different chunks of the dough to make different smells.

Talk with your child about what you are doing as you make the dough. Let your toddler or preschooler help you with measuring and adding ingredients.

Let your child handle some dough while it is still slightly warm and some when it has cooled off to teach him about temperatures.

Give some of the dough to your toddler or preschooler so she can pound it, stick things in it, make impressions in it and make her own animals, houses and people from it.

Put your play dough into separate sealed airtight containers and place in the refrigerator for a longer storage life.

Half cup of Cocoa

Eight oz. peanut butter

Six tablespoons honey

Nonfat dry milk

Half cup of uncooked oatmeal (optional)

Mix all ingredients, adding enough dry milk to make dough pliable. Add a half cup of uncooked oatmeal, and cut back on the cocoa, if you would like to make it a little more nutritional while eliminating caffeine (cocoa).

Put your play dough into separate sealed airtight containers and place in the refrigerator for a longer storage life.

If you have child dishes, working utensils or cups and bowls, the toddler size fit their hands best.

Keep the activity low key so that you can monitor each step. Babies and toddlers love to stick everything into their mouths. If your precious little one is under the age of three, cut down on the cocoa in any recipe that calls for it. Find other substitutes, like any dried flavored cooking powder or just use dried milk.