Barion Pixel

SUNSHINE PLAYDOUGH
(with recipe)

August is all about the frolicking dance of water and sun. Our play is always inspired by nature, and this month it is this glistening blue and yellow that, almost instinctively reflect in our toy shelf,  nature table or even arts and crafts!

One of the activities we have been enjoying for some days now, in order to survive the height of the heat during the day, is playing with some home made play dough. And of course, it has called for the golden colour, too – on my son’s special request, because he came up with the idea to recreate nothing less, but the Sun!

When we run out of ready-made play dough, we always whip up a batch at home – and it is something so easy to do, that I though I would also share it with you. It is ready in the blink of an eye, it’s as natural as it can be, and stays fresh for a long time in a sealed container!

HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH RECIPE

To make a smaller batch, you will need:

  • 1 cup of flour
  • ¼ cup of fine seasalt
  • 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
  • ¾ cup of boiling water

And the added sunshine comes in the form of a few drops of essential oils and some colouring. We used:

But you can make your very own sunshine: add other oils to your liking and suiting your child’s age*, or for color, you can use kurkuma or simply a tub food colouring available in supermarkets.

To prepare it…

…just combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a mixing bowl, and the paint and the drops of oil in a mug with the boiling water. Stir them together, until it becomes a sticky dough. Let it cool a bit, then knead it on a flat surface vigorously for a few minutes until the stickiness is completely gone. If you need, feel free to add a bit more flour or water for your preferred consistency. And that’s it!

Once it is ready, set it up on a tray with some seasonal nature treasures and utensils for an invitation to play and create. With our play dough we love to use our kitchen utensils: the Ocamora knife and the Glückskäfer rolling pin, pastry wheel, meat knocker or their cookie cutters, fitting so well into the tiny hands. The metal sand moulds can be also used as a prop – it is an idea my son came up with himself, when he didn’t feel like leaving the sand box behind as the heat was getting unbearable outside!

Benefits of play dough

Play dough is not only a lot of fun, though, but also very beneficial for young children – so much that, in fact, it’s one of our favourite art and craft materials!

Why? Because children need a lot of squishing, smashing, squeezing, pushing, rolling, chopping and poking to develop the strength and control that they need to be able to later use everyday items such as scissors, zippers, buttons, or eventually a pencil. And play dough, with its malleable properties, provides a lot of opportunity for this. When you add different tools to go with the play dough, each utensil aids fine motor development even in a different way. And pulling a rolling pin back and forth, or pushing a cookie cutter or toy, it’s not only good for fine motorics, but it will also move the child’s whole body. Working with play dough is a real excercise!

In early years, children learn the best through their hands and senses. And again, at the most basic level, playing with play dough is all about investigating and exploring textures and consistencies, and – when added spices, essential oils or colouring – it will become a real multisensory experience.

Being an engaging activity, it helps to naturally stretch your child’s attention spam and creativity. It’s a like blank canvas, their imagination and current passion can mould this magical material into practically anything they wish. It can become a birthday cake, dinousaurs, play food, letters or even numbers.

Playing with play dough is also a relaxing, almost therapeutic activity. A lot like a stress ball, it is provides stress relief for children and an emotional outlet. Perfect for calming down or to transition from a noisy activity to some quiet time.

 Thank you for the lovely pictures and video for our Play Ambassador, Jasmina Lozar – it was a real pleasure to recreate the experience together!

* Please note that not all essential oils are safe to use around pregnant women or young children under 3. If you are not familiar with the safe use of essential oils, always consult a professional beforehand!