One of my earliest child hood memories of Play School is the smell and the texture of the homemade play dough. I remember the red cutters, the tiny little wooden rolling pins and our blue aprons. I even remember the box covered in wrapping paper where they were stored.

I’ve always loved play dough,  I would quite happily sit with my daughter and make play dough cookies for hours before Luke came along.

Now, Leila sits on the high stool in the kitchen, happily making pretend ice cream while Luke eats the remaining play dough off the floor. He has now discovered the kitchen sink but i’m not sure what’s worse, having a swimming pool in the kitchen or Luke eating the play dough and trying to pull Leila off the chair to get his hands on some more.  At least he is a handy helper with the washing up.

I’ve tried many homemade recipes for play dough and this is the best one. The play dough is super soft and lasts around 4 months and only takes 10 mins to make.

Ingredients 

2 cups plain flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup table salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

Up to 1.5 cups boiling water

food colouring of your choice 

Our method

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl

Add the boiling water then into the dry ingredients 

Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough

Divide the mixture evenly and add a drop of colouring to each ball of dough.

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 and the colour is all even * This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency!* 

Add glitter if you wish but beware 3 year olds go a little overboard when it comes to glitter. (Luke was sparkling in the light as he went to bed in the evening.

If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right

The benefits of using play dough for young children are wonder and the play possibilities are endless.

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