The Ultimate Play-Doh Recipe!

Getting creative with play-doh...

Play-Doh is probably one of the all-time favourite resources in the infant classroom! It's not just a sensory incitement that compels the children to reach for the play-doh at every opportunity, it's also a very useful and versatile resource for a teacher to use throughout the day, in any lesson. They one down side about Play-Doh is that it is expensive! And because of an already stretched budget, I started to make my own play-doh about 5 years ago. So, as you can imagine I've tried a fair few different recipes over the years.

Slow Cooker Play-Doh Recipe

This slow cooker recipe is by far the best in my opinion. It lasts for months without becoming sticky or smelly. It is easy to make and requires just a few ingredients. You can make this on the hob in a pot but I find it far more difficult to clean the pot as it tends to stick. It doesn't seem to stock to the slow cooker so much which makes it really easy to clean.  

You will need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 4 tbsp Cream of Tartar
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp glycerine (optional)
• food coloring of choice
• A slow cooker or a pot.

1 - Turn your slow cooker to a low heat. Mix your dry ingredients (salt, flour and Cream of Tartar) together. You can add sparkle or scent in at this point if you like.

2  - Stir your wet ingredients together (water, oil, food colouring and glycerine) 

3 - Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. At this point it will be a very wet mixture.

4 - Place a tea towel between the lid and pot. I use the slow cooker but you can make this recipe in a pot on a low temperature.

5 - Stir a few time during cooking time of 45min-1hr. It will start to get lumpy. This is fine.

6 - As it cooks it will come together nicely.

7 - Remove mixture from pot and knead gently on clean surface and you're ready to enjoy! 

I invested in some really good concentrated colouring last year. They're expensive but should last me for ever! 

You can get Glycerine in the chemist. It's the secret ingredient for stretch and shine!

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Getting Creative With Play-Doh - Top Tips! 

Making my own play-doh is not just light on my pocket but it also allows me the opportunity to make different colours that link better to the activity or theme I am working on in the classroom. So here are just a few creative ideas for bringing playdoh into your day! 

Developing fine-motor skills

Adding small sequence or confetti as a playful accessory to your play-doh is the perfect way to make an activity more theme-centered. Throw in a small tweezers and work on developing fine-motor! 

The Pumpkin Patch!

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Scented Play-Doh

Exciting the senses by adding some scent to your play-doh is a great way to bring learning to the next level! Our sense of smell is a powerful learning tool and is known to help children retain new information in long term memory. Here are a few ways you might link a scent to your teaching theme:
Play-doh through the seasons - apple, pumpkin, harvest, cinnamon, pine, lemon, 
Moods - lavender or any other essential oils
Fun fair, birthday, sweet shop - Cotton candy scent

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Play-Doh loose Parts Trays

One sure way to link your play-doh into your theme is to set up little play-doh trays with a selection of loose parts. Pop the play-doh in the middle and add 4/5 different accessories that match the theme.  

Stamps and imprints!

We all know that play-doh makes the perfect canvas for imprints. Another opportunity for linking into themes is to make your own stamps or simply using what's around the classroom to imprint on the play-doh.

Play-doh Glue

Play-doh works as a great adhesive for construction play. The children can use it to 'stick' one object to another. At the end of play, the dough it is gathered back into a ball ready to use next time.

Extending your Learning Opportunities

Extend your learning opportunities by taking some photos and sharing them with the class at the end of the activity. Not only does this offer an opportunity to reinforce your focus language but it works as a way of sharing playful ideas with the class. Encouraging the children to play in an Aistear area they may not have tried yet. 

Play-Doh Lesson!

In this lesson I added sparkles to the play-doh for our "Fireworks Play-Doh" You can see in the video below just how much enjoyment they got from this activity! 

Why not do a play-doh lesson with your class? Teach them how to make play-doh so that they can make it at home themselves! One of the main elements of the Aistear framework is the connection between home and school, so giving the children an opportunity to bring their learning home should be a underlying component your teaching. Visit my class blog where I share my play-doh lesson with the children here. 

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Here's another procedure writing lesson I did with a different class using the tuff tray! 

You can et these playful Maths Play-Doh Mats on my Mash.ie store. Follow this link.

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So, I hope this post has given you some food for thought! If you enjoy  making your own play-doh you might also like this blog on making your own Salt Dough Bakery! Salt dough also works a treat for seasonal decorations. you can check out this post here.

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I would like to thank the children who kindly consented to having their work samples and/or photographs used on this website. Infant Education was granted parental permission for the participation of their children on this website. ​​

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