I’ll be honest, play dough is one of the (many) things that can really spark my OCD 😬 It’s a problem I’m willing to admit I have. Daniel and I used to be nursery leaders in our church, and we would bring store bought playdough every week. I was SO OCD about the one and two-year-old kids mixing the colors, I would only let them pick one color to play with at a time. Those poor kids, LOL.
Luckily, I’ve come a long way (not really), and I now allow Cal to play with multiple colors of playdough at a time, so long as it stays on our Gathre mat. Haha. Actually, the real reason I’ve come a long way is because Cal isn’t actually THAT in to playdough (yet) and probably wouldn’t ever try to mix the colors even if I asked him to.
Love that sweet boy. Lately we’ve been working on introducing Cal to more textures, and also strengthening his hands, which is why I started MAKING homemade play dough recently. I love that I know exactly what ingredients are in it, and that it’s totally safe, even if he were to put some in his mouth. The recipe I’ve been using is made with JELLO, which is what gives it it’s color, and makes it smell so yummy!
And I really do LOVE our Gathre mat for things like this! Once we’re done playing, I just quickly wipe it down and hang it back up. It’s also perfect to put under the high chair, and I want to get one to go under the easel Cal got for his birthday for painting and coloring, too! Be sure to check out the recipe for the play dough I’ve been using below.
Homemade Jello Playdough
ingredients
- white flour – 1 cup
- warm water – 1 cup
- salt – 2 tbsp
- cream of tartar – 2 tbsp
- cooking oil – 2 tbsp
- Jello – 3oz box
instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a ball of dough. This step does take a little while. Just keep stirring, you’ll know it’s ready when won’t be able to stir anymore.
- Once it has finished cooking, place the dough onto a silpat mat or floured cutting board and wait for it to cool.
- Once it is cool (at least 20-30 minutes) knead it, adding in flour until it is no longer sticky (about 1/2 cup).
- This recipe makes a lot of playdough. You could easily half the recipe, and there would still be plenty to play with.
- When you are finished playing, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will keep for at least a few weeks in the refrigerator, with daily use. If at any time it starts to be a little sticky, just add more flour.
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