Toy Thursday: Home Made Play Dough just like Mom Made!

A few weeks ago, our play group was hosted by another mom at her house. It was there that I walked down memory lane as she spread out a plastic table cloth on the floor, got out some toys, and placed some play dough on the table cloth.

Judah's first experience with play dough was actually a week previous when Gigi brought it on vacation for the boys to play with outside. Even so, I sat on the floor beside Judah to roll, pat, cut out, and roll again the blue and green play dough.

The play dough seemed soft enough (unlike regular store bought play dough), so I asked my friend, neighbor, and hostess, if this was indeed home made play dough. She grinned, responding yes and that she got the recipe from her mom from this book. I finished her sentence with Feed Me, I'm Yours (by Vicki Lansky)! I thought the recipe was the same from my own childhood and we both laughed when we talked about using the now brown book which happened to be second generation (falling apart) used.

Since Judah did so well on vacation with the play dough, I finally felt comfortable making this special fun home made activity for him just like my mom did for me. The softness makes this concoction so easy to roll with kid rolling pins, pound with meat tenderizers, and cut out with cookie cutters. This safe, kid proof recipe does not make me cringe as much if he happens to eat it. And we play to our hearts content making caterpillars and meatballs with fun colors of blue and green.

So yesterday, I finished memory lane as we made our own play dough. The recipe seemed easy and quick enough for an excited kid to help. This inexpensive dough lasts for a long time in a sealed container as we come back for more and more fun. Clean up stayed to a minimum as this dough allows easy wiping and the toys can be run through the dishwasher.

In a medium pot, mix:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
Once combined, add:
1 cup water
2 teaspoons food coloring
1 tablespoon oil

Cook over medium heat and stir (about 3-5 mins). It will look like a globby mess, and you’ll be sure it’s not turning out, but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn out and kneed on a lightly floured surface. Store in an air tight container or plastic bag. It’s edible, but not tasty.

When using play dough, don't neglect those necessary pieces of equipment: cookie cutters, rolling pins (real or play), plastic knives, bottle caps, extra flour, uncooked spaghetti or macaroni, etc., etc.

Thanks Lindsay for taking us down memory lane. You can visit more of Lindsay's ideas at Musings and Tidbits. And yes, I found my copy again of the book!