DIY Playdough recipe: preschool activity idea

Now here’s a fun, easy, sensory activity to keep little ones busy with… a DIY playdough recipe!

DIY playdough ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup salt
• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
• Food colouring (optional)
• Quart sized sandwich bags (please use reusable ones if you can!)

DIY playdough instructions

• Whack your flour, salt and cream of tartar in a big ol’ pot.
• Add the water and oil.
• Cook the concoction over a medium heat, stirring continuously. Once it has thickened and begins to form into a ball, remove from the heat and place it onto some wax paper.
• Wait until it’s not going to singe your hands off (around 30 mins of cooling) and then knead until smooth.
• Divide the dough into balls and then pop each bit into a quart sized bag.
• Add around 5 drops of food colouring to each bag, and keep adding until it’s the colour you want.
• Knead the playdough some more (keep it in the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands) and once it’s all done you’re ready to rock ‘n’ dough’ll.

Hot tips

• Pop in some glitter for extra fun (although if you do this don’t forget this instantly makes the playdough inedible!).
• The more food colouring you add, the stronger your colour will turn out.
• Have googly eyes on standby to make some seriously cute creatures with.
• Store your dough in the fridge in those sandwich bags to stop it drying out.
• If it does dry out, add a bit of water and knead well.
• Add in some essential oils (kid-approved ones, of course), to make it smell gorgeous.

Job done. Doughtally awesome.

And don’t forget, if you need to find your little ones a spot at a forest school based nursery or preschool that embraces all things sensory play like this, then do get in touch today to find out more about The Treehouse Club, what we offer, and what availability we have!