playdough stations

Create a sensory station at home or in your classroom with this open-ended Valentine’s Day playdough invitation to create. Kids are free to explore and use their imaginations as they engage their senses.

One year to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we made Chocolate and Strawberry Playdough for the kids to create with, but this year, we stuck to something a bit more basic.

Valentine’s Day Playdough Recipe:

Supplies:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• pink food gel
• 1 cup water (boiling if making with KitchenAid)
• red glitter
• optional: a few drops of essential oil in rose or lavender*

*a note about choosing scents: Some scents are calming while others are alerting. If you want this activity to be a calming one, be sure to choose a calming scent as opposed to choosing a more alerting scent if you are wanting to create an activity that helps keeps kids focused.

KitchenAid Directions:

1. Put the dry ingredients in a KitchenAid mixer.
2. Add the oil and colour and begin mixing with the flat beater.
3. As it is mixing on the lowest setting, pour in the boiling water.
4. Add in the red glitter. If you want to scent the playdough, add a few drops of essential oils. Mix until the playdough texture you want is achieved.
5. Store in an airtight container or resealable bag when not being played with.

Stovetop Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a pot and stir in the oil, water and the food colouring.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot.
3. Cook until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
4. Place it on a piece of wax paper. Knead. Add glitter in at this point and if you want, a few drops of essential oils for scent.
5. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

Valentine’s Playdough Sensory Station:

Supplies:

• tray with separated compartments
• playdough (recipe above)
• plastic hearts of various sizes
• pink Easter grass
• heart confetti
• heart shaped erasers
• cookie cutters in various sized hearts
• small plastic heart containers

I found most of my supplies at the Dollar Store.

Directions:

1. Set the playdough in the center of the tray.
2. Place the other items in the compartments all around it.
3. Invite your child to use their imagination to explore and play.

When kids interact with this playdough station, they engage their visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems as they push, knead, gather, roll, squish, and pull. If you use essential oils in the recipe, then their olfactory (smell) system is also involved.

Are you looking for other easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You may want to see some of our most popular playdough recipes:

Frozen Inspired Microwave Elsa Playdough

White Snow Playdough

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

When I first started making playdough for my kids (because we all know that homemade playdough is so much better than store bought!), my arm would get sore from all that stirring on the stovetop. Things have come a long way since then. I now make most of my playdough using my KitchenAid mixer, so no more sore arms. But I recently discovered microwave playdough. This could be a game changer. This quick and easy taste safe microwave playdough recipe includes a variation in case you want to make it without cream of tartar. With all the buzz about the new Frozen movie, we’ve been on a bit of an Elsa kick when it comes to our sensory play like our Frozen Inspired Elsa Slime or our cool Frozen Inspired Sensory Bin.

Homemade Microwave Playdough Recipe:

Microwave Playdough Ingredients:

• • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 tsp. oil
  • 2 tsp. cream of tarter OR 4 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 cup water
  • blue food colouring
  • assorted winter sprinkles

This Frozen Inspired Elsa Playdough recipe can be doubled if you’re making this for preschool, a classroom, or a large group. Directions:

1. 1. Start by adding your flour, salt, oil, cream of tarter OR lemon juice, and water to a large, microwave safe mixing bowl.
   2. Stir until it is well combined.
   3. Microwave for one minute and stir really well.
   4. Repeat two more times, microwaving one minute each time.
   5. Allow to cool.
   6. Add in food colouring until you get your desired colour. Knead dough well.
   7. Add in the edible sprinkles. Knead again.
   8. Let the kids play!

When you’re not playing with this dough, be sure to store it in an airtight container.

If you’re more of a visual learner, I’ve included a microwave playdough video below.

Note: Even though this recipe is taste safe, it is not safe for children to consume large quantities of salt at one time. Adult supervision is required.

Sensory Play and Learning Opportunities:

Have your child help with the stirring and kneading when making the playdough. This provides visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory feedback.

Stretching and rolling and squeezing and squishing and pinching and pressing all are great sensory play actions. Playing with playdough engages not only your child’s senses, but also their imagination. This type of preschool play is also good for developing fine motor skills and coordination.

Are you looking for other easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our most popular playdough recipes:

Peppermint Scented Playdough

Snow Playdough

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

Pretend play comes alive with this melting ice cream playdough. With a consistency in between oobleck and playdough, it really does mimic the look of melting ice cream. Kids can pretend that they are making ice cream or creating a play ice cream parlour. It’s fun to make this dough in several colours.

Melting Ice Cream Playdough:

1. Combine the coffee creamer and the cornstarch.
2. Add a few drops of food colouring.
3. Mix well.
4. You will be able to form a ball with the dough, but it will ‘melt’.
5. When not playing with it, store the ice cream playdough in a resealable freezer bag in the fridge.
6. Allow it to sit out for a bit to get to room temperature before playing again.

The dough feels like a solid, but it behaves as if it is a liquid. The result is an interesting and engaging sensory play material!

Create a playdough station. Set out plastic ice cream cones, bowls, spoons, and an ice cream scoop. I’ve found some really cute ice cream bowls and spoons at the Dollar Store that would be perfect. If you want, you can also set out sprinkles. Kids can then make pretend ice cream cones. 

Snow Playdough 

Peppermint Scented Playdough 

I made a calm down kit for my youngest daughter for her anxiety and I wanted to include some lavender scented playdough. The playdough makes a good sensory outlet for her and lavender is a soothing scent. I chose purple because purple is supposed to be the most calming colour and it also happens to be her favourite. It turned out really well. I have since made this recipe several times. I have made it on the stovetop or in the KitchenAid. The reason that I prefer that method is because it is easier on my arms. Either method works though.

Lavender Scented Playdough Recipe:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 3 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 1 Tbsp. lavender or 3 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cups water (boiling if using the KitchenAid method)
• purple food colouring
• glitter (optional – I used purple)

Stovetop instructions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients including the lavender together in a pot and stir in the oil, water and food colouring.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom.
3. Cook until dough forms a ball.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Place it on a piece of wax paper.
6. Knead.
7. If you are adding glitter, add it in at this point.
8. Let cool. Store in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

KitchenAid instructions:

If you’re not a fan of getting a sore arm from stirring the playdough, you can instead make it in a KitchenAid mixer. To use this method (which I highly recommend!):

1. Place the dry ingredients into the mixer.
2. Add the oil and food colouring and begin mixing with the flat beater (the one for making dough).
3. Add 2 cups of boiling water and continue to mix until a playdough texture is achieved.
4. Next, take the dough out of the mixer and knead for one minute. If you’re adding glitter, add it at this stage and knead to combine it throughout the dough.
5. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight plastic container or in a resealable bag.

Once the playdough is made, it can be played with just like regular playdough.

As kids knead and pull and shape the dough, the lavender scent and the proprioceptive sensory feedback will provide a calming effect.

You can include a container of lavender playdough in your child’s calm down kit.

Ideas for Sensory Play with Playdough:

• squish
• knead
• pull
• smash
• cut with plastic scissors (great for fine motor)
• twist
• roll
• use a rolling pin
• press cookie cutters in
• stretch
• stamp
• play
• shape onto a playdough mat
• press buttons, beads, pipe cleaners, pompoms, dry pasta, shells, small toys, rocks, sticks, pine cones, googly eyes, leaves, keychains, or gems in

For kids who are sensory avoiding, you can put the playdough into a medium sized resealable bag and seal. The child can then squish and squeeze to their heart’s content without the texture of the dough actually touching their hands. They can also trace shapes or letters into the dough through the bag. This playdough engages the tactile, olfactory, visual, and proprioceptive senses.

Looking for more great sensory play recipes? Join for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Some of our other popular playdough ideas:

Peppermint Scented PlaydoughSnow Playdough