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playdough stations

Frozen Inspired Elsa Microwave Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

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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. light blue dough pressed down with white, silver, and blue sprinkles and text reads "Elsa microwave playdough"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. 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 PlaydoughSnow Playdough and invitation to play

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

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Seashell Fossils in Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

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This simple seashell fossils in playdough activity is easy to set up and fun for kids. It includes opportunities for hands-on learning as well as sensory play. blue playdough on a teal surface has some seashells pressed into it and a few seashells nearby. The text shown is "seashell fossils in playdough"Use this activity after collecting shells at the beach on a vacation or pair it with an ocean unit study. You could also do this when studying fossils. It’s a great hands-on science activity.

Seashell Fossils Sensory Play:

Pressing the seashells into the playdough provides good proprioceptive sensory feedback. As does rolling out the playdough. If you use scented playdough, you can add olfactory sensory input.

There are contrasting textures and colours with the soft playdough and rough and hard seashells which engage the tactile and visual sensory systems.

How to make Seashell Fossils in Playdough:

Supplies needed:

  1. playdough (homemade or purchased)
  2. seashells
  3. rolling pin

Instructions:

  1. Set out the playdough, a rolling pin, and a variety of seashells.
  2. Have your child roll make a ball with the playdough and roll it out using the rolling pin.
  3. The seashells can then be pressed into the playdough.
  4. Encourage your child to use the rolling pin or their fingers to press the seashells further into the playdough.
  5. Invite your child to carefully peel the seashells out of the playdough. Observe the faux fossils that are now displayed where the seashells used to be.
  6. For younger kids, you can also have them match the seashells that are now out of the playdough with their imprint.

Expand this activity:

  1. Set out books about seashells for your child to discover which type of seashells are in front of them and what sea creatures used to live in them.
  2. Talk about what true fossils are and how they are formed. Here are some resources to help you teach about fossils.
  • Explaining Fossils to Kids
  • What are Fossils and how are they Formed? (video)
  • Fossil Facts for Kids

Curious About FossilsCurious About FossilsCurious About FossilsWhere Do Fossils Come from?Where Do Fossils Come from?Where Do Fossils Come from?The Beachcomber's CompanionThe Beachcomber’s CompanionThe Beachcomber's CompanionSeashells, Crabs and Sea StarsSeashells, Crabs and Sea StarsSeashells, Crabs and Sea StarsSea Shells Mixed Beach SeashellsSea Shells Mixed Beach SeashellsSea Shells Mixed Beach SeashellsPlay-Doh Modeling CompoundPlay-Doh Modeling CompoundPlay-Doh Modeling Compound

Join thousands of others who have signed up for our Sensory Solutions and Activities email series and get a free sample from our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Some of our favourite homemade playdough recipes:

Calming Lavender Playdough

Peppermint Playdough

Snow PlaydoughSnow Playdough and invitation to play

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Melting Ice Cream Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

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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. Melting Ice Cream Playdough #sensoryplay #playdough #sensory #kidsactivitiesKids 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:

Materials needed:
1/2 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of coffee creamer
a few drops of food colouring
Directions:
  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!
Although this playdough recipe is technically taste-safe, it doesn’t taste good! So while kids may want to pretend to be assembling ice cream cones, they probably won’t want to pretend to eat them.
Sensory Play ideas:
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. 
While they play, kids can discuss the texture of the dough and what happens when they handle it. They can also talk about the look and smell of the dough. It may smell a bit like ice cream and they can try to guess why that might be based on the ingredients in it.
Check out some of our other playdough stations:
Snow Playdough Snow Playdough and invitation to play
Peppermint Scented Playdough 
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Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

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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. Calming Lavender Scented Playdough for sensory play #sensoryplay #playdough #lavender #specialneedsparentingI 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.

Playdough handprintOnce 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 Snow Playdough and invitation to play

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Peppermint Essential Oil Christmas Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

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The smell of Christmas is peppermint for many and this peppermint essential oil Christmas playdough incorporates that into an activity. There are a lot of possibilities for play with this activity. Kids can use their imaginations to come up with new ways to play and enjoy.

Peppermint Essential Oil Christmas Playdough invitation to create #playdough #playdoughfun #playdoughrecipe #sensoryplayPeppermint Essential Oil Christmas Playdough Recipe:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. oil
8-12 drops of green food colouring
3-5 drops of peppermint essential oil
1 cup boiling water
optional: green or silver glitter

I find that the easiest way to make playdough is to use the KitchenAid mixer. Add the flour, salt, cream of tartar to the KitchenAid mixer. With the dough beater (the flat one), begin mixing on low and add the oil, food colouring, and peppermint essential oil. As it mixes, pour in the boiling water and continue to mix on low until it resembles playdough texture.

Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it for 30 seconds to a minute. If you want to add glitter, add it in at this point and mix it through by kneading.

I wanted this playdough activity to encourage open-ended play so I set out quite an assortment of items with the playdough. When I create an invitation to create with playdough, I like to use a party platter serving tray. It makes everything accessible and look appealing so that the kids can just dive right in. This time, what I included in the invitation to create with peppermint playdough was:

  • jingle bells
  • beads
  • coloured pushpins
  • mini Christmas ornaments
  • cookie cutters (I put out a Christmas tree, a stocking, a star, a cross, and one that is shaped like a candy cane one way or a J the other so it could also be a J for Jesus)
  • peppermint essential oil playdough

Big caveat here: I was using this with older kids, so I felt comfortable setting out the pushpins for them to use and they were the favourite item, BUT they are sharp and wouldn’t be appropriate to use with younger children. And of course, as with all sensory activities, adult supervision is recommended.

My kids explored and created with the peppermint playdough for hours. One pounded the dough with their palms while another preferred to roll it out with a rolling pin. They shaped it using their hands or the cookie cutters. They pressed beads and mini ornaments and pushpins (tacks) and jingle bells into the shapes. They discovered that once playdough is inside jingle bells, they no longer jingle!

Sensory Play Specifics:

There is so much sensory input with this one activity. The smell of the peppermint essential oil is an alerting scent. This can help with kids who may be low energy or sluggish. Due to the scent, the olfactory sensory system is engaged. The activity also engages the visual and tactile senses while children explore colour and texture through touch and sight and even the proprioception sensory system as they knead or push and pull the dough.

Snow Playdough and invitation to playGlittery Snow Playdough

Gingerbread Playdough Station

Looking for other sensory play ideas? Join me for a free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get your Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

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Snow Playdough

Snow Playdough and invitation to play

By Sharla Kostelyk

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Last month, Granola Girl chose a snow theme for her birthday party. I had planned to make snow playdough for all the party guests and send it home with them along with a snowflake cookie cutter for the party favour. Unfortunately, her party fell the week of Snuggle Puppy’s emergency appendix surgery so the playdough didn’t get made in time. I still really wanted to make it for my kids to play with so just this week, I set out the playdough with some other items and invited the kids to come and play.

Snow playdough and invitation to playSnow Playdough Recipe:

  1. 1 cup flour
  2. 1/2 cup salt
  3. 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
  4. 1 Tbsp. oil
  5. 1 tsp. or more white liquid colour
  6. 1 cup water (boiling if using the KitchenAid method)
  7. silver glitter

KitchenAid method instructions:

  1. Put dry ingredients in KitchenAid mixer.
  2. Add oil and the white liquid colour and begin mixing with the flat beater.
  3. As it is mixing on the lowest setting, add the boiling water.
  4. Add in the silver glitter. Mix until the playdough texture you want is achieved.
  5. Take the dough out of the mixer and knead it for half a minute or so.
  6. Once it has cooled, store it in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

Stovetop method instructions:

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a pot.
  2. Stir in the oil, water, and liquid colour.
  3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom.
  4. Cook until the dough forms a ball.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Place playdough on a piece of wax paper.
  7. Knead.
  8. Add in the glitter at this point. Knead.
  9. Let cool. Store in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

Snow Playdough and invitation to playSnow Playdough Invitation to Play:

I set out a snowflake cookie cutter, a snowflake stamp, snowflake confetti, snowflake brads, pine cones painted silver with silver spray paint (this should be done by an adult), and a little plastic snowman with the playdough. As always, the kids were much more creative than I ever could be and came up with ideas I wouldn’t have thought of.

snow playdough and invitation to playOur neighbours were over playing and Mr. V. thought of using a pine cone as a stamp to create a pattern in the playdough. Such a cool idea! Little Miss J. used the cookie cutter and on the inside of the cutout created, she used the snowflake stamp. The result was so pretty.

Dancing Queen made a five tiered snow cake topped with two plastic snowmen and decorated with the metallic confetti. I got a picture of it but it was so blurry that even editing couldn’t salvage it (I’m still trying to figure out my camera!) so you will just have to use your imagination when it comes to the snow playdough cake.

Join our free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get our Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

Check out some of our other playdough invitations to play:

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

Peppermint Scented Christmas Playdough

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