Homemade Playdough

6:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Along with my nanny job, I also work at a physical therapy clinic.  They essentially have nothing to do with each other, unless it triggers a great idea.  At the office, we have patients come in with all kinds of pain.  When it has to do with the arm, elbow, and hand, part of their exercises for the day is to do different things with putty.  The patient and I usually talk about how it's a blast back to our childhood when playing with playdough.  Since working at the clinic and having these encounters, I have been dying to make playdough, and since I'm a nanny, what better excuse then to make it an activity I can do with the kids.

Making and playing with playdough is such a fond memory I have from my childhood.  I remember one instance when my cousin was watching us for an extended time and I tried to eat the playdough like a cookie!! I learned the hard way that playdough was not the same thing as a cookie dough..

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbs oil
food coloring

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 tsp cream of tartar

Start by mixing the water, oil, and your choice of food coloring together.


Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and continue mixing it while heating on the stove.


Okay, this part is just tricky and annoying.  I made 5 batches and thought I had messed up every single one of them, but don't lose hope!! You just kinda have to go with it.

As you're mixing it together, it's going to become thicker because of all the dry ingredients, but it's also going to look like a blob of mush--keep stirring it though.



As you're stirring it, it will continue to harden up, but it's important to watch and make sure the bottom part of the dough does not burn.  What I found effective was once I had gotten it to a consistent state, I would spread the playdough flat across the bottom on the pan and then flip it like a pancake, ball it back together and then repeat it until it wasn't really sticky anymore.

mush blob
flipping it like a pancake;)

I know those directions are a little confusing, but it will make since as you're making it and maybe you'll realize I'm not completely crazy;)


Check it!! You have some playdough!! Make sure you let the playdough cool completely through before you let your child play with it, I can only imagine how scarring that could be to be burned while playing with playdough.


I had a 3 year old help me make this and she rocked it.  I told her she could help me pour in all the ingredients, and once I had a batch for her to play with, it was easier to work at the stove.  Good luck and have fun!!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good enough picture in time before the colors started to mixed together.  Regardless, we were entertained for a long time!




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