Playdough

[SmileyPR]

Hi Angela !

 

Could you kindly please share with us the recipe for the Gingerbread Man playdough?

 

Thanks in advance !

[Jackie A.]

can someone please direct me to a good recipe to make playdough that doesnt go sticky after 2 days!!!!!!!!

thanks

 

charlotte

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This recipe for playdough works perfectly every time, as the ingredients are weighed and therefore the proportions seem to be just right. I've been making playdough for years and have experimented with lots of different methods, but use this really easy method now.

 

I find that the dough becomes sticky if you have not used enough cream of tartar. The type of flour does't seem to make a difference - I use the cheapest I can get. Our playdough lasts as long as we need it to and never gets sticky.

 

400g plain flour

200g salt

4 level teaspoons cream of tartare

2 tablespoons oil

600 ml of boiling water

food colouring

 

I don't cook it in a saucepan. I simple put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour in boiling water straight from the kettle. Stir until blended, then knead until smooth. Leave to cool and store in air-tight container.

 

It takes minutes to make and there really is no need to stand over a saucepan stirrring like crazy.

 

Jackie

[Guest]

Hi

 

Thanks to all who have posted recipies here. I have been inspired to add this to mondays planning and even on saturday evening find myself reaching for the laminator and shopping list to add ingredients.

 

It is wonderful to have so many ideas to look at. hope that i have some of my own soon

 

julie.s

[Guest]

Does your recipe use cream of tartar?

I cook mine and it seems to work. Recently had some success with ready mixed paints and children doing colour mixing, but it needed a little more flour.

Lynda

[Guest]

what brilliant ideas ! we keep our wrapped in clingfilm as we have a very damp cupboard and it goes smelly very quickly. We usually manage a week with it would love to know how to keep it longer.

[Marion]

I love playdough but am hopeless when it comes to making it. My last batch seemed okay when I made it but by the time I put it out for the children it had become sticky. Copious amounts of extra flour didnt make any difference - neither did leaving it out uncovered overnight . It just got stickier.

The children didnt fuss though as it was still a different experience - but I wanted them to use scisssors particularly - but you can just imagine the outcome of that cant you?

Any foolproof ( ie ME ) ways of making dough thats not sticky?

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Just discovered a foolproof way to make long lasting play dough......... its called Paige's mum Not sure what she does differently but we are still using the batch she made last Monday

[Inge]

we have one of those called Michelle!!

 

Inge

[Guest]

Me too, love the laminating idea - definitely use that one -thanks - I also use the small brightly coloured matchsticks you can get - about £1 for about 300 from Wilkinsons - they make all sorts of things with this - chocolate sounds good along with some of the spices too -

Nikki

[Guest]

We do all of the above, the children also love empty chocolate boxes and small cutters to make mini sweets. We also have some laminated cards for children to decorate, head shape for them to add features, a christmas tree to add balls of dough to decorate, children make snakes to place ontop of numbers and letters.

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Last term we were concentrating on initial letter sounds. The children made "Bling" jewelery necklaces. They rolled the playdough and placed over their initial letter of their name ( laminated sheets). Then make a whole ( for string/wool) in the top of the letter before drying, paint yellow/gold, sprinkle with glitter, hang to dry.

 

They were very proud of their "bling" neckchain letters.

 

Peggy

ps make the letter quite chunky so it doesn't break when dry, can "varnish" with PVA

[Rea]

I've been asked to make chocolate dough with the children on Monday. My dough can be hit and miss so tips on dough with no hot water or cooking would be appriciated. Thanks all

[Guest]

When I make dough with the children I just put large dessert spoons, a bowl of flour, a bowl of salt and a bowl of water on the table ( you could add chocolate powder to the flour). The children "read" the laminated picture recipe card which states 3 spoons of flour, 3 spoons of salt and 2 spoons of water. The children have a small bowl each in which they put their ingredients. They mix it, then knead it and EXPERIMENT, if they need more water, flour etc, they "play" with it until it forms a child sized portion of dough. It doesn't always work out, but the children really enjoy the whole process from talking about ingredients, utensils, to describing the texture of the mix at different stages, to experimenting with adjusting the amounts of each ingredient used and what happens if..........too much water etc. I don't know if the dough lasts because inevitably they all want to take their "dough portion" home, but primarily it is the process rather than the end product that is of benefit.

 

Thanks Rea, for the reminder on no-cook dough, because we tend to do this activity quite regularly as an adult led/supported, but I keep meaning to ensure that ingredients are available for the children to self access at any time, so that if they want to play with dough and it's not out ( for whatever reason) all they have to do is make some themselves. Thus changing what is traditionally and adult led activity into a child initiated one. Now I need to remember to tell my manager to put this practise into place.

 

Peggy

[Marion]

Ive just found a recipe for cinnamon clay and wondered if anyone has used it. Would try it out at home

 

11/2 cups of cinnamon

11/2 cupps of plain flour

1/2 cup of white glue

stir well and knead thoroughly

[Guest]

Marion, haven't tried that one but saw it!! Let us know how you get on. I tried one with bicarb and cornflour which I've made but not used yet. first impression is that it doesn't make very much and could be quite costly but its good to have a very white dough for snowmen etc.

 

I didn't like the one which was made from tumble=dryer lint. YUK!!!! Won't be trying that one!!!!!!!!!!

[Rea]

Peggy thats what I would normally do too, with home made recipie cards, but I'm at a nursery at the moment where only one easle is allowed for painting and only one side of it to limit the mess, children paint one at a time are told when they have finished and are constantly asked 'what is it?' at the same time as having to pose for photos for the accreditation scheme they do, of which I'm told they were awarded Gold

The room leader would need hospital treatment if I worked how normally do, although I did get the children to jump in puddles last week before someone came along and swept them down the drain (not the children, although that probably would have been more fun) The whole idea of scented dough is new to them, so I daren't make mess too!

Anyway thanks for the thought, I will endevour to make clean dough with no mess or stickiness and send each child home as thoroughly bored and unengaged as ever. I can feel the bubbling of hysteria

[Guest]

Peggy thats what I would normally do too, with home made recipie cards, but I'm at a nursery at the moment where only one easle is allowed for painting and only one side of it to limit the mess, children paint one at a time are told when they have finished and are constantly asked 'what is it?' at the same time as having to pose for photos for the accreditation scheme they do, of which I'm told they were awarded Gold      :unsure:

The room leader would need hospital treatment if I worked how normally do, although I did get the children to jump in puddles last week before someone came along and swept them down the drain (not the children, although that probably would have been more fun) The whole idea of scented dough is new to them, so I daren't make mess too!

Anyway thanks for the thought, I will endevour to make clean dough with no mess or stickiness and send each child home as thoroughly bored and unengaged as ever. I can feel the bubbling of hysteria   

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:wacko:

 

I had to laugh when I had this brilliant image of these children being swept down the drain with the puddles. How funny!

 

You mean you don't have a 'cotton wool cupboard' at your nursery so that you can wrap each child up in it on arrival, and unravel them like mummies at home time??

 

What is it with these people? :rolleyes: I think they should be swept down the drain!

[Guest]

Must be time to get the cooked spaghetti in the water tray with black paint/food colouring, then on to the "Pick up a puddle" activity, find a puddle, choose from an array of utensils/ resources like sponge, screwed up paper, spoons, rubber gloves, hands, bowls etc and pick the puddle up ( which resource works best) and place puddle in a named jar ( This is Jasons Puddle) to take home and treasure for years to come. ( Richard Dixon- "Puddle Jumping"). ( at least 3 children will walk to the centre of the puddle, instead of standing at the edge, they will squat down and get wet bottoms - just squeeze and add to jar) Next on the schedule would be to do paint bombs from the top of the climbing frame followed by footprint painting.

 

Last but not least, all children to be supplied with a cloth and large buckets of soapy water, out to the car park to wash all the cars - mine gets sooo dirty this time of year.

 

 

Peggy

 

Too busy to want to play with playdough!!

[Rea]

Cant use the water tray. Apparently there is a 'bug' going round and until it's definitly cleared there is no water or sand play to stop the infection spreading. Cannot use bikes because it 'smells like something has died in the shed'. The worse was last week when room leader was asking the children what they like to do at nursery, a variety of answers followed, but then she asked me the same question. OH HELL. I replied that when I go to A nursery I like to use scented dough, hence my place on the dough rota.

 

 

It's doing strange things to my mental state so I thank the gods that I can talk to people who know FS means Foundation Stage and not Foreign State.

[Beau]

Reading this has had me in fits of laughter Rea. Try to hang onto the few marbles you've got left though!

[Rea]

Might be better to share them, the children have to have something to play with

[Guest]

But would the marbles be seen to be a choking hazard and then banned!

 

Karen

[Andreamay]

oh rea! you are wasted there cant you find a nursery somewhere else you should be head of a room not the imbecile you have,why arnt these people pulled up at ofsted i get so irate when good settings are getting so fraught at the thought of ofsted and settings like you have misfortune to work in get away with blocking childrens creativity!!! second thoughts you had better stop there for the sake of the children!!!!

[Guest]

We use scissors in the playdough, buttons, straws, birthday candles, birthday cake numbers, little cake cases, plates and cutlery. Not all at the same time! Hope these ideas are useful. Rosalind

[Guest]

Hi Rosalind. Thanks for making your first post - all good ideas .Welcome to the forum.

[Guest]

Hi.

 

Recently in our setting we made up lots of small amounts of playdough, (took a little while!) and we coloured each different lump with food colouring, so we ended up with some blue, red, green etc lumps. We then rolled them altogether to make rainbow coloured playdough. The children really enjoyed it and because our theme was the weather, we were able to incorporate it into that too!

 

We have also taken plates and cutlery from the home corner and encouraged the children to mix, cut with a knife, spear with a fork etc which also encouaged a child in our setting who had difficulty manipulating real cutlery at mealtimes.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Clare

[Guest]

Lots of new ideas. Thanks. We also use lentils or porridge etc to give our dough some texture.

[Sue R]

Just a quick hello!!

 

Sue

[Guest]

Lots of new ideas. Thanks. We also use lentils or porridge etc to give our dough some texture.

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Our play-doh had diminished and needed replacing last week, so we used the last of it up by adding porridge oats and rice for texture, then began afresh this week.

[Guest]

I know I am a little late, but just wanted to add a few thoughts

 

I advocate always making the play dough with the children so have 3 tried and tested recipes. Ooo and have you tried making dough with pasta or rice flour, just fabulous a slightly different texture

 

2 cups of flour

2 cups of salt

a splash of oil

water and food colouring

keeps well stored in an airtight container

 

2 cups of flour

water and food colouring

use it and bin it, for when you have no salt

 

2 cups of flour

2 cups of salt

water and food colouring

great for modelling

 

As for ideas have you tried putting a 'cooker' by the play dough table and putting out cake/bun trays for role play or making a large batch of dough and getting the children to play with it on the floor.

[aliamch]

I couldn't resist it, I had to make the chocolate playdough for my own kids at home. My 8 and 10 year olds can't get enough of the smell and are loving it! My 3 year old hates chocolate but loves cooking and is busy making lots of cakes and biscuits. This is definately something I'll do with the children at pre-school in September.

Karrie

[Guest]

I never realised playdough had so many endless possibilities!!!