This week I made them up a bunch of play dough and had Joe swing by Wally World on his way home from work to pick up a cookie cutter set for the monkeys. He scored this 101-piece set for ten bucks. I'm so proud of him.
I sorted out all of the pieces so I can break them out at different times of the year (letters, numbers, Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween, etc.) and left a bag of the random shapes and animals out for the kids this week.
I surfed Pinterest for a few recipes and went along with the most common cooktop method. The dough came out great and I'm hoping the kids get a kick out of playing with it. I'm also hoping that it's nice outside so they can keep their mess contained to the spaces I can clean with a hose. Repeat after me: "fun does not have to equal mess". (At least that's what I keep telling myself.)
Play Dough Recipe
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- food coloring
Dump all the ingredients into a pot and whisk them together.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to form a ball. Do not panic when it seems to start forming lumps, this is what happens right before it turns into a ball.
I kept the food coloring out of the pot so I only had to make one batch to get multiple colors. Once the dough was formed, I threw it in my KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough horn and some food coloring to "knead" the dough and mix in the color. But I didn't have enough dough to actually make the KitchenAid do any kneading, so I ended up working in the dye with my hands which are a little pink and green after the fact. Sweet. Note to self: next time cook in two different pots and add dye in while dough is still in liquid form.
Once it forms a ball, let it cool and knead it with your hands until it's soft. Then store it in a sealed container or ziploc bag. Supposedly the dough will last for up to six months. I'll be happy if it lasts for six weeks.
