For The Kids - Play-dough

Good Morning!!  I'm going to be starting posting here and there about things I do with my children, in the kids art class I teach and simple things I do around the house with my kids.  Especially this time of year when it's so easy to just laze around.  Don't get me wrong...we do PLENTY of lazing about ;) but I'll be bringing you ideas, projects, recipes, etc of things we do when we're NOT lazing around.  (hehehe)

A little secret about me...I SO wanted to homeschool my children.  For many reasons.  But after lengthy discussions with my husband we knew that for all of us it would be best if they went out of the house for school.  My delectable son is heading into his last year at THE most amazing pre-school in our area and my delicious daughter will be going into the first grade in the fall.  (WOW!) - how does the time fly so fast???!!  =)  And I love to do so many things with them.  Both indoors and out.

At the beginning of the summer I started what I call a "Boys Only - Grunge Art Class".  There are many fabulous classes that are technically geared towards girls so I wanted something that was just for the boys!  I am blessed to be able to use a studio space near me to teach this class on Monday afternoons for one hour.  It's awesome.  I come up with a different theme each week and we do our projects based on that theme.  I provide a light and healthy snack and drink.  And the boys have a BLAST!  And boy do we get messy!!!  LOVE IT!

This week's theme is Dinosaurs.  I have a painting project, a sand project and very messy play-doh project!  Since the studio I work in does not have an oven, I've made the play-doh at my house but the fun part is coloring it!!  I've purchased food coloring and each boy will get their own section of dough and will then proceed to, with bare hands, color his dough!  MESSY FUN!

Here is the recipe I've used - it was provided to me by my awesome Mother In Law who taught pre-school for years:

3 cups flour

1 cup salt (old school iodized - not kosher - it's too chunky)

3 tablespoons Cream of Tartar - found in the spice aisle

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 cups warm water

Put all of the ingredients into a large pot or skillet with deep sides.  I have an electric stove so I put my burner on low.  I mix everything together very well and let it sit for a bit.  I come back to it every five minutes or so and give it a good stir with a wooden spoon.

Here is what the playdoh looks like after I put everything in the pot and mix it together:

Here is my first stir at five minutes, notice how everything is starting to mix and mash together...the mixture will get thinner before it starts to thicken:

My next stir at five minutes;  my mixture is thinner yet it's starting to congeal a bit.

My next stir at five more minutes looks like this: 

It's starting to really hold together and thicken up!!  

Don't worry - it will all come together! 

Now we've got our dough!  I usually turn off the heat and let it sit for another five or eight minutes or so until I know all the sides and bits are no longer mushy.

Above, I've tested it in my hands to make sure there are no raw mushy spots.  Looks good!!

Let it cool for just a little bit if you are going to knead it out.  But if you are going to have your littles kneading it please let it cool for about 20-30 minutes.  The insides can be quite hot and I don't want anyone getting burned!!!  

I knead it with my hands for about five minutes until any extra lumps, bumps or crunchy spots are out and then I roll it into a large log shape.

Each batch, I made two this morning, makes about four good size pieces.  If I'm making it for my home I slice it into two large pieces and let my kids color however they like.  But since this is for my class today I made two batches, sliced into four pieces each.  

For now the color is a simple oatmeal color.  This afternoon I will be having my little students color this by hand with food coloring.  So I will be back tomorrow with photos and descriptions as to how to color up your dough!!

For now, I hope you have enjoyed, been inspired and have a beautiful, blessed day!