5 Days of ... Preschooling with Pinterest: Day 3

Ok, I promised you a post on dough and other squishy things today.  Play-doh is something else that little kids (as well as big kids) seem to like.  However, it can be annoying to shell out money for it, then have it dry up quickly.  Also, watching your child eat it, then not wondering what exactly is in it is nearly impossible.  That is why I have greatly enjoyed making my own dough for my kids to play with!  Let's look at my pinboard of Preschool ideas, shall we?

• First of all, I love, love, love the recipe for play dough from adelynSTONE.  I followed her instructions exactly, aside from using sunflower oil (instead of vegetable) and adding a little bit of lemon essential oil.  I was just trying to add a pleasant aroma with the lemon oil.  Unfortunately, it didn't seem to really add a lemon scent to it.  However, I just pulled out all of the containers I had, and discovered something interesting:  the one that my older two made, without lemon oil, was moldy!  The other two that I made - back in December! - are completely mold-free, and still as pliable as the day I made them!  The moldy one was made in February or March.  I did use regular food coloring for mine, and also added some matching glitter I happened to have.  Aside from the glitter, this recipe is entirely edible!  I just took this picture of the doughs I made almost 6 months ago - they're much more sparkly in person!

Galaxy dough on the left, regular dough on the right

•  The second dough I made was galaxy dough.  This is just a fancy name for black, sparkly play dough.  I came across this pin, then read through the post on Fairy Dust Teaching about how to make it.  I took her suggestion to add a whole bottle of black food coloring and a bunch of glitter, and applied it to the basic recipe I used above from adelynSTONE.  I am still impressed with the deep shade of black, and love the glitter - though I wish I'd had some moon & star shaped glitter to add to it.  I had to settle for black, purple, silver, and Prisma.
• Now that you've got a good basic dough recipe, there is no end to the varieties you can make!  There is "cloud dough", which is basically dough made with white flour and no coloring.  You can make "snow dough", like this one from Ten Kids and a Dog.  You can also make scented ones like the gingerbread dough from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.  There is no end to the themed doughs you can create!
• How about moon sand?  Did you know you can make your own version of that, as well?  Just check out the recipe from Irresistible Ideas!  Obviously, this one is NOT edible.  Also, corn flour = corn starch.
• Lastly, for a bit of a twist on "squishy", check out the matching game from Tutus and Turtles. 

***A note about using baby oil in play dough - I don't suggest it, though some recipes out there call for it.  If your child eats the dough, a food-grade oil is much safer for them.  My opinion is if you wouldn't put it in their food, don't let them put it in their mouths.

Come back tomorrow to learn about busy-ness and how to create it!