Hands on play

I often forget how much my kids enjoy play dough. I loved it when I was a kid. My mom used to make it and I loved playing with it while it was still warm from the stove. It is a great wintertime activity. We are hitting the cold of winter (it didn't get above freezing yesterday, sigh) so I have been looking for things to entertain the kids. And yesterday I remembered play dough. My mom lost her recipe once we grew out of that stage, but I was fortunate to be the recipient of a recipe for homemade play dough a couple of years ago. We have been happily using it ever since. I don't buy it any more, I just make it. It is cheap, it is easy, it is more malleable than the store bought stuff, you can make whatever color you want, and there is nothing in it that I would be afraid to ingest. My kids can spend the better part of a day playing with this stuff, so it is well worth the 5 to 10 minutes it takes to make a batch (that is without color, adding the color takes a bit longer, but you get an arm work out while you knead it in). Here is the recipe I use:

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients together. Heat on the stove (over medium heat) until it is "play dough" consistency. Stir constantly because it will thicken suddenly. Knead in food coloring when cool enough to handle.

So easy, and so much fun. I did see another recipe I want to try that uses kool-aid to color it. I'll let ya know how that goes!