Want to discover my go-to, must-have ultimate playdough recipe? In this blog post, you’ll learn how to make the best ever playdough. Explore the benefits of playdough in early childhood education, and find out my tips for getting creative with colours, scents, and textures so you can enhance your playdough sensory play.

Early childhood educators often ask me what I think the must-have resources for a play-based classroom are. My first response is always playdough. Young children love playdough. If you want to increase engagement – add some playdough. If you want to improve fine motor skills - add some playdough, and if you want to set up a learning invitation children will be drawn to - add some playdough!

In this blog post, you will discover the best playdough recipe for your play-based learning invitations. I am going to go so far as to say that this is the BEST play dough recipe you will ever find. It makes a good-sized batch, too. It usually lasts me for a term. That's about ten weeks! 

If you are after a homemade play dough recipe, there are many versions out there. This one is my favourite playdough recipe. It is a cooked playdough recipe and uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. If you don't, they are easy to find at the grocery store. 

Essential Ingredients for Playdough

Making playdough is a fun activity. You might even like to get your students involved. It really is a valuable learning experience covering math, literacy and science learning intentions.

If you think your students would enjoy making their own play dough, you will like this resource: How to Make Playdough - A Procedural Text Activity

This resource will guide your students through the procedure of creating their very own playdough. In the process, they will learn all about the structure and vocabulary of "How to", or procedural writing.

There are differentiated worksheets, illustrated playdough making procedure and vocabulary cards, posters and hands-on prompts. All are designed to ensure your students understand and enjoy making their own playdough and writing a procedural text recipe. 

Playdough is super easy to make and requires only a few essential ingredients.

There are three essential ingredients that you really do need if you want to make soft playdough that keeps for any length of time.

The Role of Salt in Playdough

Salt is a crucial ingredient in playdough. It helps to preserve the playdough and prevent it from spoiling. Salt also helps to give the playdough a smooth texture. It also makes it easier to knead. When making playdough, using at least a cup of salt is important. The last thing you want is a mouldy ball of dough!

Choose the Right Oil

Oil is another essential ingredient in playdough. It's the ingredient that makes the playdough soft and pliable. I prefer using a standard and cheap vegetable oil. I think it is the best oil to use for playdough because it is odourless and does not leave any residue on your hands. Grapeseed oil is another option. Other oils, such as olive oil or coconut oil, can also be used, but they may affect the texture and smell of the playdough.

You can replace the cooking oil with baby oil for a slightly different texture. 

Don't Forget the Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar is a powdery substance that is used in many baking recipes. It is also one of the three essential ingredients in playdough. Cream of tartar helps to make the play dough super soft and pliable. It also works with the salt, helping to preserve the playdough and prevent it from spoiling. When you are making playdough, it is important to use the right amount of cream of tartar to ensure that the playdough is not too soft or too hard.

In addition to these three essential ingredients, you will also need water to bind all the dry ingredients together. You might like to add a little food colouring or some essential oils to your playdough as well, but these are optional.

Just like any other cooking recipe, using the right ingredients and the right amounts will ensure that your cooked playdough turns out. Avoid making a sticky mess and follow the recipe for the best playdough that is fun to play with and lasts a long time.

My Step-by-Step Classic Cooked Playdough Recipe

Looking for an easy recipe? One that produces a lovely batch of playdough that lasts for weeks? Look no further!

My classic cooked playdough recipe will keep your kids entertained for hours. With simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, you can whip up a batch of this playdough in no time.

Playdough Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• 2 cups plain flour

• 1/2 cup salt

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar

• Food colouring (optional)

Instructions

1. In a non-stick saucepan, combine the water, flour, salt, cooking oil, and cream of tartar. If you want to add food colouring, you can add it to the water at this point.

2. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches the right consistency. Most of the moisture will be absorbed, and it will start to form a large ball. This should take around 5-7 minutes.

3. Once the mixture has formed a ball, remove it from the heat and tip it onto a work surface - a plate or board. 

4. Allow it to cool before kneading the playdough a little to smooth it all out and make it more pliable.

5. Store the playdough in a covered, air-tight container or sealed container like a Ziplock bag. This playdough does not need refrigeration and should last for several weeks.

Download My Free Printable Playdough Recipe

Want to keep this recipe handy in your kitchen? Download my free printable playdough recipe. Print it out and keep it on your fridge. With this recipe on hand, you'll never have to worry about running out of playdough again.

This easy playdough recipe is a great way to keep your kids entertained and engaged in creative play. With just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can make a batch of this cooked playdough that will last for weeks.

Give it a try today and see how much fun your kids can have with their very own homemade playdough.

Enhancing the Playdough Experience

Playdough is a versatile and fun activity for children. Every preschool teacher knows the value of this simple resource. You can enhance the original recipe with the addition of colours, scents, and textures. Here are some ideas to take your playdough experience to the next level.

Adding Colours and Scents

To add a pop of colour to your playdough, use plain old liquid food colouring or gel food coloring. Gel food colouring is more concentrated than liquid food colouring and produces brilliant colors. 

Cooking Tip: Mix the food colouring into the water before adding it to the flour mixture.

For a scented playdough experience, knead in some essential oils. This really enhances your sensory play learning. Make sure to wait until the playdough has cooled down before adding pure essential oils. This will help to preserve their scent.

Essential oils can help children

• to calm down - lavender

• to focus - peppermint

• motivate or energise - lemon

Well, so they say. But I can tell you, I have had great hopes for my calming lavender-infused playdough only to be severely disappointed 🤣

Creating Textures and Varieties

Creating different textures and varieties of playdough can add a new level to the learning activity. 

Knead dried or fresh herbs into the cooled playdough. Rosemary or basil are great, adding a natural scent and a stimulating texture. Flower petals are a great addition too. They add a lovely pop of colour and create a nice soft texture.

For a special glittery playdough, mix in some glitter or tiny sequins. There are some great environmental glitters (affiliate link) on the market. They make a wonderful addition to playdough.

By trying some of these ideas the next time you make a batch of homemade playdough, you can create a sensory play experience that appeals to nearly all the five senses.

Educational Benefits of Playdough in the Classroom

Playdough is such an engaging material that can be used for a wide range of activities in the classroom. Most educators know how valuable it is for developing fine motor skills in little hands. But this sensory play tool can be used for more than just fine motor activities.

Let's explore all the educational benefits of this popular preschool and kindergarten activity. 

I often use playdough to develop literacy and language skills in my play based classroom. You might like to learn about some of the fun activities I have for using playdough to teach phonics. If so, check out this blog post: How to Teach Phonics With Play Dough

Playdough often makes an appearance in our math activities too. You can see some of my fun playdough ideas for teaching our math learning intentions here in this blog post: Playdough Activities for Kindergarten Sensory Maths Play

 Playdough develops

• engagement

• creativity and the imagination

• sensory pathways

• problem-solving skills

• hand strength

• fine motor skills

• memory

• bilateral coordination

• math skills

• literacy skills

• confidence and self-esteem

• social skills

• emotional regulation

Perhaps the most impressive of these benefits are playdough's emotional benefits for young children. It is an extremely calming activity. I’ve seen first-hand how it can help children with their emotional regulation.

Do yourself a favour and add some playdough to your calm-down area. The act of pounding, squishing, and moulding can be incredibly satisfying and can help children manage feelings of anger and anxiety.

Did you know the sensory play experiences play dough offers to children can even help them build their confidence and self-esteem? Children can mold, shape, and create without the fear of making mistakes.  This lack of pressure to achieve a specific outcome can boost their confidence and self-esteem, as they learn that there are no right or wrong ways to explore and create with playdough.

Now you know why playdough is my must-have classroom resource! With all these benefits, you definitely want a lot of play dough ready and waiting in your classroom.

Sensory Play and Why You Need It in the Early Years Classroom

Sensory play activities are essential for children's development. According to a paper published by Early Childhood Australia, sensory play significantly impacts children's learning.

It states: Our senses are incredibly powerful tools to help us learn and grow. We can never ignore this in-built natural teacher! When we gather information using our senses and allow them to guide us, we are using our sensory pathways. These pathways have direct access to the strongest and most lasting parts of our memory (Stierwalt, 2020). As such, we should consider how to engage children’s senses when thinking about the types of play and programs to offer them.

It also says that a multi-sensory approach supports full and engaging play opportunities for all children. It also provides educators with the help they need when they are working alongside neurodiverse children of all ages. In short, use them (our senses) or lose them (the children). 

Playdough is an excellent tool for sensory play because it is a safe and engaging sensory experience for the classroom. Children can explore the texture, the smell, and the colour of the dough.  

Play dough invitations are fun and interactive learning invitations. Use this to your advantage and incorporate playdough in as many curriculum lessons as you can. If you use playdough and sensory play ideas to access the student's sensory pathways, your learning intentions will have a greater chance of being learned and remembered.

How to Keep Classroom Playdough Fresh

Properly storing playdough is the first step in keeping it fresh. Your second step is encouraging the children to wash their hands before and after playing with the playdough. Resisting the urge to scrape it out of the carpet and adding it back into your playdough container is your third step!

If you want to make your playdough last the whole term, store it in an airtight container or an airtight ziplock bag and put it in the fridge overnight. Air will dry out and harden the dough over time.

My playdough recipe does not need refrigeration - unless you live in the high-humidity tropics. 🙋‍♀️ I've had a batch of playdough go mouldy after only a couple of weeks, so we store it in the fridge overnight now. This is a great idea - especially in Summer. I’ve found it is the easiest way to stop it from going mouldy.

Playdough at home stored in an airtight container can last for up to 6 months - but not at school! Especially if you have a shared playdough table. 

I like to make a fresh batch every few weeks. Playdough is a dirt magnet. You will notice it starting to change colour, and that's your sign to make a new healthy batch. If you have children well trained in hand washing and you store your playdough in an airtight container, it could easily last the term.

Another way to keep playdough fresh is to add a few drops of glycerin to the dough before storing it. Glycerin acts as a natural preservative and helps to keep the dough soft and pliable. Simply knead a few drops into the dough before storing it in an airtight container or ziplock bag. I personally don't do this as there's enough salt in my recipe to kill all manner of germs. 

Troubleshooting Common Playdough Issues

• If your playdough is too sticky, you can fix it by adding extra flour. Simply sprinkle a little bit of flour onto the dough and knead it until the stickiness is gone. 

• If your playdough is too dry, you can add a few drops of water or oil to the dough and knead it until it becomes soft and pliable again.

• If your playdough is bland, you can add a few more drops of food colour. The more food colouring you add, the more vibrant your playdough will be. Don't forget - you can also add essential oils for scents, glitter, sand, small toys, or beads to the dough to make it more interesting for your students.

Takeaways

Using playdough in the classroom has many benefits for young learners. It is a versatile learning tool for engagement, fine motor skill development, and creative exploration. With the right recipe, you can make quality playdough that lasts for weeks.

The sensory-rich nature of playdough gives children opportunities to engage their senses and deepen their learning. By adding colours, scents, and textures to your playdough, you can enhance the learning experience. Whether it's adding essential oils for relaxation or using herbs for a stimulating tactile experience, the possibilities for enrichment are endless.

Playdough really is a must-have resource in the classroom so don’t forget to grab my FREE printable recipe. You’ll use my best ever playdough recipe often, so add some magnetic tape and stick it on your fridge.