Play Doh Fun

I was trying to think of a fun activity that Amelia could do now that she is a little bit older; almost 15 months. I thought back to when I was a child and I remembered Play Doh. My mom would make homemade Play Doh for me and my sister to play with. I went online and found a recipe to make Play Doh.

Homemade Play Doh
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• a few drops of food coloring

Mix all but the last ingredient in a small saucepan. Cook over a very low heat until it turns into a dough (it’ll take just a few minutes). Knead the dough on a floured surface until cool enough for kids to touch. Separate the dough into as many colors as you want to make. Put just a few drops of coloring in each ball and knead until evenly mixed. I store the dough in a fridge in an extra jar I have lying around. This way, it usually lasts for months! To add some texture to the dough, try a few tablespoons of rolled oats. Some kids love this, some are weirded out.

I doubled the recipe myself so I had enough to make a few different colors. If you have more than one child, you might want to quadruple this recipe so each child can have a sufficient amount to play with.

I put Amelia in the high chair and she poked at it then took a little piece off and ate it. I knew it wouldn't harm her because it's all natural ingredients (plus I know I ate some growing up too). I just told her, "No no Amelia. Play Doh is for playing, not eating." She understood and tried to take it out of her mouth but instead she ended up gagging herself and throwing up breakfast, twice! All over her clothes and the high chair straps. YUCK! So I cleaned her up, took off her nasty clothes, and wiped down the high chair really good. I left her in just a diaper and put her back in the high chair, not strapped in. I reminded her that we don't eat Play Doh. I showed her how to use the cookie/dough cutters and then she started doing it all by herself! I think she enjoyed playing with the Play Doh and will want to do it again in the future.