A morning with Play Dough!

I have been trying to come up with more activities to do with Roman lately. I want to start gearing up for a more curriculum based (and age appropriate, of course) learning system for him. I am trying to be more intentional about teaching him colors, numbers, letters and music. We recently started a Music Together class, which we love, and have been listening and jammin' to our class CDs at home!

This morning I thought it would be fun to make play dough with him and then proceed to use it! We have some store bought Playdoh, but he kept trying to eat it and I was really leery of the chemicals in it, so I decided to make our own. I found a really simple recipe online at teachnet.com that is as follows:

Earth Friendly Play Dough

• 1 cup flour (not self-rising)
  
• 1/2 cup salt
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  

Mix in saucepan over low heat. (It does not have to heat long.) Dough is ready when it rolls into a ball. Keep dough fresh in an airtight container. If you need to make different colors, add food coloring while mixing over heat.

We decided to make ours blue and oh how Roman loves it! He played for a good half an hour with it and was very insistent about me playing with him! His favorite thing to do is tear it into tiny little pieces- which of course makes a larger mess but I can't help but think that such a tactile experience is really stimulating his little brain! When he was finished he even had fun helping me put it all away! It seemed like a lot to take on before 9 am, but really it was very simple and lots of fun for both of us! So, pull out a sauce pan and call your kids to the kitchen- it is a great activity for the whole family!