Playdough Makes for a Brighter Day!

Who doesn't love playdough?!! It is one of Ruby's favorite activities these days as she will request as soon as she wakes instead of a cup of milk! We really enjoy getting out the playdough anytime of day because it allows us all to gather around the table and talk about our day, what needs to be accomplished or retell our favorite scenes from Community. There is something very relaxing (almost theraputic) about just letting your hands dive into the squishy dough innately creating eggs, cookies, snowmen and dinosaurs!

My nephew and niece came down last weekend from Central NY to visit and this activity really kept them busy and happy. It allowed for us adults to have a conversation and actually finish our sentences (many things these days seem to end up in the "to be continued" stage!).
Aubrey helped me stir the mixture and was amazed at the intense colors we created! She was definitely proud of her effort and quickly rounded up the kiddos to show them the new homemade playdough. Izaak had a blast creating his crazy creatures and boy did he giggle!





































The heat is about to reach 98-100 degrees today and I thought I'd share with you this super easy recipe that will get your little ones to sit still (well, sort of!) for a bit to stay cool and trust me, they will be preoccupied for some time that maybe you can get that phone call in that you've been meaning to get to, sip your coffee in peace, or roll up your sleeves and get creative!


Art Stork Kids Play Dough

1 cup salt
2 cups flour
2 cups water
4 Tbsp. oil
4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp+ Food coloring paste (for brilliant colors!)

Whisk all together in a large saucepan on top of the stove. Stir over low/med heat until it forms a ball & pulls away from sides of the pan. Turn it out onto a counter top & knead it until smooth. Store in a Zip-Loc bag and have fun! *Does not need to be refrigerated. *Scent it with flavored food extract to make it even more fun! Peppermint is great!

*Food paste will stain your hands BUT it will disappear by the end of the day. Becareful of putting the fresh dough on surfaces you don't want to stain when you first kneed it. After it's been mixed you will be safe!


Enjoy!

Chelsea