Tag: “activities for toddlers”

No Cook Pumpkin Playdough

No Cook Pumpkin Playdough

Posted on by Rebecca

I’m always a little envious of all the pumpkin festivities that happen over in the Northern hemisphere during the autumn months. How I would love to take the kids pumpkin picking on a farm somewhere. Alas, we will have to settle in creating our own fun and cheer, and I thought what better way than to make up a batch of “Pumpkin Play Dough”.

For this I used my all time, go to, no cook, play dough recipe.

It’s literally ready in 5 minutes and I’ve even mixed up a batch for the boys before running to work in the morning. You’ll need 4 ingredients:

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • Between 1 and 2 cups warm water (you keep adding until it feels right)
  • food colouring (optional)

There are several variations on this I’ve seen but this one works for us, every time. If stored correctly, it will literally keep for about 4 to 5 months. The container must be airtight otherwise your play dough will start to dry and form a crust. At the end once you have combined everything, I add a tiny bit of oil to my hands to rub on the outside of the playdough, not more than a teaspoon.

I usually do the initial mixing here while the water is still a bit warm, and then I hand the bowl over to the kids and let them get stuck in there. Add the food colouring into the water before you start to mix as well to ensure an even colour.

All I did for the pumpkin playdough was add in a little cinnamon for smell, its heavenly. You could also create an invitation to play by giving your kids cinnamon sticks, cloves or star anise to play with.

And thats it! Easy right? Now we can create our own mini pumpkin patch.

DIY Bathtime Playdough

DIY Bathtime Playdough

Posted on by Rebecca

Any lush fans in the house? Since we made our own bath bombs ,I’ve really been enjoying reading up on the various different bath options we can create. If you are a lush fan you’ll be familiar with their “bath time playdough”, we’ve had the rainbow one a couple of times, and I never realised just how easy it could be to create! These are literally two of the greatest things in the world colliding into one ball of awesomeness. Playdough and Bath time are my boys absolute favourites, and this was just so much fun.

You’ll need 3 simple ingredients:

Cornstarch

Your kids body wash/ Castille soap

Food colouring

Essential Oils (optional)

This does require a fair bit of kneading before it gets to a manageable consistency. I did the initial mixing an then let the boys get stuck in. Simply start with 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part body wash. I started with 2/3 cups cornstarch and 1/3 cup body wash. Stir the mixture together until it’s all combined. If the resulting mixture is too solid, add a bit more body wash and vice versa. If you are using food colouring, mix it in with the body wash first (I didnt, and it created a slight marbled effect).

 

Let them have fun and play in the bath. Roll off a small amount of the dough (about a tablespoon). You don’t want to use it all in one bath session. It will disintegrate in the water but stay solid as they rub it on their bodies. It smells amazing and they’ll get clean while they play! You coul also use it in sensory play, as part of a water table, for your kids to use when cleaning toys, or as a dry playdough.

Making this playdough is also a fantastic sensory experience and fine motor strengthening activity.

Have you tried making your own bathtime playdough? I’ve seen a couple of variations on the recipe and would love to hear how you made yours.