Easy Homemade Play Dough Recipe

All the squeezing, pinching and patting that comes from playing with play dough is very beneficial to a young child's fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are useful for pre-writing skills, like holding a pencil correctly, and also for things like using buttons or zippers.

These are my ingredients...flour, salt, hot water, oil, cream of tartar, natural dye or food coloring, and some essential oils. If you aren't familiar with cream of tartar, you can find it near the spices at the grocery store. Essential oils are useful for adding a natural scent to the play dough, but can be skipped if you want unscented play dough.

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Combine the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in the saucepan. Then, slowly stir in the hot water and oil. I turned the heat to Medium and stirred constantly until the mixture began to thicken. It only takes a few minutes.

Once the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and clump, then you know it is time to remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool.

My favorite part is next...add color and scent! You can use natural dye or food coloring. I just used some food coloring we had on hand. Using yellow and a few drops of red, I was able to dye the dough this warm, coral color. I also used a couple drops of my essential oils, Orange + Cinnamon Bark, to give the play dough a Fall scent!

(If you use cinnamon bark essential oil, use sparingly as it is very potent!)

The end result...super soft, delightfully scented, non-toxic, homemade play dough! This recipe would be a simple and fun rainy day activity to keep those little hands busy! 

Store it an airtight container to use again and again.

And, share this easy, homemade play dough recipe with a friend!