The benefits of having your kids play with play dough is huge!  They can play baker/scientist while you make it together, use their imagination, practice their dexterity, and create art, just to name a few.

Make it yourself and make sure it is nontoxic.  You know they might eat some, have it all over their hands, etc

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups boiling water

food coloring or powder drink mix (i.e. kool aid)

1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and vegetable oil together in a big bowl
2. Add food colouring or powder drink mix to boiling water and mix
3. Add coloured water to flour mixture
4. Knead dough

Play dough will keep for a long time stored in a covered plastic container or plastic sandwich bag.

Note:

• I like using powder drink mix because it gives it colour and a fruity smell
• Add additional smells by adding vanilla, lemon, etc oils (could try extract if you don’t have oils)
• Try using rose water
• make several colours of play dough by omitting the colour to the water when following the recipe.  Then separate the dough into several bowls and add food colouring drops to each bowl.  And kneed dough to blend colour throughout

Art ideas:

• Roll out dough and use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes.  Add glitter like sprinkles on a cookie!
• Easy: Leave out your sculptures/cookie cutouts to dry and harden (can take a couple of days to weeks depending on size and thickness).  Paint it.  Glue stuff on, etc.  It can crack, colour fades, etc
• If you have a special ornament/sculpture/etc preserve it with these steps