Preschool Playdough

As part of our "co-op" preschool, it is the responsibility of each household to make colored playdough for the class one month during the school year.  Each month is assigned a certain color and usually goes along with the theme of that month's educational topics.  When Danny and I were at orientation back in early September, the list went around the classroom and Danny got it first (we were on different sides of the room) and signed us up for a month.  When the list got to me, I quickly skimmed it, hoping it wasn't the month of September and then I laid eyes on February and wouldn't you guess...the color that month was PINK, Emerson's favorite color and perfect for Valentine's.  I am sure that was shear coincidence, right??

So last night, Danny, Emerson and I all gathered in the kitchen to make Pink Playdough!!!  I was actually dreading it a bit, I heard from a few moms that it is really messy and I didn't want to mess up one of my expensive pots (not that they ever get messed up by me cooking in them).  I was happily mistaken though, we had a great time making the playdough and it was certainly a great activity for Emerson to participate in.  I got a bit nervous when we moved to the stove to cook the playdough.  Yes, you cook playdough!  Who knew?  I ended up moving Emerson's stool away from the stove, which she was none to happy about.  I'm glad Danny was there to help...I needed all the "man"power I could get.  You have to constantly stir the concoction and it gets thick, quick!!  All-in-all, it was a fun activity and wasn't too messy to clean up, especially since I didn't do the cleaning up, thanks Danny!!  I will post the recipe below, but I would suggest if you are making it for household use, half the recipe because it makes a lot. Enjoy!!

The Ingredients

Our little helper...

measuring, pouring, stirring and trying not to make a mess!!

 

 

Turning it Pink!!!

Stirring Constantly......

Finally thick enough to take off the stove.

Ready to play with the playdough!

Helping Mommy knead the playdough.

 The Frogs Pink Playdough!!

Playdough - The Recipe

4 cups water

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

4 cups flour (all-purpose)

2 cups salt

4 Tablespoons cream of tartar

Food coloring

*Combine all ingredients in a large cooking pan (non-stick is best).

*Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly

*Continue cooking until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan.

*Remove from heat, turn out onto a floured surface and knead in flour until the playdough is not sticky.

*Cool and store in a large Ziploc bag.