Wednesday: Kitchen Table Adventures with play dough and SPD

Tried and true – play dough is probably one of the best inventions ever!  My boys absolutely love this pliable toy and can sit for hours shaping and creating.  And best of all – you don’t have to spend a lot of money on the store-bought variety or the accessories for this activity.  Just make your own and use whatever is in your kitchen drawers to let your kids experiment.

Playing with the dough will increase strength in the fingers, increase manual dexterity and work on those fine motor skills.  If you add rollers, and cookie cutters to it, all the better.*

This is the best recipe for homemade clay I’ve come across.  There are two methods you can use to make it.  First, you can put the color in with the water before you add the other ingredients, or wait  until the dough has cooled and let your child knead the color into the dough.  I prefer the latter approach as it’s a great way for them to work on their gross motor skills and gives my SS (sensory seeker) son the sensory input he craves.

Play Dough

2 cups water

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
¼ cup cream of tartar
Food coloring or fruit or vegetable juice (carrot, apple, beet, grape, plum, etc.)

Mix oil, water and coloring (optional – can add coloring afterwards) in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour, salt and cream of tartar.  Stir frequently until dough pulls away from the pan and forms a ball.  Remove from heat and let cool.  When cool enough to touch, knead dough and use as is, or divide into equal parts and add coloring (if you haven’t already) and knead the color into the dough.

To store:  Keep in a closeable plastic bag in the refrigerator up to a week  or so if you use the natural juices to color the dough with.  I use food coloring and keep my dough longer in the fridge (up to 6 weeks).  If it dries out, I add a few drops of water.  I use my nose to determine if the dough is ready to be thrown out and a new batch made.

I let my boys use my cookie cutters, rolling pin, garlic press, butter knife, forks, spoons, slotted spoons, pastry cutter,  cupcake pan, canning rings and tops, plastic cups and lids, plastic dinosaurs and plastic people to create all sorts of fantastical lands and creatures. 

Enjoy!

* Fortunately, my SPD boys don’t have a problem handling play dough – but other SPD kids can have aversions to the texture of play dough.  I can’t offer advice on how to handle that situation, other than to direct you to an Occupational Therapist who will suggest another activity more suited to your child’s needs.