Playdough Volcanoes

It's summer vacation!  I've been really lucky to have a bunch of vacation and overtime to use, so I have had a lot of time off so far this summer.  On the days that I have been working, my kids have been at daycare and day camps.  Our oldest came home one day all excited about the Playdough Volcanoes that he made at camp one day, so of course, we had to give it a try.  I know, I am straying from my usual recipes, but this was so fun, and our kids were just amazed by this.  And it's so easy!

Have your kids create a volcano out of playdough.  Let them have creative

reign, their little minds and what they create is always so awesome.  Be sure that they create the crater in the centre of the volcano, and if they want to "dress up" their volcanoes with trees and other fun, encourage it! (I am all about encouraging kids to be creative).  Also, make sure you use a spill proof base for the volcano, such as a paper plate or a cookie sheet.

Once the volcanoes are built, it's time for the adult to help out.  You'll need:

Baking Soda
1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar
Food colouring

Pour the vinegar into a measuring cup, add in your selected colour of food colouring.  Mix well.

In the volcano, pour in some baking soda.  A couple teaspoons should do you.

When the kids are ready, pour the coloured vinegar into the volcano crater. 

HAVE FUN!!

PS, did you know that you can make you own playdough?

Recipe Recap #15

Ahhh, it's Recipe Recap day!  Thanks for joining me in my little adventure looking back at the recipes I posted one year ago this week.  This week we are checking out the recipes from May 5-11, 2012...and here they are:

Smoked Salmon Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Homemade Play Dough

See you next week!

Homemade Play Dough

My son's preschool is a parent participation preschool.  Lots of great fun being involved - we get "duty days" in the classroom when we get to be the teacher's helper (I've always been stationed at the art table, which I just love, I do love to craft!).  Each year the preschool takes part in our town's annual "May Days Parade" (this parade has been going on forEVER) and the kids take part by riding their decorated bikes and handing out homemade play dough to all the kids watching the parade.  So, all the families in the preschool get to make play dough to hand out.  At first I was totally freaked out by it, some of the Moms had said it was a tough job, so in all honesty, one Mom and I considered having a "Make Play Dough, Drink Wine Night"...but then we thought it might get messy LOL.  Anyways, I hunkered down and just started to do it...and it turns out, it really isn't that hard at all! 

Here is the recipe:

Cooked Play Dough - My source: Teacher Bev, Rutland Parent Participation Preschool

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar (we were advised to use the brand name over the bulk, bulk doesn't seem to work as well)
2 cups water (a Mom hinted to use hot water from the tap)
2 tablespoons oil (any kind of oil, except motor oil, of course!)
Food colouring

*Note - this is a double batch

You can prepare this recipe using a double boiler.  I don't have a double boiler so I improvised and used the suggestion from Teacher Bev of a large metal bowl over a boiling pot of water.  Here is how I made the play dough:

Preheat a pot of water.  Allow it to boil, then reduce the heat to medium, keeping the water  at a slow boil.


In a large metal bowl, combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar.

In a small bowl, combine the (hot, but not boiling) water, oil and food colouring.

Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients, stir to combine, until the mixture is smooth.

Put the metal bowl over the slow-boiling pot of water and cook, stirring constantly.  When the dough becomes a ball, remove from the heat and knead until the dough is smooth (I allowed the ball to cool slightly before I started kneading...ouch!).  Store in an airtight container or bags.

VERDICT:

I was surprised at how easy it was to make the play dough.  Maybe it's because I am cooking and/or baking all the time, I didn't find the process to be a big deal.  It's a nice dough, and nice to know what is in the dough, especially if you have a child who likes to eat play dough!  I need to work on my colours a little more, mine all turned out rather "pastelly" (is that a word?!) and not like the vibrant play dough colours.  Could have been the food colouring that I was using, but otherwise, it was all good!  I got my 5 batches done for the parade, and it didn't take much time at all.  My son got into the fun too, we had to portion and bag the play dough so he helped to seal the bags and then squished them flat for easier storage.  I think he had fun!

Did you know, you can follow me on Facebook too?!