Have you ever used henna to make mehndi patterns? We tried it this week as part of our project on weddings around the world and it was wonderful.
Such a lovely group activity and a great hands-on (truly!) way to learn about a culture different to our own. Oh, and surprising good for math games too.
Here are our tips for how to use henna as a beautiful art and math lesson.
We’re celebrating the change in season by adding an autumnal twist to our easy no cook playdough recipe.
A classic, no cook play dough recipe that you can make in minutes, using ingredients from your kitchen cupboard. Here’s a step-by-step recipe, along with ideas for a whole year of play dough activities.
Click play on the video above to see our playdough masterclass.
This video gives you everything you ever wanted to know about play dough: how to make homemade playdough with quick and easy recipes; the benefits of playdough for children; and lots of sensory play activities using play dough including playdough math activities, playdough literacy activities, and playdough fine motor skills activities.
Plus find out how to get printable playdough recipe cards and printable play mats. It’s an excellent beginners guide to play dough!
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Nurturestore has lots of articles about fun play dough ideas but I though today I thought I’d get back to basics with a step-by-step easy play dough recipe.
It’s a super easy recipe and even if you’ve never tried making your own play dough before, follow these steps and you’ll be ready to enjoy some fantastic sensory play in minutes.
I’m going to show you my favourite no cook play dough recipe. There are many versions and variations of play dough available in our archive of play dough recipes but this is the one I use most often because it’s easy, quick and lasts really well.
Step One: Take a large bowl and add:
:: 2 cups flour
:: 1 cup salt
:: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
:: 2 tablespoons cream of tartar*.
Step Two: add in any extras such as:
:: glitter
:: spices
:: fragrance
Step Three: boil the kettle and pour 1 1/2 cups of the water into your mixture.
Add in any food colouring at this stage so it mixes evenly through the dough.
Step Four: mix the ingredients together to form a dough and you are ready to play.
Play dough too crumbly? Add a little more oil.
Play dough too sticky? Add in a little more flour.
Want your play dough to last a long time? Wrap it up well in a plastic bag as soon as you’ve finished playing and your play dough could last for months.
* Not got all the ingredients? If you discover you have no cream of tartar, no problem – just leave it out. You can make a basic dough just by combining flour and water if that’s all you have. The dough won’t last but will give you a great day’s worth of play.
Remember the kids art idea we tried last week, exploring texture? Here’s what happened when we added painting on top – lovely sensory, textured experiments!
Such a pretty seaside craft for kids, and a lovely memento of a beach holiday: here’s how to make a shell mobile.
I made this lemon play dough recipe while we were away at the beach. It’s perfect for seaside sensory play with some lovely shells.
Here’s the recipe.
