I have an almost-3 year old and a 1.5 year old. We use play dough. A lot. So of course, it makes sense to make our own! I love making homemade playdough for several reasons.

First of all, it’s really easy to make your own homemade playdough. It’s also a great craft to do with your toddler! I often have mine help dump all of the ingredients. The only precaution I would take is doing the pouring and kneading with the hot water. Once it’s a good consistency (and cool!) have your toddler help knead.

It’s also nice to know that the dough you are making is 100% nontoxic and when you dump it, there is no worry about adding additional plastic to the landfills (or ocean).

Anyways, I’m not going to have you read a life story for this recipe, so here it is:

Homemade Playdough Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/2 cup salt

¾ cup boiling water (add the water slowly to see how much you need)

Optional: food coloring (gel is superior to water-based, in my opinion!)

Directions for homemade playdough

Add in all the ingredients, adding the water last. Knead until no longer sticky (feel free to dust a bit more flour in, if you added too much water!). Once the play dough is at a consistency you like, add in the food coloring! You might even want to split the dough in half for multiple colors.

Need some ideas for your homemade playdough?

Well, look no further! I mean, you may need to be patient for a while because I’m a one-woman show but I do have some activity ideas available here. . . And mention some nature-inspired playdough activities here. . . And have more content coming out all of the time!

Feel free to subscribe to my email list or follow along on instagram for more inspiration! Until next time, friend.