Did you know that Piggy is not only a marvelous doctor, knight and cowboy, but he also makes the BEST playdough! This easy recipe is so much fun to make with little ones -- it's a science experiment in a pot! The best part is it takes only minutes to make, but lasts for months and months when stored piggy-style.
Measuring the ingredients helps promote math skills, and the playdough itself encourages creativity and sensory-based play.
This is all you need to make Piggy's playdough!
Ingredients
* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup salt
* 4 teaspoons cream of tartar (Piggy Tip: yes, you really need 4 tsp of cream of tartar!)
* 2 cups room temperature water
* 2 tablespoons oil (Piggy Tip: I like to use grapeseed oil)
* Food coloring, if desired
Directions
Put all of the ingredients in the order listed above in a medium sized pot and MIX with a spoon. Will you use food coloring? What color(s) will you pick?? Will you use more than one color?? Piggy chose green because its his favorite color. Your dough will look something like the picture below...
Congratulations -- you have made a solution! Piggy Fun Tip: when you first put the flour in the pot, if you accidentally snort on it, you can make a flour cloud! You may need about 5 brooms to help clean up afterwards, but it is worth the FUN!
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. What is happening to the solution...? Watch it thicken!
When it begins to come together in a dough ball, remove the pot from the heat and place the playdough onto parchment (wax) paper, a bowl, or other handy work-surface.
When the dough cools to touch, knead it until smooth (fold it over, push, turn & fold...repeat). Kneading the dough is a great sensory activity for your child.
Have fun!! What will you make first with your playdough? Try using different rolling pins, cookie cutters, and stamps!
Store Piggy's playdough in a zip lock type bag that seals closed. This will make your playdough last for months (even in *dry* Arizona).
