Strawberry Sparkle Play Dough

To make this delicious play dough recipe you need vegetable oil, plain flour, salt, water, cream of tartar, food colouring (any colour), strawberry flavouring, glitter and sequins. If you don't have cream of tartar you can substitute it for a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. 

 Here's the recipe: (if you don't have real measuring cups just choose any drinking cup and use that.)

Mix the following measurements into a bowl (so your child can have a go at mixing) or straight into the pan
* 3 cups of water
* 3 cups of plain flour
* 1.5 cups of salt
* 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar (or a big squeeze of lemon juice)
* quite a few drops of colouring and strawberry flavouring

Put into a pan and heat it over a low heat, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick. After about 5 minutes it will start to peel away from the sides and make a big ball in the middle of the pan. When it has all come together, take it out and knead it for a couple of minutes. It should smell fabulous!
At this stage I added a sprinkle of red glitter and a handful of sequins to make it sparkle.

 Play dough is one of the very best activities for strengthening the small muscles in the hands, preparing young children for using scissors, paintbrushes and eventually writing.


This activity is good for:
* creative development
* fine motor skills
* using the senses
* talking about sizes, counting, shapes
* knowledge and understanding of the world (recipes, cooking, change in materials)