Let Your Children Play with Play Dough to Have Fun
Play dough is a soft modelling material made of water, salt, and flour. This soft, pliable compound was first used for wiping soot (from wallpaper). Later they were used for kids’ fun activities. Play dough tends to crumble while modelling clay is usually oil-based. It is crucial to choose a suitable surface to use the clay on. It leaves some oily residue on its surface.
Invention of Play Dough
Play dough was invented accidentally. In 1930, Joe Noah McVicker discovered it for his family’s soap company. Back then, it was called the kutol product. Initially, play dough was used for cleaning wallpapers. McVicker saw that kids found modelling clay too hard to make shapes out of them. The idea of using the squishy cleaning product as a substitute came to mind.
Is Play Dough Explosive?
Homemade play dough is not explosive. Play dough is usually made of cornflour. Do not use a flammable powder like flour to avoid burning. Powders are exposed to oxygen, and play dough has a higher surface area. Therefore play dough is explosive but not in a spontaneous way. The primary colour of playdough is white. It was later introduced in red, yellow, and blue.
If you have watched how to make play dough videos, you already know that playdough tops the 3rd position in the list of top-selling toys of all time. Play dough is usually non-toxic. It does not harm a kid’s skin.
Play Dough for Children
How to Make Play Dough for Kids?
You can easily make play dough at home. It is fun for kids of all ages. The classic method of play dough making involves cooking. Cooked play dough comes with better shapes anyways. Keep your Play doughs away from dogs and other pets. It smells like human food and contains a lot of salt. Let’s check how to prepare play dough.
Materials Required
2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of cream of tartar
2 cups of warm water
1 cup of salt
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Food colour
Scented oil
Method to Make Play Dough
Mix all the items. Stir over low heat. The dough starts to thicken until it looks like mashed potatoes. Remove the pan from heat when the dough pulls away from all sides. It will clump in the centre. Allow it to cool. Keep an eye on the dough until it dries and feels like playdough. Cook it for a little longer if you want to avoid stickiness.
Put the dough on a clean mat and knead well until it turns silky smooth. Divide them into balls, and now it is time to put colour on them. Make a divot at the centre of each ball and drop some food colouring. Fold the dough while the food colour is spread over it. Keep the raw dye away from your hands.
You can wear gloves for safety. So that your skin won’t get affected, add colour as deep as you want the colour to appear. Your play dough is ready now. Play and make shapes out of it as per your choice. Start with easy shapes. Use shape maker tools for your kids yet to try their hands in shape making.
When you are done, store the item in an air-tight container. If you find it dries out, put some drops of water in it. If you find it saggy, you can reheat it to drive off the extra water.
Another way to play with it is to bake it in the oven and make some stiff dough figures out of it. You can paint the shapes and keep them protectively in your showcase.
Now that your play dough is ready, take the help of your parents to shoot a video on their phones or camera while you make something fun on your own.
Playdough for Kids
Benefits of Playing with Play Dough
Improves Fine Motor Skills
When your children mould play dough into various shapes, they actually build up strength in their tiny muscles and hands. The act of rolling, squishing, and flattening helps your children more to develop limb muscles. This development stays with them for life long. Watch how to make playdough videos, and you will understand how playdough activities help to improve fine motor skills.
Quality Time Pass for Kids
Like the squishy stress ball game, the squeezing play dough is a great time pass method for kids. It calms down your kid to a large extent. You can do your office work or household tasks when they are busy playing with it and making unique shapes out of the playdough. A fun game of modelling releases their excess energy, improves their focus, and expresses emotions through creativity. Activities like playing dough improve intelligence and promote good mental health.
Better Hand-Eye Coordination
When your children make shapes out of a smashed piece of play dough, they use other tools like cookie clutter and role pins. Shape-making requires a visual focus and hand activities. Tools come in various sizes. The whole process entertains the betterment of hand-eye coordination. They try to make a shape and force it to turn as per their ideas. It nurtures their thoughts and the process of implementation.
Improve Social Skills
Group work, group study, and playing in groups always improve social communications. Your child interacts with other kids when they make playdough models. They talk, help, and make new shapes in association with one another. Group fun activity improves communication skills and broadens the idea exchanging level.
Supports Learning
Young children learn more when doing something active and practical than just bookish knowledge. For instance, you can make them the shape of moon and stars to learn the rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and with items made of playdough, they are likely to learn quickly and remember it for a longer time. You can make shapes of numbers and make them understand the numeric digits.
Prompts Playtime
Today’s world is very much technology-driven. Children are so drawn to the next gadget. Letting them play with play dough would be a better playtime than watching videos on smartphones. Play dough helps kids low down and focus on constructive activities. When they make shapes during play dough activity, they use some senses and skills.
Conclusion
We hope you are now somewhat convinced that play dough is worth the headache of cleaning up. For many reasons, the classic toy has been a favourite of kids and their parents. Learning is always not dull, and playing is not necessarily just a pass-time. simple playdough creations entertain both of them.
Now, when you know what is play dough and how to make clay at home with flour, let your child make the most out of it. For better understanding, watch how to make playdough videos. If you find the blog informative, share it with your friends who also want to make some models with their kids.
