Homemade play dough is so easy to make I don’t know why I don’t make it more often.  I had it in my head that we’d make something kind of “yummy” with today’s batch, and it was a beautiful day so we took it outside and set up an play dough ice cream shop.

As I mentioned the other day, Anna from The Imagination Tree has the best collection of homemade playdough recipes.  She’s my go-to girl whenever I need to make any kind of dough for my daycare.  I used her “Best Ever No-Cook Play-dough Recipe”.  It’s very easy to mix up, ready in a few minutes, and it really does stay incredibly fresh.

We played with ours outside all day, and it sat out on the table, under the tree during naptime, and it was still soft and supple when we returned to it later in the afternoon!

Now, we have a decent assortment of Play-Doh brand play-sets: burger makers, sundae machines, barber shops etc., but the Hooligans love it best when I set out an assortment of random items for them to add to their playdough.  Here’s what I set out for them today:

Glass beads and chopped up coloured straws.  These became chocolate chips, smarties and sprinkles.  The youngest hooligans find it easy and satisfying to press the beads into the dough, and one little one enjoyed transferring the beads from jar to jar with a small spoon.
Coloured wooden sticks.  I’m not quite sure what these are technically called.  One of my daycare moms donated a shoebox full of them a few years ago, and they come in handy at times like this when we need some small loose items.

Real sundae glasses for the older hooligans to fill.  Kids love to play with “the real thing”, so when you can, offer them some authentic pieces at play-time.

Scissors!  Cutting playdough is a GREAT way to introduce scissors to your little one, and a super way for them to develop their cutting skills.  
Some small spoons and a real ice cream scoop and of course, our cute, little, plastic ice cream cones.

Good, old-fashioned fun.  Just the way we like it.