My children love to play with play dough. One of our favorite things to do is to make our own play dough. Over the holidays, Leo shared our recipe for Grinchy Dough. Play dough is a fun sensory experience for children. It allows them to work on fine motor skills while using their imagination and creativity. Today I’m going to tell you how to make your own DIY Calm Down Play Dough using lavender essential oil. Lavender has calming properties and this play dough is a great activity for the little worrier in your life. It would make the perfect addition to your Worry Basket!
Materials:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
2 cups of water
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Lavender essential oil (we used this one)
few drops food coloring to make the dough purple if you wish (optional)
glitter (optional)
Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pan except for the food coloring, glitter, and lavender essential oil.
2. Heat on low heat. Stir frequently.
3. When the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot and is no longer sticky, your dough is done. Turn of the heat and let cool.
4. When cool, smooth in food coloring, glitter, and several drops of lavender essential oil. If the dough is still sticky, add a bit of flour.
5. Knead the dough until the food coloring and glitter is evenly spread throughout.
6. Store in an air-tight bag or plastic container.
7. Enjoy!!
Want more ideas for calming those kids down? Check out my Mindfulness for Children Pinterest board:
Follow Cait Fitz @ My Little Poppies’s board Mindfulness for Children on Pinterest.
Kids that are hyper calm down when they can squish something like this. When I was reading a book to one of my hyper preschoolers one time, I had him squish something with his hands, and he retained a lot more information from the book, and it calmed him down!
So true, Susan! I find it calming, too. Whenever my kids are using play doh I can’t resist and end up playing too 🙂