St. Patrick's Day Play Dough Recipe

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It is Spring Break in Texas!  For my family that means a trip to the rodeo, sleeping late, playing outside after dark, and relaxing.  One way that my youngest son and I like to relax and have fun is with homemade play dough.  Last week a mom of a student in my preschool class donated a batch of green Kool-aid play dough to our classroom.  In addition to it being a green color, it smells like lemon-lime Kool-aid.  The smell intensifies as it is poked, kneaded, and rolled.

After a few days of free exploration with the green dough, shamrock figures, rollers, cutters, and extruders, I added a bowl of gold glitter. The preschoolers took a ball of dough, flattened it, and then sprinkled it with pinches of gold glitter.  They kneaded the dough to incorporate the glitter and create St. Patrick's Day Play Dough.  The kids worked many of their small motor skills as the dough began to sparkle.

My co-teacher added pipe cleaners in every color of the rainbow to our dough center.  She modeled how to place two small balls of dough on the mat and then poke in the pipe cleaners to create rainbows.  Amazing!  Everyone was highly motivated to pinch, poke, and bend their pipe cleaners into rainbow shapes.  They had no idea that they were developing their tri-pod grasp and exercising the intrinsic muscles in their hands as they explored.

Now my own son, along with his older siblings and a few random neighbor kids, get to reap the benefits of a nice ball of St. Patrick's Day Play Dough.  They can knead, shape, and roll the dough as my kitchen is filled with a fresh citrus scent.  Of course this dough doesn't have to be enjoyed just at St. Patrick's Day, it could be made anytime of the year.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Printable Recipe for St. Patrick's Kool-aid Play Dough

Basic Kool-aid Play Dough

Other Play  Dough Recipes 

Link to Super Cool Play Dough Tools at "Write Out of the Box"

St. Patrick's Day Kool-Aid Play Dough Recipe

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 package Kool-Aid (.13 ounce, lemon lime flavor)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
gold glitter
pipe cleaners in every color of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)

1. Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar, and dry Kool-Aid crystals) together in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Add the wet ingredients (water and oil).
3. Stir the mixture together over medium heat until mixture thickens and a ball begins to form.  Turn off heat.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead, adding flour to hands and surface as needed.
5. Cool dough completely and store in a zip-lock bag or other air-tight container. 
6. Knead gold glitter into green dough.  Explore with rainbow colored pipe cleaners.
7. Use a variety of tools (rolling pin, pizza cutter, garlic press, empty tins, tongs, etc.) to explore with dough.

Linked to the following inspiring blog parties:

We Play, Tot Tuesday, Sugar & Spice, A Holiday Haven, JanMary, 
Made by You Monday, LoveFeast Table, Show and Tell, 
Luck of the Irish, Smilemonsters, and Somewhat Simple, Wednesday Wowzers, Show and Share, Creative Juice, Taking A Timeout Thursday, Fun for Kids Friday, Free for All Friday, Kitchen Fun, Frugal Friday, Weekend Wrap Up,