Four-year-old Lily has really been enjoying exploring textures and patterns with play dough recently! Simple tools like forks and knives make really neat designs, and she loves that she can make a design, squish it, and start all over with a brand new idea!
This week we made cinnamon play dough, which added a lovely scent as well, perfect for ushering in the holiday season! We doubled this recipe (adapted from my favorite play dough recipe).
Cinnamon Playdough Recipe
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
cinnamon (more cinnamon = stronger scent and darker color)
1 cup water
1Tbsp oil
Food coloring
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients, whisking until smooth. Having the batter smooth is the key to a nice texture with the finished play dough. Then, cook over medium heat until the play dough is nearly set. Remove the play dough from the heat and knead until cool. Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container.
Lily enjoys using stamps and cookie cutters to make designs in the play dough, and I find that it’s a great way to keep my busy preschooler actively engaged for an hour or so while the baby naps. It’s also a great way for her to explore textures and shapes! She threw in some storytelling, as well, narrating plots for the characters and shapes she stamped into the dough! I love hearing my children’s imaginations at work!
Using cookie cutters to cut shapes out is fun, too – especially when your play dough smells like cinnamon!
What play dough or quiet sensory activities do your kids enjoy? Does your preschooler have a favorite activity that you can recommend for us to try? We combine play dough with all sorts of things: beads, small stones, small plastic toys, googly eyes, even paper and kleenex!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I love making homemade play dough. I’ve never tried it with cinnamon…I bet it smells wonderful!
Cinnamon play dough is probably my favorite scented version :)
This might be something fun to do tomorrow! I’ll have to run out for cream of tartar.
It’s worth picking up cream of tartar for!
Can you believe I have never made scented play dough for my kiddos!
I know …they are so deprived! This cinnamon recipe sounds perfect!
This is my favorite of the ones we’ve tried, although vanilla is also nice – but makes me hungrier than cinnamon, for some reason!
We love play dough I will try that and I think cinnamon is The Best
Cinnamon is our favorite!
She looks darling! love her top :)
Cathy Vargas
Vintage Girls
http://www.vindiebaby.com
Anything and everything I will allow them to stick in play dough, that’s what they love. But especially beads and pipe cleaners.
Would you believe we have never done pipe cleaners in play dough? I need to pull them out together sometime soon!
We love play dough but I’ve never added a scent – I really need to try that and I think cinnamon would be a winner.
Cinnamon and nutmeg are my two favorite scents, although vanilla is nice as well.
Play dough is a favorite here too. I love to make different colors and use different scents. I’ve been meaning to try an edible play dough. Kate likes to put toothpicks in play dough.
Pie crust is a great edible play dough – have you ever tried that? Guess I should blog it…
Nice, MaryAnne! Question: what’s the cream of tartar for in the recipe? I have just about everything else except that one.
The cream of tartar makes it nice and stretchy. It will make a dough if you leave the cream of tartar out, though.
Mmmmm, I’m wishing my computer screen was scratch ‘n’ sniff!! :) Lily is so gorgeous, and engrossed in her play!
Cinnamon play dough! Now that seems irresistible to me! A baked play dough that smells like cinnamon for making tree ornaments would be great. An edible variety would be even better!
Another reader emailed me, reminding me that you can make baked ornaments using equal parts cinnamon and applesauce. We need to do that!
I used to make playdough when my kids were young but Pinterest didn’t exist back then. I wish I knew about sensory, scented playdough like cinnamon playdough. My middle daughter would have especially loved it. She hated commerical playdough because of the smell so I made my own but did not even think about adding a scent!!!
Oh yes, playdoh is so much fun. Anna loves clay, and we still try to figure out the place where she can keep her clay set out at all times. Lily looks so engrossed in her work.
Lily’s preschool keeps clay out at all times – I love it!