Nov 7, 2007

once upon a time there was a little boy who loved play-doh

making play doh 009

But his teacher thought he was too little to make it himself on the stove ...

making play doh 039

So she put together a special, no-cook play-doh making exercise just for him.

The little boy has never been happier! Every day at school he makes a batch of play-doh to share with the rest of the children on the art shelf and a special green batch to take home.

4 tablespoons of white flour
2 tablespoons of salt
1 dropper-full of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of water

Add the dry ingredients in a bowl. If you want to add a few drops of food coloring, make sure to add it to the water, otherwise it will be difficult to get a uniform color. Little by little, add the water. At first, stir with a spoon - once all of the water is added, start smooshing the mixture with your hands until it reaches the desired consistency. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge when not in use. Most likely, it will end up drying out after a day or two of heavy use.

Psst ... want to see more recent pics of classroom happenings? I just posted a bunch over at Flickr .

xo,
Meg

16 comments:

tiffany... said...

oh, thank you so much for sharing your montessori world! (and everything else!) your flickr photos are gorgeous and i just passed on your blog and photos to my co-workers...
hooray for your lovely montessori environment!

Bethany said...

You are such an awesome teacher!!! These children are going to miss you terribly when you go! (and you will miss them too, I'm sure!)
I wish I had made play-doh with the kids when they were little...maybe my nieces and nephews!!

Bethany said...

p.s. I posted a really funny picture of my son a couple days ago when he was working in his Montessori class! I think he is still like that now!!!

Unknown said...

He looks so proud! I love the intense concentration your kids always seem to have... it's fantastic. The kids with the "M" were really having fun.

Let me know when I can come be your assistant!

Lindart said...

Thanks again for sharing! I notice that all the children are wearing smocks, do they each have their own that they wear all day? Did you make them all?
Love the play doh. I have done this before in my class, thanks for reminding me!

Erica said...

Thank you thank you for sharing! My minions will love that :)

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

The success of your effort is in his eyes, glowing from his smile. He looks so proud and so happy... that photograph could sell the play-doh!

Philigry said...

thanks for sharing this! i will definetly make this with my kiddos!

Anonymous said...

He is sooooo cute!

macati said...

so great! the kids look all so happy! congratulations for your work!
:)
manela

Unknown said...

Linda - yes, they all wear their own aprons, which their mothers make. I wouldn't really suggest it - it's one of those things that my head of school loves, but I don't think is great in practice. They get in the way - plus, why wear your own apron when we have special aprons for other work?

But oh well - c'est la vie. :)

heather said...

thank you so much for sharing your classroom! this is my first year as a montessori teacher and your photos and blog are extremely inspiring....thanks again!

peace.

Jennifer Howard said...

You are such an inspiration Meg! I have to say, connecting and checking in with your blog makes my week! Thank you!
~~Peace
MM

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing your Montessori world! My girls are in Montessori schools, and it's such fun to see another school in "action," and for me to get some fun ideas for home.

My daughter loved making this play-doh...and it's not really important, but in your directions you don't include the oil which is listed...I just added some in with the water to mix, but for ease of understanding, maybe you could add it back into the directions? :) Also, would you mind estimating how much "a dropper" is? Thanks :)

Broe said...

This recipe worked great! Thank you for sharing it with us!

Heather said...

thanks for the recipe. my little guy loves play dough! I will definitely make him some today. All your work and play posts are inspirational! I'll keep looking.