My 13 year old was washing his hands the other day as I came around the corner into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, so I asked (because he seemed to take an inordinate amount of time). He paused and mumbled, “I was playing with that pink clay.” I tried so hard not to laugh. So hard. See, I hadn’t had a chance to work all the food coloring into the play dough before I had to go help the baby. So, I’d just left it half-done on the counter. And he was covered (COVERED) in pink. Again, I tried so hard not to laugh. But it came out anyway. Then I showed him the trick with the toothpaste and he was so much happier. No doubt he’ll be a little more cautious in the future when grabbing random things on the counter to play with…heh. On to the play dough now. This Watermelon Play Dough Recipe is not only taste-safe, it’s also really, really yummy smelling. It literally smells like a fantastic watermelon Jolly Rancher. So awesome.
Ingredients for Watermelon Play Dough
- 1 cup baking soda
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 tblspns oil
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 2 tspn watermelon cake flavoring (this smells AMAZING)
- 5 drops pink gel food coloring
How to Make Watermelon Play Dough
- Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients into dry in 1/3 increments.
- Mix everything together using your hands.
Why Play Dough?
Too many things require strong hands for little kids (writing, eating, whatever), and although fine motor skills are great, we have to have some strength to be able to develop it. So, I like to make play dough for my littlies and get them working on their strong little fingers. But, this is also a very free-play type of activity-tool. Play dough allows kiddos to activate their imaginations and create things, if even on a base level. So, it’s like giving them a little creativity-boost. With some flour and water. Heh.