Every kid loves playdough, am I right? Playdough is such a fun and versatile activity for young students. There are so many ways to incorporate playdough into your lessons and activities. The possibilities are really endless! Over the years I’ve tried lots of different playdough recipes. I tweaked my favorites until I had the perfect no cook playdough recipe!
I love engaging students with cooking in the classroom and in therapy. But oftentimes in the classroom, we are limited with heat sources. So finding fun recipes that don’t need a full kitchen is important.
This No Cook Playdough recipe is one of my favorites, and one of the first I do with my students every year. This is perfect for incorporating hands-on learning into classroom lessons.
NO COOK PLAYDOUGH RECIPE
Let’s start with the #1 question I get, “what is your playdough recipe?!” Well, I am happy to share! Since we are limited in how we can make playdough in the classroom, I needed something that was super simple and didn’t require a lot of prep time or ingredients.
This is a simple recipe that makes it easy for students to help with too. Here is my no cook playdough recipe:
A COUPLE NOTES FOR THE PERFECT PLAYDOUGH
The most important thing to remember is to mix your dry ingredients in a one bowl, and your wet ingredients in another. Then I like to slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry bowl. As you are stirring you want a nice playdough consistency. Too dry and it will be crumbly and too wet and it will stick to EVERYTHING! So go slow as you add the liquid.
And . . . no worries if too much is added. It is so easy to fix! If the mixture is too dry and crumbly add a little more water. If the mixture is too sticky add a little more flour. It is as simple as that!
The students love helping to make this no cook playdough. It is such a great way to incorporate different academic and language skills.
CREATE DIFFERENT PLAYDOUGH OPTIONS
Using playdough is a great way for little hands to practice their fine motor skills, but creating it can also be a fun, hands-on activity! This basic no cook plalydough recipe can be adapted in so many ways.
You can make playdough for any season or holiday you want! Just add food coloring to your liquids before mixing with the dry ingredients! For a multi-sensory experience you can add just a drop of essential oils too!
But don’t stop with just changing the color or smell! There are a ton of fun options to add to your playdough mix. Adding things like glitter can make your playdough extra special.
IDEAS FOR PLAYDOUGH FUN!
Now that you have your perfect playdough, your students will be ready to play, create and learn! Using this playdough recipe you will be able to target a large range of skills. From vocabulary and grammar to sequencing and language. . . there is no shortage of lessons to be taught with your playdough!
Start with important comprehension and recall skills that related to the recipe. This is a great way to connect this fun cooking activity to your teaching standards. These questions are already created and included in the no cook playdough pack that you can grab below.
Another fun activity for your new playdough is smash mats. Smash mats are always a class favorite. There are tons of free resources for smash mats online for many different skills and concpets. These are a fun way to practice a variety of skills like speech and language. . . all while smashing some playdough!
Playdough is also great when teaching letters, numbers, and shapes. Your students will love using the playdough to create letters and build words, create numbers and practice counting, or building shapes. It’s a great way to weave some fine motor practice into your activities.
The roll and cut activity will get little hands busy as they work on core vocabulary, adjectives or opposites. Students will use their hands to roll out the dough into different shapes and sizes that match the vocabulary word they are working on. Concepts such as big and little, short and long, fat and skinny are all great to create with playdough. The possibilities are really endless when it comes to creating and learning with playdough!
INCORPORATE PLAYDOUGH IN YOUR CLASSROOM
It seems like such a simple idea, but playdough can truly be such a versatile resource in your classroom.
With so many options for learning and creating, having playdough on hand is always a great idea! But don’t worry about running to the store. Instead let your students make it with this no cook playdough visual recipe! It’s sure to be an activity they won’t soon forget.
You can grab your free No Cook Playdough Visual Recipe and Activities pack below.
SAVE THESE NO COOK PLAYDOUGH ACTIVITIES FOR LATER!
Save this playdough recipe and hands-on activities to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can quickly and easily find it next time you need fun playdough ideas!
