As the school year starts, this play-dough is a great activity to welcome tired and excited children home in the early afternoon.
The lavendar essential oil in the dough provides aromatherapy to relax, the epsom salt not only preserves the playdoh but it also provides much needed magnesium and sulfur that are absorbed gently through the skin and help the body process stress and toxins (more info here).
Organic flour is used (sorry, I don’t have a gluten free version, I’ve never had trouble with my children putting this in their mouths so I haven’t experimented with gluten free) to avoid exposure to GMOs. Coconut oil and cream of tartar give the playdoh a wonderful elasticity and smooth feel that is less crumbly than regular playdoh.
I chose to leave out the food coloring here, as I didn’t feel it was necessary, but if you want to add a few drops as it cooks, I won’t object.
If you are asked to bring in play-doh for the whole class, teachers always love homemade because it lasts longer and crumbles less. Don’t be surprised to find yourself or other adults playing with this as well- the texture, scent, and natural ingredients draw everyone to play and evaporate stress.
Organic Calming Playdough Recipe
Makes about 4 cups, plenty for 3-4 children
4 cups organic white flour
1.5 cup epsom salt, found in the pharmacy section near the hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol or here online (sea salt can be substituted)
4 cups water
4 tablespoons coconut oil
4 TBS cream of tartar (found inexpensively in the bulk sections of health food stores usually)
5-10 drops essential oil of your choice, lavendar is relaxing, peppermint is clarifying and awakening (find online here)
Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan. 
Cook over low/med heat while stirring every few minutes with a spatula, really making sure to scrape the bottom and allow the goopy playdoh to get to the bottom and get cooked.
It’s done when it all stops being goopy and starts being doughy. Allow to cool and then knead to get it completely smooth.
Allow children to play with butter knives, garlic presses, cookie cutters, and little plastic animals are fun too.
Store in an air tight container, lasts for months or longer!
Gluten/Grain Free Option
Another fun activity is to mix water and baking soda (I buy mine in bulk – see online here) to a paste/dough and then let the kids add in vinegar and watch it fizz while they play. I usually do this when my table really needs to be scrubbed, it’s mildly abrasive and cleans off the table really well in the process.
This activity isn’t as calming as the play-doh, and the baking soda might be too harsh for the most sensative skin, but it’s a fun gluten free sensory activity for those who need something gluten free.
Edit – June 2014 –
I’ve gotten a few comments about this play dough not working – you have to cook it, it starts out quite soupy. I took step by step pictures today when I made it. This time I used Calming The Child essential oil, you can find it here.
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Great recipe – but I am pretty sure wheat is still non GMO – extremely hybridized, but not GMO (yet)…so I think cheapo flour would still be okay.
it would, I just buy organic so I didn’t want to buy new just for this :) I’ll look into the gmo thing, for some reason I thought it was but I could very well be wrong :)
Wheat is currently not GMO, however some GMO wheat was found in a field out west….growing illegally….as Monsanto was told they were not allowed to proceed with GM Wheat testing many years ago. With cross pollination, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some in our food supply, but no proof has come out about that just yet.
Gluten-free playdoh can be made by adding cornstarch…of course, find a non-gmo cornstarch and use Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour.
Would you use a larger amount of starch or rice flour?
Equal amounts white rice flour and cornstarch – has a great texture.
never thought of adding essential oils to homemade playdough!! Will be making some this afternoon, thanks!!
hi, how long more or less did you cook it for? We did about 10 mins and it was still goopy.
Thanks for all the great recipes and ideas!!!
I cooked it for about a half an hour and I don’t think it was long enough. When I let it cool and tried to knead it, it was still way too wet. I had to add at least another half cup of flour to get this stuff to the right consistency and texture.
I made this last week and stored it in an airtight container in the pantry. I got it out today and the top is all moldy. I followed the directions exactly, so I’m not sure what happened…
That’s weird. Our house is pretty mold-prone (just the area we live in) and I’ve had this same batch I took pictures of still and it’s fine. I wonder if anyone else will chime in and let us know what the problem could be.
Have you ever added coloring? We made this today, and my son is having a blast. I was thinking about making it as a party favor for his upcoming birthday. Thanks for this great recipe!
Hello
My name is Nicole
I have a Son who is going to be 3 ” New Years Days” :) He is on the GO, All day Long, I’m looking into something he can do before bed to help calm him. We already shut the TV off, read books, use Lavender oil, we use Natural “Calming chamomile” drops at night, we eat Healthy, i’m able to stay home with him. Maybe, I should try Yoga again with him..
I tried to make this However, I didn’t have Cream of Tartar, so I used “White Vinegar”
I have this big pot of dough, how can I make this into Play dough ?
Add more Flour, Epsom ? or should I throw it away? Please Help…
Thanks for your time
I have made this playdough twice and both times they have molded after being in a sealed ziploc bag
for a week or so. It is such a bummer when you go to play with it and it is green and yellow with mold.
Yuck, What do you store yours in?
Have you tried with piano or violin music? Try it!
Hi,
I just wanted to let you all know that Wheat has been GMO for many, many years now. Also phrase Organic
does not mean that wheat is not gmo. Doctor William Davis in his book Wheat Belly explains very clearly what has been done to our wheat that many don’t realize.
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/about-the-author/
Actually, he states very clearly that wheat is not GM.
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/02/wheat-is-not-genetically-modified/
Organic actually DOES mean it cannot contain GMO’s.
I made this on a Tuesday and it is already moldy on a Monday. What did I do wrong?
I think it’s just because way too much water this recipe, I would cut it down to one cup.I had to add a bunch more flour to get it to do the right consistency.But we’re still having fun with it thanks!
Essential oils break down very rapidly with heat, so adding them while cooking the dough doesn’t give any benefit, even if you can still smell the scent. It would be better to add it in as the dough is kneaded.