Here are my best, most easiest recipes for those messy play ideas – No Cook Playdough, Goop, Cloud Dough, Slime and Homemade Finger Paint.
Introduction – Messy Play Recipes
Children need Messy Play! There are numerous developmental benefits for children when they participate in Messy Play. You can read my article on Messy Play – with benefits and Messy Play Ideas HERE. Messy Play might be best outdoors, as water play often is, depending on where you live and your environment.
Messy Play helps to develop:
Creative expression and imaginative play
Fine motor skills and Hand-Eye coordination
Sensory Awareness and Tactile Exploration
Colour concepts and exploration of cause and effect
Problem Solving abilities
Language skills
Here are my best recipes, that are also SUPER easy – tried and tested many times over in Childcare Centres, and at home with my son, Andy. Have fun and let me know which one is your favourite!
No Cook Playdough
That’s right – no cooking, no cream of tartare. It’s quick, it’s easy, it has a beautiful texture.
Ingredients:
4 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 cups warm water (few drops of food colouring added)
Method:
Stir together flour and salt.
Add oil and stir.
Add food colouring to water. Gradually add water to flour mixture. Stir and knead until dough is smooth and mouldable, but not sticky.
NOTE: If you add too much water to begin with, no amount of adding flour can bring it back to a good consistency. It’s much better to keep the mixture too dry and gradually add the water until the consistency is right.
Cloud Dough
2 Ingredients! Oh and it smells amazing!
Ingredients:
Cornflour – 4C
Hair conditioner – 2C
Method:
Mix both ingredients together, stir and knead.
Slime
Slimy, fun to make and fun for play!
Ingredients:
1 bottle Elmer’s School Glue
Half cup water
Half teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
Few drops food colouring
1 Tablespoon Contact lenses Saline solution
Method:
Pour glue into a bowl
Add half the water and stir
Add food colouring
Add baking soda and stir
Add saline solution and stir quickly
Once slime starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, knead it for just a few minutes. It should be sticky at first.
Store the slime in an airtight container.
Goop
Again, 2 ingredients! So easy!
Ingredients:
1 box cornflour
1 cup water (few drops of food colouring added)
Method:
Mix!
Home Made Finger Paint
Easy and safe to eat.
Ingredients:
8 Tablespoons Cornflour
1 cup boiling water, plus a little cold water
Few drops of food colouring
Method:
Add a little cold water to the cornflour so it forms a paste.
Gradually add boiling water and stir.
Place on medium heat on the stove and continue to stir until it starts to thicken.
Turn heat off, and continue stirring until it thickens a bit more.
Spoon mixture into empty jars and add different coloured food colouring to each container or jar.
Summary
Have you tried any homemade messy play recipes before? I would love to hear about them, or whether you have any suggestions on how these recipes could be improved? Let me know in the comments!