Free the Playdough! From Control to Creativity

Years ago I started making chocolate play dough for Valentine’s Day and putting it out with big heart candy boxes, along with cupcake liners and other random loose parts. This year I decided it would be interesting to add cherry play dough. I’m not sure why (I know better) but in my head I sort of imagined they might have fun making “chocolate covered cherry candies” or something equally ridiculous.

The moment I put out the second color they went in for the kill. We went from brown and red to a sort of purplish color in about 3 seconds flat. I had a moment where I might have sort of asked them to “stop mixing the colors” before I realized what a silly request that was. Of course the kids were going to mix because they are children. When looking through their lens it seems obvious that is what you do, but surprise – adults have FEELINGS about mixing the play dough.

So why all the drama over the dough?

1 – Scarcity and Expense

I have to admit, I can’t remember the last time, if I ever have as a teacher of young children, purchased play dough. So when I looked it up, I realized why teachers might be concerned about the cost. If you have never made your own or don’t have a good recipe, it is a pricy and precious resource. I know as well as anyone how careful we have to be with classroom supply funds and I can understand a teacher who wouldn’t want to “waste” play dough by giving children more freedom.

Luckily dough is VERY simple and inexpensive to make. The most expensive part of a good dough recipe is the Cream of Tartar, which can be purchased in small quantities to keep in manageable or in bulk if you can afford to do that. A one pound bag of Tartar will cost about $10 and is enough for almost 2 dozen large batches of dough. Depending on how you use it, that could supply a classroom for about a year. Ingredients to add color and smell can often be found around the classroom, but I like to use a couple packages of KoolAid drink mix. All told, it will cost you about $40-$45 for everything you need to make 20+ large batches of play dough. The ingredients are also simple enough you could easily procure donations from family members or a community member. So for $1-2/week you can keep your mixers happily supplied with various colors of dough.

To help you out, I’ve included a basic recipe at the bottom of this post.

2 – We are concerned about the child that doesn’t want to mix

Children have a variety of needs and preferences when it comes to sensory experiences. I can’t say that I remember the last time a child expressed concern about mixing the colors, however I do have a mixed age group that leans younger. I can see some children, especially those with specific special needs, or maybe some as they get older, wanting to use different colors of dough in specific ways. And it’s very important to be respectful of children’s individual needs and preferences. But I don’t think we have to do that at the expense of all the other children’s experiences. One of the most heartbreaking comments I saw on this issue was this “I did free the play dough and it was great – they have never been so engaged… Until the following day when one child opened what they thought was yellow to find green and it was a meltdown”.

So the honest question is – is it worth denying a whole classroom of children an experience that is richer and more engaging because it might be problematic for another child? Or is there a third option? In my experience, you know very well the children who might struggle with mixing. They are likely the same kids who don’t appreciate mixed food on their plates. What if they were offered an option to keep out some of the larger batch to do the projects they wanted to do? Or can we divide the dough evenly and each child has their own batch to do with what they want? There are many ways we could approach this without shutting down an opportunity to play and explore for everyone.

3 – Adult judgement or need for control

If I were a betting person, I’d put my money on this being the biggest barrier to mixing the dough. There are so many ways this comes up. We don’t like how it gets all brown and ugly, we have big ideas for what they COULD do with it if they would just listen to us, or we believe there is a correct way to play with play dough and goodness, it’s our job to teach the children that. One comment on a real about mixing asked “What about the child who wants to be ‘more creative’ with their designs?”

Because obvious mixing colors and seeing how that turns out and changes the materials we are working with and how it takes work to completely mix it and how it’s fun to see when it’s not totally mixed is “less creative”.

But what if we could challenge our own personal beliefs and train ourselves to observe with curiosity? What if we noticed how some children mixed and others didn’t but how they were able to problem solve together? Because we are working with actual children and I have yet to meet one who sees the world the way I do. And they are SO ready to experiment and explore. The fun of play dough for most kids is mixing it. Not “allowing” that seems misguided at best, but in my experience nearly impossible if you want them to actually engage and enjoy the experience.

What are we robbing kids of when we have to control things like this? Kids have very few choices in their lives on an average day. And there are plenty of things I already have to stop (let’s maybe not eat it for example) that something like mixing it up is a battle I don’t really want to fight. I also just don’t see any good reasons to stop the mixing. 

Who really cares if it’s ugly or looks like dirt.

I know it’s hard as a teacher when you have an idea in your head and it does NOT go that way. Try this though – if you really need to control the aesthetic, put out coordinating colors. Or take a deep breath and practice grounding as you watch the colors swirl and mix.

BASIC PLAY DOUGH RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 C Flour
• 1 C Salt
• 2 TBLS Cream of Tartar
• Agent for Color/Smell:
  1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder or
  1-2 Packets of Kool-Aid
• 2 C Water
• 2 TBLS Vegetable Oil

Directions:

1. Boil water
2. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients:
   For chocolate dough, add cocoa powder here. (For dough using Kool-Aid add with water.)
   Add flour, salt and cream of tartar.
3. (For Kool-Aid dough) Mix in Kool-Aid to the boiling water.
4. Add oil to the dry ingredients.
5. Add water.
6. Mix with a spoon until it’s cool enough to handle.
7. Knead with your hands. Add a little extra flour if desired to get the right consistency.

Can’t wait for you to try this recipe. And if you have always been team “No Mix” comment below if you try letting go of the reigns and how it goes!

To add a little more fun, try adding some fun new tools. I’ve listed some of our favorites here: Our Favorite Playdough Toys