We love play dough around here. We love the way it feels and how it calms our nerves. We love how it works the muscles in our little hands and how we can use it to stretch our imaginations. This snowman kit was a great way to do all that and more. I made it as a way for Grady to practice counting, colors and following steps. I got him started the first few times, showing him how to create the different sections of the snowman. Then I asked him questions such as, “What color buttons will our snowman have down his front? How many blue buttons should we place? What color scarf?” etc. It was a great activity for us to spend some time together and then me leave him to it.
What’s Included in the Kit:
- play dough (recipe below)
- buttons (Dollar Tree)
- eyes of different sizes (Dollar Tree)
- scarves (cut from felt squares)
- carrots (the ones I have were old and I used them back in my teaching days. they are actually little carrot ornaments from Easter and I just pulled the strings off)
- sticks (I included sticks for arms and bar b q skewers to help hold up the snowmen)
- tiny boxes to separate all the pieces (Dollar Tree)
- tin box (LOVE these!)
Everything is labeled and when he’s done, I don’t have pieces scattered everywhere. It all wraps up neat and tidy in this little tin box. Not only that, the play dough that I make lasts for YEARS (as long as it’s wrapped). I plan on making other tin boxes for play because they are great for travel. Grady has a thing with going to restaurants these days but it’s hard for him to sit still for very long and he grows bored. “Here! Play with this!”
We made a snow mommy and kid!
Playdough Recipe (been using this one since I taught Kinder)
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cups salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tarter
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Stir your dry ingredients in a large pot. Stir in your liquids and start to cook it over medium heat. This is also when I add the food coloring because it will firm into a ball pretty quick. I used Wilton’s white frosting color to make it super white. Otherwise it just turns out to be a yellowish color.
Maybe this will help guide you to make your own Snowman Kit!
~Ashley