Welcome to 9th edition of 12 Months of Sensory Dough where 12 KBN Bloggers will bring you their special spin on a popular sensory dough. This month’s feature… No- Cook Playdough! Our hope is to provide a resource where you can find all things Sensory Dough in one place. We had so much fun making No-Cook Playdough in our Science Lab that I might just be back later this month to share some of the awesome recipes the boys made up on their own.

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WHAT IS NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH?

Simply put, NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH is… any playdough recipe that does not require cooking and heat to make!

According to popular recipes and pictures found on Pinterest, you might describe No-COOK Playdough as:

Moldable
Squeezable
Easy to Make without Cooking

The recipes vary from Tasty to Purposefully Not Tasty, Simple to Complex and everything in between.

As you will read from my co-hosts, there are variations and differing opinions as to what No-Cook Playdough and how to make it. Let’s find out more about it!

WHAT SHOULD NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH LOOK LIKE?

According to my good friends at The Imagination Tree, Kids Activities Blog, and The Artful Parent, No-Cook Playdough should be:

Moldable
Soft
Simple
Quick

WHAT EXPERIMENT DID WE DO WITH NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH?

One of the main reasons I wanted to start this series back in January was because doughs scare me a tad. I am always nervous I am going to mess them up, miss a step, or end up with a Pinterest fail. This series continues to stretch my comfort zone and push me to try new things with my kids that I know they will love.

Since we love science so much around here, this month I thought it would be really fun to turn the experimenting over to the boys and put the creating in their hands. That’s why we decided to set up a do-it-yourself playdough lab.

We studied everything we had used in past experiments and doughs and then the boys (ages 7 &9) made a list of materials they wanted to experiment with. After the set up, I pretty much left them to their own devices to see where their imagination and creativity would take them.

Materials for a No Cook Playdough Lab

Dry Goods:
Corn Starch
Flour
Powdered Sugar

Wet Ingredients:
Applesauce
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Conditioner
Frosting
Marshmallow Creme
Jelly
Peanut Butter

While these are the materials we used, you could really choose any powdery base and any wet ingredient with high viscosity (thickness). To get the boys started, I gave each one a bowl and asked them what they were interested in trying first.

Step One: Choose Playdough Ingredients

The first thing the boys did was pick which ingredients they wanted to mix together. They each got really excited about their ingredients and couldn’t wait to get started. I made them a simple recording sheet, where they could write down what ingredients they were combining and which measuring tools they were using. This meant a lot of problem solving and record keeping had to be done to find the best combinations.

Jelly + Flour

Conditioner + Corn Starch

Frosting + Powdered Sugar

The boys picked some pretty awesome combinations, and I couldn’t wait to see how they were going to turn out. They had to keep records of how much of each ingredient they were using, so they could recreate the recipe later and tell others how they made the dough.

Mixing the Ingredients and Testing Consistency

Next, it was time to mix. Of course both boys loved this part. They have gotten pretty good at containing most of the mess and using the measuring tools correctly.

Their little science and engineering brains went to work. Mixing, adjusting, and communicating their changes to the rest of us.

Too runny? No problem, they just added more of the wet materials.

Too crumbly? No worries, just add in a tad of liquid.

This taught me so much about trial and error and about being persistant. It was so great to watch. Not only did it keep them entertained for a week of science lessons, it also kept me interested (so interested, I forgot to take more pictures ).

Evaluating the No-Cook Playdough Recipes

No playdough is complete without a hardy test whether it molds, shapes, and manipulates the way you want it too. Once the boys felt their recipes were “perfect” they were ready to “test” away, or play… whatever you want to call it.

WERE WE SUCCESSFUL AT MAKING NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH?

Honestly, I thought this was the easiest sensory dough we have made yet. It restored my faith in sensory doughs. I mean if my 7 and 9 year olds can create doughs that are pretty awesome, I am pretty sure I can step out of my comfort zone more and try them. Not only did the doughs look cool, smell cool, and feel awesome… they were great for encouraging creativity.

NOW FOR THE FUN PART…

Would you call this a success or a fail? Do you have a favorite No-Cook Playdough recipe that you consider a success or do you have a fail you want to share? We want to see! Link up your recipes or post pictures to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter orGoogle+. Tag your pictures with #ilovesensorydough.
Follow Lemon Lime Adventures’s board Best of the Best Sensory Dough on Pinterest.

Be sure to check out each blogger, as we will each provide a different take on the dough, some of us with have the BEST recipe ever, while others (probably me) will show you our attempts (both failed and successful)

You can read more about each Co-hosts and more about the Series or follow along below:

LEMON LIME ADVENTURE~LOOK! WE’RE LEARNING!~GLITTERING MUFFINS~STILL PLAYING SCHOOL~

LITTLE BINS FOR LITTLE HANDS!~NATURAL BEACH LIVING~THE EYES OF A BOY~POWERFUL MOTHERING~

WILDFLOWER RAMBLINGS!~I HEART CRAFTY THINGS~DELIGHTFUL LEARNING~THE LIFE OF JENNIFER DAWN~ Sugar Aunts

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES BEFORE LINKING UP.

Share family-friendly posts related to the month’s theme. Feel free to link old or new posts that highlight your favorite recipes for sensory dough. Failures and unsuccessful attempts are welcome.

We ask that no posts are linked with copy/paste recipes from other sources. If you use a recipe from another source, please link back to the original recipe.

By linking up, you give permission to share your post and one photograph in future posts and through social media channels.

Visit 2-3 other posts that others have shared. Discover new ideas and meet new friends!

If you would like to, please grab the 12 Months of Sensory Dough button for your blog.

The linky will remain open all year. On the 12th of each month, all co-hosts will post a new dough with their spin, highlighting at least one post from the month before and pin each post to the 12 Months of Sensory Dough Board.