Playdough has been on my list of things to make for a long time now. And there was something so satisfying and strangely maternal about cooking the dough late at night, quietly kneading and rolling it into balls and packing it in a container ready for tiny hands the next morning. I felt like I'd reached a mama milestone.
The first few times we brought it out Saskia seemed most interested with feeding the dough through the gaps in the balcony railings (I just took deep breaths). Slowly, over a few sessions, she started exploring with rolling, squashing, and breaking the dough into pieces. The cookie cutters (staaaaar and 'art) fascinated her.
I used this recipe and coloured the dough using natural dyes. For each batch I boiled 1 cup of water with a good sized handful of blueberries/2 medium heads of beetroot/2 teaspoons of turmeric (seen left to right in the first photo). I let each potion simmer on the stove for 20 minutes or until it had reduced by half. I left one ball of dough undyed and made this mix with wholemeal flour - such a beautiful texture. A few drops of essential oils (I used lemon and lavender) add to the sensory experience.
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If I'm honest, one of the things I am most excited about as a parent is providing art activities for my children. Having worked in early childhood education, with a focus on visual arts, I have worked with some highly talented educators and beautiful souls, and I know I will be forever inspired by them. I've also read a lot of literature about childhood art education, and now having my own child, seeing so intimately the developmental stages and changes, there is a relevance and a deeper understanding.
If you were to ask me what I have learned about children and art play from my experience, my conversations with colleagues and teachers, and readings, I would tell you I have come to understand three key points: the value of quality materials, thoughtful, considered presentation and the luxury of time (unhurried, not specified, revisiting). There's nothing revolutionary there really, but there needn't be. It can just be as simple as that.
At my bible study, the children's leaders make their own play dough for the kids. I'll have to compare recipes : )
ReplyDeleteThis idea is just beautiful.I love the image in my mind, of standing in the kitchen with pots infusing with colour, ready for homemade playdough in the morning. So lovely xx
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely process. There's a lot of love in that dough :) x
Deletegosh the colours are so beautiful! I made rice with tumeric a while ago and remembered being quite amazed at how yellow it went.. and of course, in India, there are so many sweets made with chickpea flour and coloured with tumeric or other spices. love the small fingers in the last picture. x
ReplyDeleteoh g, india is on my list of places to see...just for the colour high! x
Deleteps. you always pick the things I love best about my photos too. little busy hands!
Ooooh yum! ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove the smell of playdough, although I suspect your naturally dyed ones may have a different scent :) I'd never thought to use natural colours. Have you seen the recipe for gingerbread playdough floating around on Pinterest... I imagine that would smell divine. Sophie and Grace love playdough too. Having been a teacher who adored art lessons with my students (apart from the clean up aspect), I too take great delight in these experiences with my own girls. I agree whole heartedly with your comment about using quality materials. Would love for you to share more of your thoughts on little ones and art experiences xx
ReplyDeletei am going to have to look up that gingerbread playdough. gosh that would be hard not to nibble at though!...i'd love to write a little more about children and art education, but to be fair, i'd like to talk to some of the educators i really admire as my formal training isn't in visual art. i have learned plenty of wonderful things from them though which i'd love to share x
Deleteyour recipe sounds wonderful! do you still add salt to deter little nibbles? The colours are so vibrant x
ReplyDeleteoh yes! the recipe calls for a load of salt...but apart from a few little licks, Sass hasn't been into eating it x
Deleteoh, i am so glad you posted this. i, too, have had plans of making my own, naturally dyed - i just needed to find a recipe and a lazy day. i love the idea of adding essential oils...
ReplyDeletewill probably be trying this out this weekend, can't wait!
i hope you do! would love to know what you think and how your little likes it x
DeleteOh I just love this! I too am so looking forward to the creative and play aspects of mothering with my babe/s! Just recently Reu has decided he really likes to draw (or whizz about) with a pen on paper just as mummy does when she's illustrating, and its so true about presentation - an inviting space - and unhurried time.
ReplyDeleteWhat age did you first make play-dough for Saskia? Because I think at this point Reu would probably just want to eat it... but then apparently as a 3 year old I was still eating play dough because I liked the taste of it! Eeek...
and yay for natural dyes, I love it all!
this was my first batch - and Saskia is just over 15 months, but i don't think there's really a set age to introduce something like this...she's past the everything in the mouth stage though - and even though she wasn't creating, or sitting down for long periods of time, i was more interested in giving her the opportunity to manipulate, squish, roll, feel texture and smell the different fragrances...she's really getting into it now if i pick the right time of the day...let me know how you go if you do make it. i'd love to know how you find it x
DeleteHow magical! And such wise words about good materials, presentation and time. It is sometimes a stretch to pay for beautiful Stockmar crayons for example but they sure stand the test of time. What adventures you will have with you beautiful baby bestie. Wishing you slow, gentle days filled with colour. :) x
ReplyDeleteP.S. We often add rosewater of orange blossom water to our playdough...smells like heaven x
yes, i think there's a level of respect thats important when you provide quality materials for children. it's as though are you valuing their art, their making - literally investing in their craft...it can make a world of difference in their ability to experiment too, i've found...we didn't have a huge budget for materials where i worked (it was reasonable), but we always made it a priority to use high quality materials. it was amazing how often parents/teachers would comment on this...hope the first day at school went smoothly - for all! x
Deletei'm so with you- it's the art and craft that gets me going!
ReplyDeletexo em
I'll have to try these. Thank you for posting the recipe.
ReplyDeleteI thought I had already commented on this lovely post of yours, but it looks like I forgot!
ReplyDeleteYour playdough looks amazing! I saw the same recipe a while ago somewhere along my internet travels but I bookmarked it to my old computer. Thankfully, I now have the link again! I will definitely be giving this a go.
And such a coincidence that we were living parallel lives for a moment there ;) x