Although I have now been a mom for six-and-a-half years, I somehow never presented my kids with playdough. I am not sure why, but I think this is because:
1) There was no play-doh in the Soviet Union.
2) I never played with it as a child (see above).
That is, never until that fine April day when Josie expressed a burning desire for some, and I set out to fulfill it.
They don’t call it “the cruelest month” for nothing.
I know that mine looks kinda crumbly – I was working with one of the recipes on this website and didn’t follow the instructions for the uncooked variety closely enough. But it didn’t matter – my kids loved it anyway (my floor – not so much).
That’s just the thing with kids: they don’t care if you don’t do things perfectly.
They just want you to do them every once in a while.
And to be there.
Cyrus has a bit of a one-track mind (or, in his case, a two-track mind): in his imagination, everything that lands in front of him becomes either a cooking ingredient or a vehicle.
This dough may be for playing only, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be shaped into cookies (many thanks to Josie’s godmother Julie for these great kid-friendly cookie cutters).
Course, it ain’t a Jew if there isn’t a Star of David in there somewhere:
Cyrus is really into quality control. Here he is assessing the thickness of the product…
Then rolls it a little thinner…
And evaluates it once more.
He didn’t get this from me!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
oh man, i know what you mean about the mess. but they do love playdough! i was given a perfect (to my mind) recipe a few years back, i posted it here — http://apronstringz.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/keeping-it-real-and-a-recipe-for-playdough/
the recipe called for cooking it, but then a reader commented to just add the water already boiling and, at least in my kitchen aid, this works brilliantly! i highly recommend it. not crumbly, not oily (i’ve tried some recipes that are), perfect.
and, if you have the patience for it, i have one word which turns you into a mom rock star in your kids eyes– glitter. knead it in at the end. wow.
im still reading and loving your blog, as always. sorry i don’t comment more. congrats on that beauty of a babe.
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Sounds great, thanks for sharing! Boiling the water was what I skipped cause my little one wanted to make it with me. I immediately knew I shouldn’t have.
Hi Sofya,
We did have play-doh in the Soviet Union! Remember “plastilin”? The consistency was a little different than US play-doh, and the colors were invariably dark and unappealing, but I loved it nonetheless! I used it to make sculptures (mostly of dogs, cats and other creatures) probably at least once a week in nursery school and at home.
Ira
No, plastilin was what here is called “modeling clay.” It is not the same thing. But I loved it as well! Modeling clay is something I’d bought for one of my kids before, but I so rarely get to the store, homemade play dough is easier.
Ah, I see! Thanks for explaining. I’d heard the term “modeling clay” before but always assumed that it was an older or “non-branded” term for play-doh. Didn’t realize it was a different kind of material!
Yep, oil-based clay: the variety called just that, plastilin, was invented by some dude in Germany. Play doh on the other hand is an actual dough, made of flour and water but with very high salt content, as well as oil (mineral oil if commercial, cooking oil if homemade) and acid (boric in commercial, tartaric (cream of tartar) if homemade). Modeling clay will not dry out in the open but playdough I think can. Homemade certainly can.