3 ways to DIY Aromatherapy Play-dough
- Dannyelle & James Tansey
- Apr 24, 2020
- 5 min read
Make your own Aromatherapy Play-dough for your kids.
Kids of all ages love playing with play-dough, its fun, their imagination can go wild, its good for fine motor muscles and a great sensory tool which is enhanced with the use of good quality essential oils.
Homeschooling right now? or even if this your usual thing like us ...
Why not make some Aromatherapy Play-dough with the kids.
Cooking with the kids covers many subject areas English - learning and reading about a procedure text, Maths- measuring liquids and solids and fractions, science, Life skills and then then play-dough itself lends itself to many opportunities as well.
Play-dough is great fun for kids of all ages and a great learning and sensory tool as well, Get creative.
The added benefit of the essential oils is that you can provide calming, grounding or uplift the mood through the oils you choose. You could even make it a guessing game to guess the scent.
The texture and squishing provides sensory input and uses the fine motor muscles as well.
You can use it as a tool for learning letters or numbers or to write their name, get them to copy a letter or number you write by making little snakes and twisting the play-dough into the shape or make some simple playdough mats or download some free ones - laminate or place in a clear sleeve or document wallet.
let their imagination go wild with some free play.
add in some loose parts play or nature play with it as well, maybe have a nature hunt in the backyard and recreate something they find with the play dough.
Literally endless possibilities and benefits. And the best part is it last ages (if you make the cooked versions)
I would love to hear how you love using play-dough!
My favourite essential oils to use are Lavender, Wild Orange, Lemon, Balance, Lavender Peace, Geranium, Rosemary or Lime. when adding essential oil to a whole batch of play-dough add in 5-6 drops in total, if blending a couple stick to 5-6 being the total amount used. If you are breaking a batch up into smaller batches you would add 2-3 drops to each batch depending on the essential oil and the batch size. There are other essential oil you could use as well but I like to to stick to the Oils on the lower cost side, I generally stick to happy and calming oils and I also like to not use the oils that can be an irritant like cinnamon, but you could use them just in a smaller amount say 1-2 drops to a batch.... mmmm cinnamon and wild orange could be a nice combo!
The best option is to make your own so you can provide a totally safe non-toxic option for your kids to enjoy. I want to share three ways of making your own dough, one is super fast and you can make on the fly and safe for little hands to make with you, the second is a stove top cooked version and third is to make in a Thermomix or similar thermal cooker (I have a Bellini). I prefer to make the cooked versions as they last alot longer and i find the non-cooked version can lead to mould growing in areas it has been played on if you miss wiping some spots or if its played with a play kitchen and accessories. I have had a play kitchen go mould all over the surface when i didnt realise they had played with it there where as the cooked versions dont do this in my experience.
When I make our play-dough I do use the non natural food colourings because it gives a much more intense colour but natural food colours or creating your own with foods such as beetroot, turmeric, spiralina are also an option. I also add my colour at the end unlike many recipes because then i have the choice to divide the batch up into several colours. I also use just the cheap plain flour, vegetable oil and table salt when i make this because it makes the dough cost alot less and my kids dont eat it so im not looking for nutritional benefits of these ingredients.
SO the first option:
No Cook Play-dough
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
1 Tbsp cream of tarter
1 tbs oil (olive or vegetable or other)
1/2 - 1 cup warm water (Hot is best if there is an adult to do this part)
liquid food colouring
5 drops of essential oil
Method
Combine the Dry Ingredients.
Add the water and oil an and mix through. Add the water a little bit at a time until the desired consistency.
Mix well until it starts forming a dough.
Kneed well.
Add a few drops of food colouring and the essential oils you are using and kneed through. the amount needed will depend on the colour chosen and the desired outcome. Tip dont do too much though or the kids hands will take on the colour while playing. you can also choose to not colour it and have it white, or you can divide up into smaller balls and make several colours.
keep in an air tight container in the fridge for a couple weeks, just watch this recipe for mould as it grows quicker then the cooked versions.
Option 2:
Stove Top Play-dough
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 - 1 1/2 cups water
1 cup salt
1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
Food colouring
5 drops of essential oils
Method
Combine all ingredients, except for essential oils & colouring, in a large saucepan and stir until combined.
Once combined, put over medium heat. Using a spatula, continue to stir ingredients together until it forms a ball. Take note this does take a bit of arm power at the end. Note: Don’t overcook as it will lead to dry play dough.
Remove from heat and cool on a board on the bench.
Once cool, add five drops of your favourite essential oil and your food colouring and knead until thoroughly combined. If you want several scents and colours divide the batch up into smaller balls.
Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a month or more
Option 3:
This is my preferred method because its the easiest cook option however the batch needs to be smaller, but i still find it is enough if not its easy enough to make a second batch up.
Thermi Play-dough
Ingredients
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 Cup Salt
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tbsp Cream of tarter
150- 250ml water
food colouring
5 drops essential oils
Method
Add water, salt & cream of tarter to the bowl. Speed 3, temp 60 for 7 mins.
add flour and oil and mix for 30 secs on speed 2, scrape down the sides and repeat.
Use the kneading setting or mix on speed 2 for 2 mins scrape down and repeat.
Check the texture and if it's a little sticky, add some more flour and knead for a further 30 seconds.
turn onto bench, give it some extra kneading if it is needed, add your colouring and essential oils and knead through.
store in an airtight container for a month or more.
There you go there's 3 ways to make Aromatherapy play-dough!
Give them a go and let me know how you found it and how the kids loved it. I would also love to hear which essential oils was the fav!
If you dont have access to pure high quality essential oils that are going to benefit you and your family in so many ways please contact us for help getting started with using doTERRAs essential oils in your home for holistic wellbeing for the whole family. Our family loves to use them for so many things from emotional and mood support, sleep, insect bites, skin care, cleaning, massage, pure-fumes, and soooooo much more!!!!
Much Love Dannyelle
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