PLAY dough!

My face during playdough making

This year, in addition to teaching 4 classes, I am also running an after school art club called the Community Art Team (C.A.T.).  C.A.T. is made up of 5 to 8th graders who work on independent art making as well as special skill building. For a fun kick off, we made play dough using a simple recipe I found online:

1/2 cup of salt

1/2 cup of water (I used a little less)



1 cup of flour
oil, as needed (I used about a tablespoon of canola)
food dye (for color)

It was so much fun! The entire 2 hours were filled with kids showing me mixing bowls with sloshy watery goop, crumbly floury dreck, and few great successes where the mixture was perfect.  We mixed and mixed until we used up all of the ingredients and I was so busy I didn't get to take a single picture of what my students made.  It was a blast!  We also were able to use natural food dye which was donated (free!!) by a friend at Whole Foods.  The natural dye produced muted colors but it did not color our hands and washed off our bodies and clothes.  Thank you Whole Foods!

One note for other middle school teachers, the students needed more help measuring than I anticipated.  Next time, I would definitely make a more clear station for each ingredient so that each student gets the correct amount and we do not waste any materials. Definitely a fun activity!