We love a good hands on activity to help us ring in a new season. Inspired by Anna at The Imagination Tree, we made a new batch of play dough with a fall kick. Using my favorite homemade play dough recipe, I simply added a tablespoon of allspice to the dry ingredients and it was suddenly transformed into pumpkin spiced goodness. The kids collected a few fall treasures on our walk home from school and I raided the pantry for a few extras like cloves and cinnamon sticks. Lots of different scents, textures, shapes and sizes from nature for learning and play.
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon Allspice
1 to 1.5 cups boiling water adding slowly until you have the right texture
gel food coloring (optional)
Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, spices, and oil in a large mixing bowl. If using food coloring (I chose to keep this batch it’s natural color), mix it into the boiling water. Slowly add water and stir until it combines into a sticky dough (you may not use all the water). Once cool enough to handle, knead until smooth and no longer sticky. If it’s too sticky after kneading, add a pinch of flour, if it’s too dry add a couple drops of water until you reach the right consistency.
