Playdough Therapy.

We play with playdough often in our house. I have blogged about it before here. I find that when my kids are having a hard time and nothing seems to be going right for them, playing with playdough always calms them and settles them into a more peaceful mood. I think it's because of the wonderfully squishy feeling of the playdough. It's therapeutic. It's a treat for the senses. It's warm, it's yielding and they have utter control over it. They roll it and push it and it's tactile gifts bring their broken balance back into equilibrium. 

I always find that doing some kind of handiwork helps to rebalance me too. There's something magical about directing your focus onto your hands. Creating a connection between my brain and my hands always help to settle me.

This is what we made with our playdough today:

Some balls.

A caterpillar.

Who got more and more detailed with legs and then with markings using pasta.

And a little bird sitting on her eggs in a nest. One of the eggs hatched and a little yellow chick emerged.

T plays with playdough frantically. It's hard to even take a photo of his work. Here, amidst wildly working hands, I managed to get a photo of his pasta hedgehog before it was squished into the table to become something else.
We have tried many playdough recipes. This is our FAVORITE! It comes out perfectly pliable every time we have made it. It is simply the best playdough!

PLAYDOUGH

• 3 cups flour + a little set aside for kneeding
  
• 1/2 cups salt
  
• 2 tbs. cream of tatar (usually found in the supermarket spice section)
  
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
  
• 2 cups boiling water
  
• a few drops of essential oil (optional)
  

METHOD

• Mix together all the dry ingredients. 
  
• Add the oil to the boiling water (add a few drops essential oil here; our favorites are lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus.
  
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, carefully (it is hot!)

Kneed, using a little additional flour until the consistency is just right (not too sticky, not too dry).

I sometimes divide the playdough into 6 balls and add a different colour to each ball. I try to use natural colouring (but often need the speed of food colouring).

A few drops of beet juice makes a soft pink.

A few drops of fresh blueberry juice makes a lovely blue/purple.

Tumeric makes a beautiful yellow (although it does have a funky smell)

Water from boiled marigolds make a gorgeous yellow/orange.

I make our playdough in advance as it takes about 15 minutes to make and we usually need it quicker that that!

I keep our playdough in a ziplock bag in the fridge. When it’s time to play with it, I pop it into the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. This takes off the fridge chill, making it pliable and not too cold for little hands.

So, next time your kids are fractious and difficult, try using playdough to bring them back into balance.