Recipe ideas for play dough and sensory play

If your usual groups are taking their summer break, or you’re taking some annual leave, you might have a bit more time to play. Your activity page is a great place to start, check it for ideas which will be linked to the skills your child is working on now. If you’re looking for inspiration for a rainy day indoors – play dough and sensory games could be just the thing.  

Play dough is great for building strength in hands and fingers, and for older children can be a fantastic way to get creative.

Other mixtures let your child explore new textures and can be great for older and younger children to play with together – we have a few ideas to get you started. 

Before you start, make sure that what you've chosen is suitable for your child’s stage of development. If they're still exploring new items by putting them in their mouth, avoid anything which is not safe to taste.

If using a new ingredient, such as conditioner, start with a small amount to ensure your child doesn't have a reaction.

Always play with your child, and supervise them with play dough or other sensory play materials.  

Play dough recipes 

Involve your child as much as you can in making the dough – you might not always end up with perfect dough, but they’ll learn lots from the process.  

Simple no-cook dough 

What you need 

• Flour (about 8 tablespoons)  
• Salt (about 2 tablespoons)  
• Water (about 60ml)  

What to do 

• Put the flour and salt into a large bowl or container.  
• Add the water gradually and mix until it makes a dough.  
• Play with the dough together.  

If you don’t have a measuring spoon, you can use rough amounts, so about 4 times more flour than salt, then add water until you get a dough. 

Cloud dough 

What you need 

• Cornflour 
• Hair conditioner  
• A couple of drops of food colouring if you want to use it.  

What to do 

• Place some cornflour in a bowl or another container.  
• Add conditioner a little at a time until you get a soft dough.  
• Play with it like playdough, but notice how it changes texture as you play and enjoy crumbling it into pieces, then bringing them back together again. 

Note that cloud dough, because it uses cornflour, can leave slight marks on clothes or fabric furnishings so this is best played with somewhere that can be wiped down with a damp cloth. 

Cooked play dough 

(Lasts a bit longer than no-cook dough – keep in a sealed container).  

What you need 

Choose a cup and use that as a measure 

• One cup of plain flour 
• Half a cup of salt 
• One cup of water 
• One tablespoon of cream of tartar 
• One tablespoon of vegetable oil.  
• A pan (or bowl if cooking in the microwave)  
• Spoon 

What to do 

• Place all the ingredients in a pan or bowl.  
• If heating in a pan put on a medium heat, and stir.  
• The ingredients will come together and form a ball – keep heating for a bit to get a soft and not sticky dough.  
• If using a microwave, heat in short bursts, take out and stir then heat again until you get a soft dough.  
• Allow to cool, then let your child play!  

Sensory bins or trays 

Here’s a few ideas for items you can put in a tub, bowl or tray for your child to explore, young children probably won't keep them in the tub for long, so give them these somewhere you can clean easily. 

• Shredded paper – you could put some of your child’s favourite toys under the paper for them to find.  
• Water – probably the simplest sensory bin – but often a favourite – this might be one to do outside so your child can splash!  
• Shaving foam – don’t use if your child has sensitive skin.  
• Whipped sand – add play sand, water and some washing-up liquid or liquid soap – whisk together and play.  
• Moon sand – mix together eight tablespoons of plain flour or cornflour and one tablespoon of vegetable oil to make moon sand. 
• Mud – put some soil in a tub (or find them a patch of garden where they can dig). Give your child a jug or watering can of water so they can make mud. Check the soil for small stones or animal poo before using, supervise your child and remind them to wash their hands when they’ve finished. 

Have fun playing with some new mixtures – and remember this type of play should be supervised at all times.  

If you're don't want to make mixtures, why not read our article about all the sensory experiences in daily life.