Colorful Homemade Peppermint Playdough Recipe

My kids absolutely love when I grab supplies to make this Peppermint Homemade Playdough Recipe.  They love getting their hands into a homemade playdough recipe, and the peppermint smell is a favorite since it is so bright and refreshing.

It's a big hit with all the kids, especially around the holidays when we normally have a few extra kiddos during winter break while my sister and best friend still have to work.  I love that playdough allows everyone to play together at the table, working together to make fun designs and shapes, without anyone asking if it's time to watch a movie or play on the Xbox! 

Peppermint Homemade Playdough Recipe

A homemade playdough recipe like this one is so easy to make since it takes items you already have on hand in your pantry.  I, personally, love knowing that my kids who in the past might have had a tendency to put things in their mouth are safe with this homemade product – especially since I often have a 3-year-old over to play that still likes to put things in his mouth sometimes!  Using peppermint and natural food coloring also makes this a fun project for use around the holidays.  Making it red and white is similar to a candy cane, so it fits ideal into our holiday homeschool lessons!

Ingredients:

3 cups water
3 cups flour
4 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup salt
2 Tbsp. oil (coconut, or vegetable)
peppermint extract
red food coloring

Directions:

In a large saucepan combine; water, flour, salt, and cream of tartar.

Stir to combine then add in peppermint extract.

Continue stirring until dough pulls from sides of the pan.

Remove from pan and allow it to cool on the counter.

When the temperature is comfortable to your touch make a well in the center add several drops of red food coloring, knead the dough to spread color throughout.

Continue adding color until it is a shade of red you want. I used nearly ½ the container to get mine the deeper red that I wanted.

As you can see, making this peppermint homemade playdough recipe is pretty easy.  Other than the temperature of the dough being hot as you mix it together, it is something your kids could easily help you manage.  I love including this into a Christmas or holiday-themed lesson plan.  Since you can split this into white and red colors and stack into a jar like shown, you can easily include in a lesson plan around the candy cane.

I love grabbing our Christmas Sensory Bin and getting the kids set up to play with our newly made Peppermint homemade playdough recipe alongside our sensory bin while we go over some of our favorite candy cane themed books. Sometimes I'll set up multiple bins, including one with Peppermint Oobleck, which is always a huge hit with the kids!

• Katie The Candycane Fairy Storybook
• The Legend Of The Candy Cane
• The Candy Cane Who Lost His Stripe
• The Story Of The Candy Cane Coloring Book

I love making play time educational.  Getting my sons interested in learning while they play has always been one of my goals.  I've turned the recipe into it's own lesson – measuring out ingredients, making guesses as to how much red food coloring we will need & graphing them out, calculating fractions when I double or triple the recipe for a larger crowd, etc.

Even the older boys enjoy playing with our homemade playdough recipe, and of course, sensory bin and storytime can be fun for everyone.  If I am busy working, I can have the oldest grab the books listed above to read out loud to my younger sons while they play.  It's a great way to get everyone involved and active in the learning experience.

Homeschooling our sons has taught me that education doesn't have to be just sitting at a desk and filling out papers every day.  It can be all about experiences and getting your hands dirty.  Also the little things like reading a book about the holiday season, or learning how much liquid goes into dry ingredients to form a dough.  It can be in how to add dye to form colors in playdough.  Learning is in everything, and this homemade playdough recipe is just one more way I have fun learning with my sons at home.

More Homemade Playdough Recipe Ideas:

• Apple Spice Playdough Recipe
• Candy Corn Playdough Recipe
• Coffee Homemade Playdough Recipe
• Hot Chocolate Playdough
• Conversation Heart Playdough

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