Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

Play dough is such a wonderful learning material - I've blogged many times about its importance for developing children's imaginations and fine motor strength. We decided to celebrate Autumn's arrival with some pumpkin pie play dough. It was so easy to make!

 

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

food colouring

1/2 container of pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients well.

Add additional amounts of flour while kneading dough until desired consistency is reached.

My son had a great time experimenting with the dough. We've been spending time doing lots of baking together and he was eager to role-play this baking in his play with the dough.  He rolled, cut, and baked lots of pumpkin 'cookies'.

Often onlookers don't realize the fine motor control it takes to cut out shapes using tiny cookie cutters. The art of rolling, cutting, and lifting without breaking the design is quite complicated, especially for little fingers. It takes much concentration!

What we loved best about this play dough however was the wonderful autumn smell the pumpkin pie spice gave it! It was delicious and inspired many hours of exploration in our kitchen!