Last week, we had a great time creating playdough bugs!

Play Dough Bugs

I put out playdough (I had fun making spring colors!), pipe cleaners cut into segments, toothpicks, straws cut into segments, and googly eyes.
Playdough Bugs

The boys got right to work making bugs and caterpillars!

Playdough Bugs

This one is Gresham’s spider.  He asked for a whole white pipe cleaner so that he could make the spider hanging down by a strand of web.

Playdough Bugs

This one is a grasshopper.

Playdough Bugs

I love playdough because everyone is so focused and calm…

Playdough Bugs

Here is the playdough recipe we use.  I prefer the texture and smell of homemade playdough over store bought, but that’s just a preference. 🙂

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

1 Tablespoon oil

1 cup water

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Then, heat and stir (medium heat) until it starts to look like playdough and pulls away from the pan.  I cook until there are no more wet/gooey spots – 5-10 min. or so?  I’ve never timed it!

After it has cooled a little, knead it well.  Add food coloring once it is completely cool.

6 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. Claire Biesty Mar 18, 2014

    I love anything bugs related and this looks so much fun. Having all of the bits and pieces ready for the kids really helps them to settle into play calmly. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. h. Mar 18, 2014

    Very cute little creatures and what a nice play dough colors. Love it

    Reply
  3. Angela Mar 18, 2014

    I love it! What kind of food coloring do you use? I could only find these gel ones at the stores around here and even using a lot the colors are very mild.

    Reply
    1. Kristi Dec 22, 2022

      Add the color to the water before mixing with the dry ingredients and it will stay brighter.

      Reply
  4. Maggie Mar 19, 2014

    this looks so fun...

    Reply
  5. Kirstie Mar 19, 2014

    Thanks for this wonderful idea! I've been stalking your blog for several months now, lifting ideas right and left. If you have analytics and have been wondering who in Maryland has been spending hours in your archives, that's me. :) My kids went on a totally different track with this and it was loads of fun, if you want to check it out!
    http://kids.schraf.com/?p=1867

    Reply
  6. Georgie Dittrich Mar 28, 2016

    Approximately how many batches of playwright will be needed for a class of 12 ?

    Reply

Post a Comment