After years of buying store bought play-doh, and many play-doh recipe failures. I think we have officially stumbled across the best no cook play-doh recipe ever. We use play-doh both during read loud time and for busy bin free play.

I have found when children are able to keep their hands busy during read aloud time they are more likely to pay attention with their ears and less likely to want to speak over me; thus, making our time together much more enjoyable and productive.

While play-doh can be messy at times – it is still my preferred messy, fun activity {especially over glitter glue..} Play-doh is great for fine motor development. The malleable properties make it an excellent choice for building hand strength and pre-writing development. It can be squashed, rolled, chopped, poked, and shredded allowing for hours of endless imaginary play.

Check out just some of the creations our kids created in our time together this week. Everything from play-doh pizza’s, ‘sugar’ cookies, to snakes, snails, and turtles –

Want to make their open ended play-doh play time even more exciting? With a few simple supplies you can create an expansive play-doh tool box at a minimal cost. Here are some of the play-doh tools in our box;

small toys {dinosaurs, fish, farm animals}
straws
rolling pins
egg cartons
sea shells
buttons
plastic letters and numbers
popsicle sticks
plastic spoons, forks, and knives {you can omit this of coarse…our kids are a bit older now so I am comfortable with their ability to use them safely}
plates/bowls

Each of our children are typically given a tray with their selected dough color {they are encouraged to share}. I then, place a ‘tool box’ of supplies in the middle of the table for community use. They play and I read to them. When you add open ended play items to their dough experience the imaginations explode. {Encouraging them to create things they hear in the story is also another great way to ‘test’ their listening and comprehension.}

Want a multi-sensory experience? Flavor up your dough by adding any of these –

pumpkin spice
cinnamon
essential oils
ginger
oregano

Make it pink, blue, and yellow too…we use plain old food dye but, you can try any of these too I’m sure with an equally good result…

Add some texture –

rice
sand
glitter
tiny pasta
sequins
pebbles

Want to try the recipe we use?

Best Ever Play-Doh Recipe

Be sure to visit our Kids in the Kitchen page for ‘live’ demonstrations, kid friendly recipes, more mess, and lots of fun. Never miss a thing from My Happy Homestead sign up to get “The Homestead Daily” Free to your in box.

Essential oils have become quite the craze these days. It seems like every where I turn someone is buying them, using them, or researching them for a whole slew of things. I personally use them- not on a regular basis- and, no particular brand. However, one essential oil that I have used for quite sometime is tea tree oil. I probably love it just as much as I do coconut oil. Well, maybe not that much but a really close second. Tea tree oil is inexpensive, versatile, and convenient- who knows you might just learn something new in this post.

What is tea tree oil anyways?

Tea Tree Oil, is also known as Melaleuca alternifoliais- it is not something new, in fact it has been around for quite sometime- however, its many uses and benefits are just now becoming widely known to the general public. The oil itself is extracted from a plant native to Australia.

Tea tree oil should never be ingested and should only be used a topically. When you think of tea tree oil think along the lines of skin, healing, antiseptic, and anti-fungal properties.

10+ Uses for tea tree Oil

Cloth Diapers-

A few drops added to a load of dirty cloth diapers will help eliminate odors and help fight bacterial growth. This was in fact my first introduction to tea tree oil and remains one of my most common uses for it.

All Purpose Cleaner-

1 New or unused clean spray bottle

1-2 tsp of tea tree oil

and the rest water

Spray on counters, toilets, and most any hard surface for a natural disinfectant. You might want to try in a small area to test and make sure it will not ruin the surface- do no use on wood surfaces.

Stop Bugging Me

It is gentle enough to use directly on your skin as a natural bug repellant and as an anti-itching remedy

Skin Tag Removal

Using a Q-tip apply a small amount on a skin tag 2-3 times a day- when my son was just under a year old a tea tree oil solution was used to help treat his molescum.

Breath Easy

A few drops added to a pot of boiling water or a humidifier can help you breathe better- relieving asthma, allergy, and other cold virus breathing conditions.

Ear Ache

Mixing a solution of 1 drop tea tree oil and 1 tsp. olive oil- I like to soak a cotton ball and insert in the ear until the pain is gone. *

Air Freshener/ Eliminate Odors

Remember that all purpose cleaner above- using that same solution you can spray carpets and pet beds for a fresh clean scent- bonus in the pet beds it will help keep fleas away.

Treat Acne

Are you suffering from an annoying acne outbreak- try dabbing those pesky pimples with a bit of tea tree oil.

Hair and scalp treatment–

Add a few drops to your shampoo bottle to help break down product build up- and leave your hair shiny clean without the access residue most shampoos can leave behind.

Pest Control

House hold pests including ants dislike tea tree oil- a few drops at the point of entry will deter the little stinkers from invading your space.

Do you use essential oils? Do you use tea tree oil; what for?

*Remember I am not a medical doctor nor would I ever claim to be one- with any and all medical advice I recommend speaking with your own medical doctor or vet first and foremost. I simply share my own personal experiences with such things and will never give individual medical advise.