Indoor Fun: Playdough recipe

Some places have rainy days. Some have snow days or storm days. Here in central California, we have "Bad Air Days." Most of the time, I don't worry about it too much, and we go out if we need to. But who wants to go out when it's 107 outside with 40 percent humidity, and the sunlight is orange from all the smoke in the sky? We can see all too clearly the far-reaching effects of all the recent fires around the state.

So, we watch more movies and read more books in July (and January, actually) than any other time of the year. Last week it was time to make some new playdough, too. I hadn't made any in months because of my mixer being out of sorts.






The bug parts came as a kit from Insectlore.com a few Christmases ago. I'm not sure if they still have them or not, but they have been a favorite around here for a long time.

Here's my recipe:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 packets favorite color of Koolaid
1 Tbs Cream of tartar
3 Tbs cooking oil
1 1/4 cups very hot water

Boil some water. Mix dry ingredients. Add oil. Add water. Mix until dough peels away from sides or is cool enough to knead by hand. Keeps for a month in a Ziploc if put away immediately after playing.

What's your favorite indoor activity to set up for the kids?