One of my absolute favorite scents of the summer is watermelon so when it came time to make a batch of play dough for us to use this week, I just could not pass up making some Homemade Watermelon Play Dough.
Playdough is a fantastic fine motor activity without adding in any of the “extras” like beads, buttons, or beans…but, when it came to this Watermelon Play Dough Recipe, we just couldn’t pass up adding in some black beans as a fun small part. This homemade play dough was incredibly easy to make, was a learning-packed activity, and the best part – the kids had a blast with it!
Watermelon Play Dough Recipe
Items Needed:
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Salt
- 1 packet Watermelon Kool-Aid Unsweetened Drink Mix
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- 2 tbsp. Cream of Tartar
- 1 tbsp. Oil
- Food Dye
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (minus the kool-aide) while boiling the water over medium heat.
2. Once water is boiling transfer to a glass and add in the oil.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients and the water/oil mixture. If it is still sticky once fully mixed add in 1/3 cup of flour at a time. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
4. Once cooled separate into two balls. One will be your watermelon rind and the other the fruit – so your sizes do not need to be even. We did about 1/4 green and 3/4ths pink.
5. Add green food dye to your smaller ball and mix together. If using your hands you will want to use gloves. We mix in ziplock bags and the kids love helping with this.
6. For your large ball add in your packet of kool-aid. Again the ziplock bag is our favorite method for mixing. If you would like a brighter color add in a couple drops of red or pink food dye.
Then Play!
Homemade Water Melon Play Dough Learning Ideas
One of my favorite things about playing with playdough is that there doesn’t have to be an elaborate setup. Play Dough can become anything! Some of our favorite ideas for this recipe were:
- Work on fine motor skills by pinching and moving the beans on and off to different watermelon slices.
- Use a child’s plastic knife to slice the watermelon into different-sized fractions.
- Print out our Alphabet Play Dough Mats and practice making the letter W.
- Count, add, or subtract the beans.
- Explore the sensory attributes of the play dough. What happens if you add in more or less beans when creating a ball? What happens when you add some more water? What does the play dough smell like? What color do red and green make when mixed together?
This is a super simple activity with endless options. I hope y’all have as much fun with it as we had!
More Ways to Play with Play-Dough!
Alphabet Play Dough MatsWatermelon Soap Foam Sensory Bin
Birthday Cake Play Dough Recipe
Share This!
[social_warfare buttons=”Facebook,Twitter,Pinterest”]