Rainbow Playdough
Little hands can manipulate, create, and learn the colors of the rainbow with this DIY playdough.
Ask your child, “Did you know that there are seven colors in a rainbow?” See how many colors she can name. If she needs help, say the colors in the order that they appear on a rainbow, “Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.” Explain that indigo (which is technically a dye) is often described as a shade between blue and violet. Tell your child that, together, you are going to make play dough in some (or all) of the same colors of a rainbow.
Materials
Directions
Let your child help mix everything, except the food coloring, in a large pot until the mixture is somewhat smooth. It will start lumpy, but the dough will get smoother as it cooks.
Cook the dough over a low heat. Mix frequently. Ask your child how she thinks the heat will change the mixture. The water will slowly evaporate, and the mixture start to take on a sticky dough appearance.
Keep mixing until the edges of the dough along the sides and bottom of the pan appear dry. Pinch a piece of dough. If it’s not gooey, the dough is ready.
Place the dough on a countertop or large cutting board that can withstand a little food coloring. Knead the warm dough until it’s smooth, then divide it into the desired number of colors. For example, you can divide them into balls, have your child flatten each of them, add a little bit of food coloring and knead it in.
Ask your child if she can mold her play dough in the same shape as a rainbow. She doesn’t need all of the colors; the idea is for her to try to make the curved design. While she’s working on that, ask her, “What’s your favorite color in the rainbow?” Then, ask her to name other items that are the same color. Once your child is ready to put her playdough away, store it in a large Ziplock bag or sealed container.
Rachelle Doorley is an artist and mother of two. She publishes the popular children's creativity blog,Tinkerlab.com. She holds a master’s degree in arts education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and lectures on visual literacy at Stanford and the San Jose Museum of Art. Find play dough tool ideas on Tinkerlab.
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