playdough

Castle Theme Playdough Tray

August 24, 2025 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

When planning a new theme, including a playdough tray is always a huge win. With its jewel-tone and glistening loose parts, this castle theme playdough tray is sure to attract eager participants in a flurry.

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Playdough activities are a favorite of preschoolers and children in early elementary grades. They encourage open-ended play and the chance to be creative in endless ways. Adding loose parts maximizes the learning potential, and there are plenty of them on the castle-themed tray.

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Feature Playdough Supplies

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The following castle-themed supplies are included in this eye-catching playdough tray:

playdough in turquoise, pink, and purple hues
large buttons
transparent pebbles
transparent jewelry connectors
castle-themed table confetti
metallic bead necklace strips
gold jingle bells
crown-themed rubber stamps
heart bracelets
star wand party favors
compartment serving tray

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The Castle Theme Playdough Tray

The featured dough in this sensory tray play invitation is store-bought playdough in pink, purple, and turquoise colors. The vibrant playdough hues work well in this quick setup.

Transparent jewelry connectors in crown, heart, flower, and high-heeled shoe shapes, castle-themed table confetti, and crown rubber stamps are prized loose parts for the royal theme.

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Large gold, pink, and purple buttons, transparent light pink acrylic pebbles, gold jingle bells, and metallic bead necklace strips make sparkly treasures.

Star wand party favors and heart-shaped bracelets round out the supplies in the tray.

All supplies are presented on a white six-compartment serving tray, making it easy for children to choose loose parts for their playdough creations.

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Variation of the Castle Theme Playdough Tray

The above playdough tray uses store-bought playdough, which is a great alternative when preparation time is short. This next playdough tray houses the same accessories along with my favorite basic homemade playdough recipe.

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A few drops of neon pink or purple food coloring added to the dough recipe create a soft, pretty hue that coordinates well with the castle-themed loose parts. Pink and gold glitter sprinkled on the dough adds even more glam.

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Additional Castle Theme Playdough Supplies

Castle-themed cookie cutters would be a great addition to this glitzy playdough tray, along with rolling pins and disposable knives. What other supplies would you add?

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More Playdough Activities

Apple Playdough Tray

Easy DIY Black Playdough

Glam Skeleton Playdough Tray

Reptile Theme Playdough Tray

Circus Playdough Tray

Candy Cane Playdough Tray

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Easy DIY Black Playdough

January 25, 2025 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This easy DIY black playdough is sleek, shiny, and oh-so-easy to make. The no-cook recipe pairs perfectly with a snake theme as it is super stretchy. Using it this month also works well with Lunar New Year “Year of the Snake“ activities.

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Easy DIY Black Playdough Ingredients

Gather the following supplies for this black playdough recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black gel icing color
½ tsp glycerin
large bowl
measuring cup
mixing spoon

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Making the No-Cook Black Playdough

This black playdough recipe can be made quickly. Here are the instructions:

Add two cups of flour to a serving bowl.
Pour in 1 cup of salt.
Add 1 cup of water.
Measure in 2 tbsp vegetable oil.
Drop in 1 tsp black gel icing color.
Add ½ tsp glycerin.
Stir all the ingredients together with a mixing spoon until it becomes thick. Then take the playdough out of the bowl and knead it thoroughly.

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The nice thing about this playdough is that you can play around with the ingredients and it will turn out just fine. If the dough is a little dry, add in a tiny bit more water, glycerin, or oil. If it is a little moist, add a small amount of flour. Kneading the ingredients thoroughly makes it moldable.

If the playdough looks more grey than black measure in more black gel icing color. Note: The playdough will get a little darker over time so it doesn’t need to look all-black immediately.

For additional shine, add a teaspoon more glycerin.

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Little hands will look greenish after making and using the playdough because of the intense black gel color. The gel color is edible, and hands should be their normal hue again after a few washes.

This easy DIY black playdough recipe is super shiny and has a lot of stretch. It becomes a little like slime when reused…how fun!

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Year of the Snake Playdough Invitation

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The homemade black playdough recipe makes a great 2025 Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake) or a reptile-themed activity. Add white beads, small wiggly eyes, and cardstock paper forked tongues. Then invite participants to create beautiful black and white snakes.

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Reusing the Black Playdough

This show-stopping black playdough can be used a few times. When finished playing with it, store it in saran wrap and put it in a sealed container. Place the dough in the fridge if you wish. Keep a little oil and flour on hand to mix in when you pull the shiny black playdough out a second and third time. The dough may be a little moist but will soon be pliable when the two ingredients are kneaded in.

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No Cook Versus Cooked Playdough Recipes

Cooked playdough is long-lasting if stored properly. It is delightful to use, and I love its properties.

When making cooked playdough, take note of the following:

You need a stove to heat up the recipe, or a kettle to heat water.
Most cooked recipes use cream of tartar, a rather expensive ingredient.
The recipe must be made carefully according to the instructions, or it will be too sticky or dry.
It is hard to fix the dough when it is too sticky…I haven’t had much luck with that!

But I love cooked playdough and have made it many times. It is a great choice if you are making a batch ahead of time.

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In the last while I’ve tried more no-cook playdough recipes, selecting ones that do not use boiling water. This is because:

It is easy to include children in making the playdough as there is no need to worry about burns from a hot mixture or stove. And children love helping!
If the ingredients in a recipe are tweaked the playdough will still usually turn out fine. Thorough kneading is key for this.
The recipes do not usually need cream of tartar, which is an additional cost and may not be an ingredient you have on hand.

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Reptile Theme Playdough Tray

September 22, 2024 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Living in central Alberta, Canada, reptiles such as snakes and lizards are uncommon for us to see. Unless we visit the local zoo or have access to an animal presentation, we will likely never see one. So it is natural for little learners to be afraid of these creatures. Hands-on activities with reptile figurines help alleviate young children’s fears about snakes and lizards. In addition to offering these exotic animals in a sensory tray, they are interesting accessories to include in a reptile theme playdough tray.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Reptile Theme Playdough Tray Supplies

The following supplies are included in this colorful, unique playdough invitation:

snake and lizard figurines
frog and insect figurines
snake, lizard, and frog playdough molds
rocks and stones
wood slices
refillable eggs
divided compartment serving tray

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The Reptile Theme Playdough Tray

To keep supplies neat, organized, and attractive, one of my go-to methods is to add them to a divided compartment serving tray.

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Although I include many homemade playdough recipes on this blog, I feature store-bought playdough in this modeling dough play invitation. Someone had donated a bunch of different colors to me, and since lizards and snakes come in all kinds of patterns and hues, this activity seemed like the perfect way to start using them.

Miniature snake and lizard figurines and playdough molds allow little learners to create creatures of their own from playdough, and make animal prints. Manipulating the little figurines exposes them to animals they may have a natural fear of.

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Thin wood slices and small rocks and stones in the tray are natural materials found in the habitats snakes and lizards live in.

Frog, insect, and spider figurines represent prey snakes and lizards eat.

Finally, the small refillable eggs are reminders that lizards and most snakes hatch from eggs.

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This reptile theme playdough tray is a perfect beginning activity for learning about snakes and lizards and is superb for working on color recognition, counting, eye-hand coordination, and hand and finger strength.

Adding pictures of real snakes and lizards for little learners to view would provide opportunities to discuss and make patterns and allow for more discussions about the colors these reptiles display.

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More Reptile Activities

Reptile Active World Tray

Reptile Theme Activities

Reptile Egg Science

Sea Turtle Theme Activities

Turtle Pond Sensory Bin

Turtle Christmas Craft

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More Themed Playdough Trays

White Lilacs and Black Playdough

Watermelon Playdough Tray

Circus Playdough Tray

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Glam Skeleton Playdough Tray

Gingerbread Playdough Tray

Candy Cane Playdough Tray

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Santa Claus Playdough Tray

Unicorn Playdough Tray

Scented Moon Playdough Tray

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[Read more…]

Candy Cane Playdough Tray

December 19, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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If you need a quick activity to do with the children in your life, this candy cane playdough tray has got you covered. A lovely peppermint smell wafting through the air is a highlight of this playdough invitation.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Making The Candy Cane Playdough

A simple no-cook homemade playdough recipe is the base for this activity. I love the recipe featured on The Artful Parent website and use it regularly. It is easy and quick to make and keeps about as well as the cooked version.

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Next, knead in crushed candy cane bits. The playdough is ready to use. So easy!

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Or, give participants the creamy white playdough and sprinkle candy cane bits on the table. Invite everyone to blend crushed candy cane bits into their playdough. They will love seeing the playdough change colors as the candy cane pieces are kneaded in.

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Note: Some of the crushed candy cane bits appear a little sharp. They didn’t poke or irritate my skin while testing out the festive dough. When I offered this playdough invitation to staff and students, they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The more candy cane pieces that are added, the more colorful the playdough will become. And it may be a little mushy when used again on another day. If you would like the playdough to have a second or third use, be a little sparing in adding crushed candy cane bits to the white dough.

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Crushing Candy Canes for the Playdough

You can crush candy canes for this play invitation if you do not have ready-to-use crushed ones on hand.

Just stick candy canes in the freezer for about twenty minutes. Then place them in a sealed Ziplock bag and smash them on a cutting board with a mallet, rolling pin, or meat pounder. Another method is to break candy canes into small pieces after taking them out of the freezer and then grind them to the desired coarseness in a coffee grinder. Children would love to get in on the candy cane crushing.

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The Candy Cane Playdough Tray

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Offer a rolling pin, disposable knife, and a few Christmas cookie cutters to participants exploring candy cane playdough. Here are some accessories to consider adding:

non-breakable candy cane and gingerbread decorations
candy cane cookie cutters
green, red, and white buttons and pony beads
peppermint candy and gingerbread man erasers

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More Christmas Playdough Activities

Christmas Playdough

Santa Claus Playdough Tray

Orange-Scented Playdough Invitation

Gingerbread Playdough

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[Read more…]

Edible Playdough Turkey Craft

November 22, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Here’s a sweet, edible playdough turkey craft just in time for Thanksgiving Day. It is suitable any time of the year for a farm animal theme. It is simple to make and uses five easy-to-find ingredients.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for this color-infused playdough turkey:

chocolate frosting
vanilla frosting
powdered sugar
candy corn
white candy eyes
small serving plate
large mixing bowl
large spoon for stirring
knife

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Making The Edible Playdough

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To make this edible playdough, first select a large bowl for the ingredients.

Next, empty half a container of vanilla frosting into the bowl.

Then scoop in an equal amount of powdered sugar.

With a large spoon, stir the powdered sugar and frosting together.

Afterward, knead the ingredients thoroughly, adding more powdered sugar or frosting if necessary, until the dough is a non-sticky playdough consistency.

Make a similar batch of playdough using chocolate frosting, incorporating powdered sugar with the brown icing.

Then form a ball of vanilla playdough and a smaller one of chocolate. Knead the two balls together to get a light brown shade.

Finally, add a little vanilla playdough to a ball of chocolate. Knead them together to get the medium brown shade.

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Little learners will love to help make this tasty edible playdough, and will especially enjoy the kneading part. Discussions about color mixing, spheres, and small and large sizes can be introduced during the playdough and turkey-making process.

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The Edible Playdough Turkey

Fashioning the playdough turkey is almost as easy as making the two colors of dough.

First, form a ball of medium brown playdough and flatten it into a circle on a dessert plate.

Next, make a light bulb shape from the light brown playdough and press it on top of the circle, designing a turkey head and neck.

Then add two candy eyes and a candy corn beak.

Tip: Slice off the wide end of a piece of candy corn with a knife to make a shorter beak if desired.

Finally, position candy corn pieces all around the edge of the large playdough circle.

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You may have noticed that this playdough is super sweet. It’s a good idea to encourage participants to design their turkey first and then snack on some of the extra supplies.

After the turkeys are made and participants have had the chance to do a little snacking, wrap leftover frosting playdough in saran wrap and place it in a jar or plastic bag. Store the playdough and part containers of frosting in the fridge to use another time.

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Festive Graham Cracker Turkeys

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The leftover frosting and candy eyes will come in handy for desserts, so nothing will go to waste. One idea is to spread a thin layer of chocolate or vanilla frosting on graham crackers. Add two candy eyes to each one, and five candy corn pieces around the upper edges. Slice off the wider end of some of the candy corn pieces and place them under the eyes for beaks. You’ll end up with festive turkey treats that will quickly be gobbled up by your little charges.

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Non-Edible Playdough Turkey

The tasty turkey can be made with a basic playdough recipe instead of the sweet, edible dough. You can leave the playdough uncolored to create a white farm turkey or add varying amounts of brown gel icing color to small batches of playdough to get similar turkey colors as with the edible playdough turkey.

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