Gluten Free Playdough Challenge- RESULTS!

The Results!

First play dough we are going to talk about is:

Pumpkin Pie Play dough {gluten free}

http://www.lovingmynest.com/fun-activities/inside/pumpkin-pie-playdough-gluten-free/

This play dough was delicious smelling! If you want the warmth of autumn and the holiday’s in a play dough this is the one. It was on the softer side and held up well to being rolled around and used for several hours.

2^nd day test… the play dough was put in a ziplock baggie and was just fine the next morning. Still smelled great and was easy to play with.

This one gets a thumbs up! I would make this play dough anytime. The only drawback I have is the smell is so wonderful it could entice a child into eating it. That is why we are doing gluten free but it is something I just wanted to be sure to point out.

*****

Next play dough is: CORNSTARCH PLAYDOUGH

This was the perfect play dough, with one exception. This play dough was able to be worked with over several hours. It took color great. It was a medium firmness, meaning you needed to have some hand strength to use it. The kids were able to make all sorts of fun things from this dough.

2^nd day test… When stored in Ziploc baggie overnight it was fine the next morning. It was not hard or stiff. The little ones woke me up early just so they could get back to playing with their play dough.

The one drawback I see is for those sensory defensive kids. The dough flakes off onto your hands and can dry making it feel “weird and itchy” according to my girlie. She would get up and wash her hands completely off several times an hour, but still come back to play. That actually made me very happy. That meant she was accommodating for her sensory needs all by herself and enjoying the play dough so much she was able to overcome her instinct not to touch the dough.

*****

 Masa Playdough Recipe:

I had to change the recipe from masa to corn grits. Hubby threw out our masa, moths 😛 and I didn’t want to make a ton of corn grit play dough so I halved the recipe.

Now with all that I ended up with quite a ball of odd play dough. The kids, even my sensory defensive gal, had to try the texture. The kids loved it and the it held it’s warmth for quite a while making achy arthritis joints feel nice.

This is not a play dough as you would normally envision it. It is a wonderful sensory dough. I would happily make it again. One note of caution you can’t really color it since the corn doesn’t take the coloring well so it looks like grits. If you make grits a lot and your child doesn’t understand the difference they might try to eat this dough. I had to explain “no eating” several times.

*****

 Celiac Disease Foundation Gluten Free Play dough

This play dough was sort of okay the first day. It was very sticky and not good for making anything other than well… a mess. You could not create a snowman or rolled out work with it. It was good for my sensory seeker to just sit and mash up again and again.

2^nd day test… Fail. Over night the dough went from sticky to more of a goo. The kids figured out that it was still fun to play with in the Ziploc baggie. My youngest wrote her letters in the dough through the bag. She had fun and the mess was contained.

I would not make this for play dough. But if you are looking for a sensory dough for teaching numbers and letters this works well in a ziplock baggie.

*****

Overall this was a really fun day of Pinbusting. We found some great play doughs to make that are allergen safe. We also found some great sensory doughs.

Do you have a favorite play dough recipe? If you have blogged about it please leave a link.

The kids would love if we did this again.