A play-dough pallet

This crazy scientist looking table just might be our new favorite rainy day activity around here. Normally when we make playdough we use a bigger recipe that is made over the stove and is more or less like this:

1 cup water

1Tbs vegetable oil

1/2 cup salt

1Tbs cream of tarter ( I used to put this in as a preservative but have since found that the playdough usually dries out from use before it ever goes bad.  I rarely use it now.)

Food coloring

Heat all 5 of these in a pan and then add

2 cups flour

 

I thought it would be more fun for Owen if he could make his own, but heating up ingredients on the stove was not an option.  After trying several smaller batches that ended up way too sticky I found this one (Here).  The link is great.  It shows all the ingredients placed in small child friendly containers which clearly,  is a much better option than Owen carrying a bag of flour across our kitchen floor. 

4 Tablespoons flour

2 Tablespoons salt

1 dropper full of vegetable oil (ours is about .8ml)

2 Tablespoons water

and Mix

We waited to add any coloring until Owen rolled the playdough out.  Once it was rolled out we added two wells for food coloring on each side of the circle.   We used yellow and blue together, one in each well, so he could see  the "change" when he made them meet in the middle. 
This was really fun for both of us.  The smaller portion is just right for him experimenting with one or two colors.  The bigger portion is fun because we can add more colors and have a bigger "painting" surface.  Currently, this is ranking as my favorite rainy day activity.  Days of rain in the forecast for us.  Anyone else have some rainy day ideas?