Kids in the Kitchen: Easy NO COOK Jello Playdough

The Lil Divas LOVE helping me in the kitchen,

sometimes I get more "help" than I actually need :)

I do like to encourage their desire to learn and cook even if it means a fairly messy kitchen and a less than perfect outcome, the rewards and benefits of having them interact in the kitchen far outweigh all that.

The other day, the Littlest Diva asked to make some new playdough but she wanted to do it herself. I knew we had to use a no cook recipe this time because I didn't want her at the stove. When I asked her what color she wanted, her answer was strawberry (she was eating some as a snack at the time). 

Inspiration hit & I told her we could make Kool Aid Playdough!

Then (YIKES!) we had no kool aid! 

But...........

I did have lots of jello packets,

so we we set to work making Jello Playdough instead!

What is great about "No Cook" playdough is that kids get to help a lot in the process. They can measure, pour, mix and stir and knead the dough once it has cooled.

We ended up with 5 batches of Jello Playdough -

watermelon, cherry, orange, grape, and berry blue.

Our kitchen smelled wonderfully fruity.

Here'e the super easy recipe we used (after some trial & error):

 3 - 3.5 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

6 oz. jello in desired flavor

3 tbsp cooking oil

1 cup hot water - 

I put 1 cup of water into our microwave for 2 minutes 

& used that. This step must be done by an adult!

glycerin

How to Make Jello Playdough:

1. Add 2.5 - 3 cups of flour
(start with 2.5 and add in rest as needed - it will depend on the texture you want)
2. Add 1/2 cup salt and jello and mix well.

3. Add in oil and stir.

4. Mix in water & stir (be careful it's hot!)

5. Let cool a bit before kneading the dough.

6. Knead dough until playdough forms.

This can be quite sticky but as it cools, it becomes less sticky.

I had to add in extra flour as we kneaded the dough (this is sticky stuff while mixing but that adds to the FUN factor!). Add flour as necessary until you have your desired consistency (I just sprinkled it on as needed and the girls happily kneaded the dough).

Tip: you can add in some extra flour if your playdough is 

too sticky or water if it's too dry. 

This doesn't taste good (yes, I tried it albeit accidentally!) so I do not recommend eating/tasting it but the good things is, if you have little ones & they put it in their mouth it is made of edible ingredients! 

I added a few drops of glycerin after I had kneaded the dough to my desired consistency and we ended up with some lovely playdough. We found some of the colors were brighter than others and some of the scents were definitely more fragrant than others (cherry & grape were the strongest). 

The Lil Divas really enjoyed making the playdough 

& then of course they had lots of fun playing with it!

I'd say the Jello Playdough was a hit!

Bern