Chamomile Tea Playdough

Make your child’s playtime soothing and fun with this easy chamomile tea playdough! Simple ingredients make this a natural addition to open-ended play!

I love natural play things and open-ended play!  I love watching my children create and “imaginate” (my own made up word!).  I want to give them plenty of opportunities to do this and playdough is one of my favorite mediums.

Now, I know – some moms cringe at the word playdough, but in my opinion the benefits far outweigh the cost of a little mess. And frankly, homemade playdough holds together MUCH better than the store-bought stuff, so at least give it a try…pretty please?

Another bonus of this playdough recipe is that I’ve added chamomile tea to it! The chamomile has a soothing smell that calms as your children play. 

Wouldn’t this be a great before-bedtime quiet activity?! (Have some dried lavender on hand?  Put it in there too!) 

Or maybe a late-afternoon-so-you-can-keep-the-kids-calm-as-you-start-dinner activity?

And the best part is that making this playdough is super simple so it can be ready in a matter of minutes!

And just look at it!
So beautiful!

Because homemade playdough is easy to make and holds together so well, I always suggest keeping a batch handy when moms are looking for a way to occupy their busy little toddlers during homeschool hours.

You might also be interested in:
How I Occupy My Busy Preschooler (post)
Occupying a Busy Preschooler (podcast)
Occupying a Busy Preschooler (video)

Other herbal tea playdough ideas:

• Lavender
• Earl Grey
• Lemon Balm
• Peppermint
• Sage

You can also collect flower petals to put in your playdough for color!

Speaking of color…

This playdough is “natural” colored, but you can add food coloring to it as it begins to form a ball as I share in this playdough recipe. I just think the color of the herbs is too special to cover up with food coloring!

Now it’s time to print or pin the recipe, and whip up a batch of this lovely chamomile tea playdough right away. 

Added bonus:  As the dough is cooling, have a nice, soothing cup of tea yourself!

Print

Chamomile Tea Playdough

A lovely homemade herbal playdough you can feel good about letting your children play with.

Author Amy Roberts | Raising Arrows

Ingredients

• 4 bags chamomile tea (or other herbal tea)
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups flour (white or unbleached)
• ½ cup salt
• 4 tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp oil

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, boil the water, remove from heat, and steep the tea bags for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove the tea bags and set aside – you will be using them again!
• Add flour, salt, cream of tartar, and oil to the saucepan and stir continuously over medium heat. The dough will thicken and eventually form a ball.
• As soon as it forms a ball, remove from heat and stir in the contents of 2-4 of the tea bags.
• Remove the playdough from the saucepan (I like to use a wooden spoon) and place in container that can be sealed. However, wait until the dough has cooled before sealing. (Usually, I wait until the dough has cooled just a bit and then hand it over to my kids to play with warm. By the time they are finished, it is completely cooled and able to be put away in a plastic container with lid.)

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