Nature and playdough brings together two loves that children just can’t get enough of –playing with dough and collecting and crafting with natural materials.
You’ll want to keep these nature playdough ideas up your sleeve, trust me!
Home made natural playdough recipe
There are so many playdough recipes out there. For me, it’s important playdough is home-made.
Why make your own?
The short answer is that it’s more sensory and there’s more opportunity to add your own ingredients.
The longer answer is that there are more homely imperfections, a few little bumps, it smells better and it really does only take five minutes to prepare. It’s cheaper too! I love this natural playdough recipe.
Nature Playdough ideas
Collect common nature materials
This is my go-to nature and playdough activity. Prepare some playdough and then go outside and grab items from our backyard – better yet, get the kids to collect it for you. It’s just so easy!
Playdough and natural material ideas
- Nature and playdough. Collect natural materials and let them construct, roll, press and play with the playdough and nature. So many things to create, just like the awesome helicopter below!
- Playdough Nature Landscapes. Â Make your own nature landscapes. Create little trees, stone rivers and mountains covered in grass, all using those two key elements, dough and nature!
- Take playdough into nature. Next time you play with the dough, take it outside and create with the environment around you. Playdough fungi looks so real!
- Jungle Playdough. Theme your nature playdough activity and let your children make their own habitats!
- Shells and Playdough. Shells create the best imprints on dough, or create your own snails.
- Flower Playdough. Grab some bright flowers and enjoy squishing petals into plain coloured playdough. Wait until you see how pretty the dough becomes!
Natural playdough Scents
Natural scents create beautiful nature playdough activities. Here’s just a few to add:
- lavender
- lemon
- tea tree
- eucalyptus
- mint
- honey
The ideas you can gain from bringing scents into playdough is endless. Just look outside, or in your pantry! Check out this Lavender Playdough for calming your child after a busy day or this Dandelion Playdough to explore an interesting smelling flower. Some of these ideas will smell good enough to eat!
Fruits and Vegetables
Think of adding fruits and vegetables to make nature playdough. Try grated carrots, pumpkin seeds,  smooshed, slightly over-ripe strawberries and bananas. This Citrus Playdough idea is wonderful too. The added textures make this playdough idea so much fun!
Seasonal Playdough ideas
Create seasonally themed nature playdough for your kids. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate a new change of season and all the materials you’ll need will be available. This makes it even easier for you to prepare!
- Autumn playdough. How lovely is the play setup below. Pop on over and learn how to create it yourself.
- Spring playdough. Spring playdough is our fave. So bright and cheerful. This playdough activity brings us joy.
- Summer playdough. We all love summer and this activity is perfect to celebrate that warm and lively season.
- Winter playdough. Think blue playdough with shaved ice or ice cubes. So cold , so messy and so fun!
Don’t worry too much if there are natural bits and pieces left in your playdough are play. The extra little bits add texture and character. Roll it up in a plastic bag and it will keep for about two weeks. That way you can pull out the natural materials and do it all again next week!
So many beautiful ways to create nature playdough for your kids to enjoy.
You may also like our
Nature Arts and Crafts Pack
This pack will provide hours of fun, learning,
and creativity for you and your children.
– Over 30 nature arts and craft printables
– Printables include an easy how-to instruction sheet
Just add nature to bring the printable to life!
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