Caterpillar/Butterfly Playdough Provocation

Make some beautiful playdough to create caterpillars and butterflies with in the spring time.

The Girl adores butterflies! She has been waiting all year to have her own caterpillars to watch them transform into butterflies. So I've been thinking of butterfly activities and playdough is always a winner! 

Why not make your own playdough. It really is simply to make and lasts for a long time! And it feels lush! 

Green apple scented playdough is great for creating wriggling caterpillars with! 

Apple Green Playdough

You need:

·         450g plain flour

·         230g salt

·         8 tsp cream of tartar

·         5 tbsp cooking oil

·         430ml boiling water

·         Green food colouring

·         Apple food essence

All you do is:

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil together in a large bowl. Add the food colouring to the water and mix into the other ingredients. At this point add the essence. Turn onto a floured surface and knead. If sticky, wait a few minutes and it will turn into a pile of fluffiness! Keep in a sealed bag or box and it will last for ages! 

 Strawberry Playdough

You need:

·         450g plain flour

·         230g salt

·         8 tsp cream of tartar

·         5 tbsp cooking oil

·         430ml boiling water

·         Red food colouring

·         Strawberry food essence

All you do is:

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil together in a large bowl. Add the food colouring to the water and mix into the other ingredients. At this point add the essence. Turn onto a floured surface and knead. If sticky, wait a few minutes and it will turn into a pile of fluffiness! Keep in a sealed bag or box and it will last for ages!

The lilac food colouring I use is not actually scented but does give off a nice smell! 

Make as above but with lilac food colouring. 

Playdough is so good for fine motor skills. Strong fine motor skills are vital for writing skills. 

Googly eyes and gems are lovely loose parts to use to accessorise their butterflies with. 

These plastic butterflies are great to give inspiration when creating their models. 

And of course pipe cleaners for antennae's! 

Here are a few lovely non fiction books about caterpillars and butterflies. 

'A Butterfly is Patient' has beautiful illustrations and facts. More aimed at over 5's but well worth investing in. There are a few in the series. 

We love the Usbourne Young Readers range. Perfect for a younger audience with simply explanations and lovely photographs. Another must have on your bookshelf. 

We only recently discovered this series of non fiction books. There are about twelve in the series which I'm hoping to get hold of. Again, great labelled photographs, facts and explanations on life cycles.