Features
Welcome to the Features section of Sandy Green, where sandy regularly adds features including; ideas, activites and recipes for children. Sandy is herself Coeliac and has a specific interest in providing gluten free meals and snacks for children
Playdough
Playing with playdough is an activity enjoyed by most young children. It should ideally be provided as an unstructured, freeplay activity without adult direction.
Practitioners often seem to put out a range of tools with playdough as a matter of course, but sometimes we should encourage children to simply handle the dough, helping them to engage directly with it, before providing cutters, rolling pins etc which automatically remove the pleasure of direct contact.
The role of the adult at the dough table is to discuss with the children what they are doing, encouraging and introducing vocabulary which describes their experience e.g. mould, shape, roll, squeeze and so on.
On occasions practitioners can change the children's experience by adding items such as glittery stars or jumbo oats to the dough. This gives alternative visual and tactile stimulation. Food essences such as lemon can also be added to stimulate their sense of smell too.
It should be remembered that the inclusion of oats is not appropriate in gluten-free playdough, as many children with the gluten intolerance condition coeliac have an intolerance to oats too.
Cooked Playdough
- Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cups water
- 2tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon of food colouring (optional)
- 1 cup salt
- Method
- 1. Place all ingredients together in a saucepan
- 2. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring well throughout
- 3. Continue to stir
- 4. Remove pan from heat when dough mixture 'comes away' from the sides of the pan
- 5. Turn out onto a board and allow to cool slightly
- 6. Knead the dough well to get a smooth texture throughout.
- Dough is now ready to use
- 2. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring well throughout
Gluten-Free Playdough
Children who have the condition Coeliac have an intolerance to the substance gluten which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. For some, the effects are seen only when they have eaten something containing these foods, but for others, simply handling them can cause them problems.
It is important to remember that playdough is usually made with wheat based flour and is therefore not suitable for a child with Coeliac. The following recipe offers a useful alternative that can be safely used by Coeliac and Non-Coeliac children.
- Ingredients
- 1 cup of rice flour
- 1 cup of corn flour
- 1 cup of salt
- 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar
- 2 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil food colouring (optional)
- 1 cup of corn flour
- Method
- 1. Place all the ingredients together in a saucepan.
- 2. Stir well whilst cooking over a gentle heat.
- 3. Continue to stir. The mixture will change from a runny consistency to a firmer consistency.
- 4. Remove pan from the heat and turn the dough onto a board.
- 5. Knead the dough well to get a smooth texture throughout.
- 6. When cool, place dough in a plastic container and store in the refrigerator until required.
- 2. Stir well whilst cooking over a gentle heat.
Note: Store in airtight container in fridge when not in use. Dough usually keeps for several weeks but should be replaced regularly for hygiene reasons, particularly if an infectious illness has entered the setting.
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