Easter Play Dough Kits for Preschoolers

These jumbo plastic eggs are full of Easter-themed loose parts and play dough, ready for little hands to explore!

I had lots fo fun putting these egg-cellent play dough kits together for a fundraiser at my daughter's preschool. There are two different kits, Bunnies & Carrots, and Chicks & Eggs. Here's all the details for each kit.

Basic Play Dough Recipe:

Thanks to Mama Papa Bubba for this great recipe. I tend to double her recipe to make larger batches. This recipe will make six small portions for the kits.

- 2 cups all purpose flour

- 1/2 cup table salt

- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

- 2 tablespoons glycerin

- 1.5 cups boiling water

Start by mixing the dry ingredients and then add the vegetable oil and glycerin, stir together. Gradually add the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon. Allow to cool and turn onto a floured surface. Knead well for approx. 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely before kneading again and storing in a Ziploc bag. Read below for how to make the four different types of play dough used in the kits.

Bunnies & Carrots

For this kit I made a Kool Aid orange play dough, as well as a glittery vanilla one.

Kool Aid Orange - add one small packet of orange flavor Kool Aid powder to the dry ingredients.

Glittery Vanilla - add two tea spoons of vanilla essence to the boiling water before adding to the dry ingredients.

Included in the kit:

- jumbo plastic egg from Walmart

- bunny cutter (Walmart)

- carrot egg (Michaels)

- three mini carrots (Party City)

- four Easter themed mini cupcake liners (Walmart)

- bag containing loose parts (pipe cleaners, pony beads, bunny confetti, googly eyes, pom poms)

Chicks & Eggs

Included in the second kit is the most delicious smelling chocolate play dough, as well as some lemon play dough.

Chocolate Play Dough - add two tablespoons of unsweetened Hersey's cocoa powder to the boiling water and stir well, then add the mixture to the dry ingredients.

Lemon Play Dough - add two teaspoons of lemon essence and 15-20 drops of yellow food coloring to the boiling water, then add the mixture to the dry ingredients.

Included in the kit:

- jumbo plastic egg from Walmart

- two egg cutters (Walmart)

- chick egg (Michaels)

- three mini chicks (Party City)

- four small foam eggs (Amazon)

- four Easter themed mini cupcake liners (Walmart)

- mini bucket (Amazon)

- bag containing loose parts (pipe cleaners, pony beads, chick and flower confetti, pom poms)

Ways to Play

When I put these kits together I always try to include a wide variety of materials which will encourage open-ended play. For example, the little chicks will be great for animal role play, or the small carrots can be 'planted' in the dirt-like chocolate play dough.

Many of the loose parts will also encourage fine motor skill development. For example the egg cutters can be used to make a chocolate egg, which can then be decorated with pipe cleaners, confetti and pony beads. Likewise, the bunny cutter could be used to make a sparkly vanilla bunny which is then decorated with googly eyes and pipe cleaner whiskers. So many sensory and small world play opportunities, with the containers themselves even providing lots of entertainment.