OAT FLOUR PLAY DOUGH

Beckett's Infant Stimulation therapist suggested play dough as a good sensory activity.  A quick search on Pinterist and Google proves there is no shortage or recipes, but most are not suitable for Beckett.  He puts everything in his mouth!  Plus he has to be gluten, dairy, soy, and nut free.  So many of the edible play dough recipes have peanut butter in them (sad face).

I did find a simple recipe for oatmeal play dough, so thought I would start with this today.  I had some oatmeal and oat flour, and thought I would be smart to use some icing coloring to make it bright blue.  What baby doesn't love bright colors?  This was not a good idea!

The blue doesn't really stain your hands, but my hands were totally blue.  I wasn't looking for that big of a mess.  And sadly, I used all my oatmeal for this mixture.  So next I improvised.  I think it worked pretty well.  Beckett ate some of it.  It smelled like yummy cinnamon after all.  And clean up was super easy.

 1. Oat Flour Play Dough  . . . . .
Combine the ingredients into bowl, and with your hand mix and kneed them.  Just that simple.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (or desired)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

 2. Stage Play Area  . . . . .
I wasn't sure how messy this was going to be, so I set up a play area on the kitchen floor.  I taped parchment paper to the floor using shipping tape.  I also had some pillows near by in case he feel backwards from sitting.

 3. Let the Fun Begin  . . . . .

This doesn't taste so good

Beckett immediately put the big ball of dough into his mouth and took a bite.  So glad I made something that was edible for him.  Not sure he liked it, but he did try to eat it a few more times.

NOTE:  A few weeks later we gave Beckett a dash of cinnamon in his morning oatmeal.  He had a slight allergic reaction (got red around his mouth).  So if this is your first time giving your little one a spice, be on the look out for allergy signs.

It's very helpful to have extra help if this is your first time.  I was lucky to have my husband help out.  Beckett was just learning to sit up unassisted, and so he still fell over (sometimes backwards which isn't good).

Beckett did both sitting & tummy time during this activity.

The play dough seemed somewhat interesting to Beckett, but not as interesting as the parchment paper taped to the floor.  He hit it and rubbed his hands on it.  The parchment paper was the big hit for this activity!

 4. Clean Up  . . . . .
Clean up was super duper easy.  We wiped the dough off the parchment paper with a paper towel, and then used a broom & dust pan on the floor.  We could have just picked up the parchment paper and tossed it, but Beckett loved it so much, we are keeping it there for the day.

I didn't plan on keeping the play dough.  It wasn't hard when we threw it away, but I would think it would turn hard.  Since Beckett does like to eat it, I wouldn't reuse it even if it stayed pliable.