Jello Play Dough Receipe for a Sensory Play Activity (2024)

Do you know what is better than eating Jello? Making Jello Play Dough! Simple sensory recipes like this one are not only fun to use in with your sensory activities!

Jello Play Dough for Sensory Play:

There are so many benefits to playing with play dough! From the feel to the smell of it, your kids will use their different senses as they play, explore, and experiment.

By squeezing, rolling, and squishing the dough, your children will develop their fine motor skills and strengthen their hand muscles too. The development of these will help them learn to write and improve other pre-writing skills.

Getting Ready To Make Jello Play Dough:

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What’s Needed:

• 1 Tablespoon of Cream of Tartar
• 1 Cup of Flour
• ¼ Cup of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup of Water
• 1 Package (3 ounce) of Gelatin Mix

What Else Is Needed:

• Medium Pot
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Waxed, Freezer, or Parchment Paper
• Airtight Container

These are the ingredients that you’ll need to make one batch of play dough. To make additional play dough, repeat the recipe for each color.

How To Make Jello Play Dough:

To begin making this sensory recipe, combine all of the ingredients in a medium pot. Next, whisk the ingredients together until they are well blended.

Then, place the pot over medium heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly.

When the dough comes together as a ball and the liquid has absorbed, transfer the dough to waxed, freezer, or parchment paper.

While the dough is still warm but cool to touch, knead the dough until smooth for about 2 minutes. You can store the play dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two months or at room temperature for 3 days.

How To Use Jello Play Dough:

There are so many different ways to use this play dough recipe! Here are just a few ideas for your kids:

• Your kids can practice forming letters using this recipe and alphabet play dough mats.
• Using a pencil or small dowel, your kids can practice writing letters in the play dough.
• You can give your children a sound or show them a picture and have them write the letter for that sound in the play dough.
• If your kids know all of the letters, they can practice writing simple words such as CVC words or sight words.

This Jello Play Doughrecipe is an easy sensory play activity that can be used as a hands-on tool to help your kids with letter recognition, fine motor development, pre-writing skills, and more.

Pin It For Later:

Do you want to save this homemade play dough recipe for kids for later? Pin this to your sensory activities board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready!

You May Also Like:

Are you looking for fun, hands-on activities for your preschooler? ThesePreschool Unit Lesson Plansinclude an entire year of the most popular themed units! Click on the picture to learn more about this resource!

More Play Dough Recipes:

If you liked playing with this Jello Play Dough, try making one of these other play dough recipes for even more sensory play fun!

Yield: 1 Batch

Jello Play Dough

This Jello Play Doughrecipe is an easy sensory play activity that can be used as a hands-on tool to help your kids with letter recognition, fine motor development, pre-writing skills, and more.

Active Time20 minutes 15 seconds

Total Time20 minutes 15 seconds

DifficultyEasy

Materials

• 1 Tablespoon of Cream of Tartar
• 1 Cup of Flour
• ¼ Cup of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup of Water
• 1 Package (3 ounce) of Gelatin Mix

Tools

• Medium Pot
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Waxed, Freezer, or Parchment Paper
• Airtight Container

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot, whisking until blended.
   
2. Place the pot over medium heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly.
   
3. When the dough comes together as a ball and the liquid has absorbed, transfer the dough to waxed, freezer, or parchment paper.
   
4. While the dough is still warm but cool to touch, knead the dough until smooth, about 2 minutes.
   
5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two months or at room temperature for 3 days.

Notes

For more sensory play recipes, visit ABC's of Literacy.