Calming Lavender PlayDoh
Entertain your kids by turning play time into learning time by making homemade calming playdough scented with essential oils like Lavender, Wild Orange, or Balance grounding blend. Aromatherapy play dough!
This activity is a great way for children to learn about aromatherapy through the use of essential oils, and how they respond to different essential oils. Use a variety of essential oils and colors to help kids learn new scents.
This is a wonderful sensory activity since kids will get senses of smell and touch. There is something so therapeutic and calming in kneading the playdoh.
What Essential Oils to Use in Your Calming Lavender Scented Playdough
Well, obviously Lavender essential oil would be a great choice! Having said that, don’t limit yourself. The options for your playdough are many as there are many essential oils available and most are very safe for kids.
Some fun essential oils to make your scented playdough could include: Wild Orange, Balance Grounding Blend, Peppermint, Lemon, Rosemary, or Lavender.
Your kids may enjoy choosing the scents for themselves. Set a few bottles out and let them smell and choose what they would like to use.
Or, if you’ve had it up to here and need a mom minute, just use Lavender and mellow those little monsters right down!
As a mom of 2 crazy boys, I can tell you that Lavender, Serenity or Wild Orange are amazing choices because they are super calming and can be that sanity saver you need.
Need a few minutes of peace and quite to regain some sanity? Want your kiddos to mellow out? This is a great sneaky way to achieve that state of mind.
Dye Your Scented Play dough to match the Oil
You can also divide the dough up into multiple batches and dye and scent each batch differently!
Choose a color to match the bottle of the essential oil being used.
Use an all natural food coloring
I recommend an all natural food coloring. There’s no reason to have a bunch of artificial, synthetic, potentially toxic ingredients absorbing into kid’s skin.  I love THIS ONE because it uses vegetables for it’s colors!!Â
- Derived from pure vegetable juices and spices including beet juice, turmeric and spirulina extract.
Some fun kid-friendly essential oil recommendations for your Play Dough are:
- Wild Orange
- Green Mandarin
- Cheer Uplifting blend
- Serenity or Lavender
- Lemon
- Elevation Joyful Blend
- Forgive Renewing Blend
- Spearmint (Perfect for kids because it is milder and sweeter than Peppermint.)
Choose your essential oils carefully – most are not what they seem.
Why doTERRA and not something from Amazon or Walmart?
Did you know that most essential oils at drugstores are synthetic fragrance only? And did you know that most oils on Amazon, even doTERRA, are adulterated (tampered with and diluted with coconut oil), and can’t be trusted?
I choose to use doTERRA essential oils. They are the purest, highest quality and only brand I trust to use for my family. Find out Why I LOVE doTERRA here. It’s not only just for their fabulous essential oils.It’s for their sustainability and the way they work hand in hand with the farmers and communities who grow the plants.
Directions to Make Calming Lavender Scented Play dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ cups salt
- 4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 TBL vegetable oil
- food coloring optional
- 5-10 drops Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil Lavender, Wild Orange, Cheer are great choices
- mason jars or quart size bags to store your play dough
Instructions
- Stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot.Â
- Next, add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, add in the color now as well.Â
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball.  Don’t overcook or it will become too dry.
- Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon sized bag or onto wax paper or parchment paper.
- Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth.Â
- If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart sized bags. Start with about 5 drops of color and add more to brighten it.
- Knead to spend evenly.Â
- Do the same with your oils. Start with 5-10 drops and add more if needed. Once it’s all mixed together you’re ready to PLAY.Store the play dough inside the bags once done to keep soft. Keeps for up to 3+ months.
Notes
- Wild Orange
- Green Mandarin
- Cheer Uplifting blend
- Serenity or Lavender
- Lemon
- Elevation Joyful Blend
- Forgive Renewing Blend
- Spearmint (Perfect for kids because it is milder and sweeter than Peppermint.)
Wrap up of How to Make an Aromatherapy Play Dough for your Kids with Essential Oils
Play Dough has been keeping kids entertained for decades. Adding aromatherapy to your kids play dough can help calm, energize, ground emotions or cheer them up. By customizing the essential oils you use to your child’s needs, you are helping them regulate their emotions when they are either unable to or don’t know they need to.
Use this homemade non toxic play dough recipe as an inexpensive, safe, and easy way to keep your children entertained while calming their emotions.
Related Articles: More Ways to Use Essential Oils for Kids
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Dawn Goehring
Dawn Goehring is the founder of Desert Naturals where she writes educational articles on essential oils, DIY’s on natural beauty products, homemade cleaners, and provides related essential oil accessories like planners, trackers, tshirts, and custom designed essential oil storage. She has been featured in articles on Porch.com, Redfin.com, MommyOnPurpose and more.
Dawn has earned an aromatherapist degree and has earned a doTERRA essential oil specialist certification which is a fancy way of saying she has learned a lot about the chemistry of essential oils and how they work in the body.