10 May How to Make Chill Out Playdough

I know there are a million great playdough recipes out there. Each recipe has their own little spin on it to make it unique. Well, friends, you are not going to beat this one! This is how to make chill out playdough with your essential oils, and I’m going to guess that you Moms will especially love this recipe as summertime approaches.

Essential oils are big in our family. I use them for everything, and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! We use them when cleaning the house, cooking, supporting our physical health, mental health, even our emotional well-being.

One of my favorite ways to use the oils is in our homeschool. I love how they are a very gentle and safe for the children, yet also an enjoyable way to promote emotional balance, keeping us happy and calm as well as mentally alert while we do our work.

Despite the oils throughout our home, we still occasionally struggle with focus and attention, especially while doing math work. My son, for example is very right-brained and loves to bounce around and play. He’s creative, emotional and free-spirited. When required to do his math, he can occasionally become stressed and anxious, and finds it very difficult to focus on the task. I understand this, as I can be this way myself. I also understand that there are ways to stimulate the left brain so that these tasks become easier. We will often do some exercises, including some right arm swings, or he may benefit from doing some writing on lined paper first.

On some days, though, it’s just too much for him and he reacts in a way that is not himself, angrily, snapping at his sister or myself. At times like this, I know he has gone too far left-brained and he is experiencing stress. I also know that I can help to bring him back into his normal, comfortable, right-brained side with a few gentle, creative activities.

The other day, while preparing for a class I was going to be teaching on Emotional Balance with Essential Oils, it occurred to me that if I combined the balancing effects of essential oils with an understanding of brain balancing activities, I could potentially create a much more powerful effect than with either of them alone. So I did an experiment: I made some essential oil-scented playdough. I called it Chill Out Playdough.

Chill Out Playdough Recipe

Combine the following ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until the dough begins to harden. Let it cool slightly.

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

This recipe makes about 12 oz, so I divided it into 3 (to fit into 4 oz jars). Add a drop or 2 of food coloring (optional), and 3-5 drops of the essential oil of your choice. The amount you add depends on how strong you would like the scent to be.

• Food coloring (optional)
• Essential oils of your choice

Knead the dough in your hands until the color and scent are well distributed. Store each scent separately in an airtight container.

Clark has a favorite blend of essential oils that he absolutely loves, Palo Santo and Petitgrain. He has quite a powerful response to these oils and finds them extremely relaxing. So I made his playdough with these two oils. Luci, on the other hand loves lemon, so I made hers with Jade Lemon, which to me smells just a little better and brighter and sweeter than plain Lemon.

They LOVE their playdough! They have played with the playdough for hours and hours for the past few days, without any fighting or arguing! For several evenings, in fact, they were playing so nicely, I allowed them to continue until it was hours past their bedtime.

Now, here’s what’s even more exciting: for the past week, I am finding that the children are not struggling nearly as much with their math lessons! My big plan for this experiment was to have the playdough ready for when Clark became stressed or anxious while doing with his math. I was going to introduce the pleasant right-brained activity, playing with playdough, which included his favorite oils to help him relax and maintain his emotional balance. Well – he’s hasn’t gotten anxious or stressed at all! In fact he has been getting up in the morning and completing his math work before I’ve even gotten up!

My only conclusion is that since Clark and Luci have been playing with the playdough before bed, the relaxing, calming effects carry over to the next day. I am going to make playing with our essential oil – scented playdough part of our evening routine! You should try it too! I’m loving the results of my experiment!