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Matariki Playdough

Playdough is a great sensory activity as children explore and use their creative skills to manipulate it into interesting shapes and creations.  Pushing, pulling, rolling, and kneading requires the use of fine motor skills which are used for everyday problem-solving such as doing up buttons, holding writing instruments, or serving a meal.  Here's a great stretchy-night-sky playdough recipe that would be a wonderful Matariki activity for children.  The addition of glitter to the dark playdough provides an interesting element for children to discover and wonder at.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

Black liquid food colour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/3 cup salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon Gelatine

Small amount of glitter

How to make it:

Pour water into a small saucepan and then sprinkle the gelatine over the top and cook until gelatine is dissolved.  After that, turn the heat down while adding the rest of the ingredients (except the glitter) and then heat it until the dough thickens and begins to form a large clump around the spoon.  Once the dough has cooled down, knead in the glitter.