Fall invitation to create play dough tray is a great hands-on way for little ones to explore and learn about the season.

Albert Einstein once said, “play is the highest form of research” and it truly is! This easy activity not only engages a child’s creativity but it also stirs up fun conversation and a great opportunity to strengthen fine motor skills.

To make it even more interesting, I added glitter and spices to play dough to enhance the sensory experience. My recipe for homemake pumpkin spice play dough is below.

I also labeled the items in the tray with washi tape (my current favorite) to increase Chinese exposure and to help us talk about what’s being used.

Pumpkin Spice Play Dough Recipe

Making the play dough with my daughter was half the fun! She was so excited to play with it after we were done!

Invite your kiddos to cook up this yummy fall scented play dough with you!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup of flour
• 1/2 Cup of salt
• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar (I buy a big bag from Amazon. You really go through them when making playdough)
• 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 Cup of water
• Food coloring: 10 drops of yellow, 20 drops of red
• 1 Tablespoon of orange glitter

Instructions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (except for the glitter) in a small non-stick pot over medium heat.
2. Then mix the wet ingredients together except for the oil.
3. Pour it into the pot with the dry ingredients.
4. Add the oil and stir continuously until it becomes a large clump.
5. Move the play dough onto a cutting board and carefully knead by hand until throughly mixed.
6. Pour the glitter on top of the play dough, then knead until blended in.
7. Now enjoy your pumpkin spice glitter play dough!

Putting Together Fall Invitation to Create Play Dough Tray

All you need is a tray with several compartments. We got ours at the Dollar Tree.

Feel free to use a normal tray with some bowls for items or just whatever you have on hand.

Most of the items were already in our yard. We picked up sticks, acorns and pine cones we saved from last year. I also added some felt leaves I found at the dollar store and some play dough molds.

Sadie had so much fun playing with this tray. She played for nearly an hour!

Fall Items in Chinese

• Leaves: 葉子/叶子/Yèzi （fall leaves: 秋葉/秋叶/Qiū yè）
• Acorn: 橡子/Xiàng zi
• Spices: 香料/Xiāngliào
• Pine cones: 松果/Sōng guǒ
• Twig: 樹枝/树枝/Shùzhī
• Play dough: 黏土/Niántǔ

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy this as much as we did! Happy Autumn!

More Fun Fall Themed Activities

• Mid Autumn Festival 中秋節: Fun Activities for Kids
• Chinese Thanksgiving Books for Kids: 感恩節書單
• Fall Chinese Character Sun Catcher Free Printable：秋天透光窗飾
• Pumpkin Theme Chinese Activities for Kids: 兒童南瓜主題活動
• Mid-Autumn Lantern Recycled Craft