How to Make Scented Playdough

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If you’ve ever wondered how to take your playdough experience to the next level, you’re in for a treat. How to make scented playdough is a must-have in your repertoire of playdough recipes.

We’re diving into the art of crafting scented playdough using a range of everyday ingredients that will heighten the scenes. From the aromatic allure of essential oils to the zesty magic of Kool-Aid, candy flavoring, cooking extracts, and even herbs and spices, we’re going to cover all the best ways to make scented playdough.

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There’s more than one way to make scented playdough! And that’s what we are here to talk about – all the best ways to make scented playdough so you always have a special fragrance for each new teaching theme.

For preschoolers, exploring scented playdough introduces them to the wonderful world of sensory play. Just like how their favorite colors and textures captivate them, scents can also work their magic.

Certain scents have the power to make them feel happy, calm, and even more imaginative!

It’s like a little aromatherapy session during playtime that uplifts their spirits, eases any worries, and fills the air with positivity. It’s all about creating an atmosphere of joy and comfort for our little explorers while having fun doing playdough activities!

And if you’re studying the sense of smell in preschool, then you have to add scented playdough to your five sense lesson plans!

Scented Playdough Recipe

To make scented playdough, you need to start with a strong playdough base recipe.

Most playdough recipes only require just the slightest amount to revising to turn it into a wonderfully scented playdough recipes. The best playdough recipe to use for your base is going to be the one that turns our perfectly every single time.

Here are my two go-to playdough recipes.

No-Cook Playdough Recipe Without Cream of Tartar

This no-cook playdough recipe doesn’t call for cream of tartar. Just use extra hot water to mix it all up.

Easy Playdough Recipe Without Cream of Tartar

Classic Cooked Playdough Recipe

This classic playdough recipe is probably the same version your mother used while you were growing up. It is cooked over the stovetop and always reliable.

Classic Easy Cooked Playdough Recipe

DIY Scented Playdough

There’s no doubt to the benefits of adding a little fragrance to trigger the olfactory system in our bodies. And turning your favorite playdough recipe into a scented one is really easy! Here are our favorite modes of fragrance to use when making playdough.

Now, let’s go over just exactly how you can use any of the above, in combination with your favorite playdough recipe, to create amazing smelling playdough!

Make Scented Playdough Using Essential Oils

Using essential oils to make scented playdough is probably the very easiest way to add fragrance. Here’s what you do:

  • Make your base playdough recipe.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Add 5-10 drops of essential oil.
  • Knead well.

One of the advantages of using essential oils is that the highest quality cold pressed oils have anti-bacterial properties.

This is our favorite essential oils set to use with playdough. It’s affordable and comes with a wide range of oils that can also be used in a classroom diffuser, too. You can use camomile or lavender to create a calming playdough, or tea tree or peppermint oils to fight germs.

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Use Kool Aid to Scent Playdough

Using kool aid to make scented playdough is easily one of the most popular ways to add fragrance. It’s affordable and readily available in most supermarkets.

Here’s how to make Kool Aid scented playdough:

  • Prepare your playdough base.
  • Add 1-2 packets of Kool aid to the wet mixture.
  • Cook playdough as recipe instructs.
  • Add additional food coloring if desired.

We love using Kool Aid for things like making berry scented playdough, and it’s nice that is comes with it’s own coloring too.

This is our favorite set of Kool Aid packets. Sometimes local stores only carry a few flavors, so purchasing a pack like this one ensures that you always have the kool aid you need to get the fragrance you want.

Our favorites here are pineapple, mango, and grape. We used Kool Aid to make our watermelon scented playdough recipe, too.

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Use Candy Flavoring to Make Scented Playdough

Candy flavoring is a really fun way to get all those sweet and exotic fragrances in playdough. While candy flavoring is a little more expensive, those little bottles last forever!

Here’s how to make scented playdough by using candy flavoring:

  • Prepare your playdough base.
  • Add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of candy flavoring to the wet mixture.
  • Cook playdough as recipe instructs.
  • Add additional food coloring if desired.

The biggest advantage of using candy flavoring to fragrance playdough is that it is by far the easiest way to create the more “exotic” fragrances you just cannot get using other methods.

This is our favorite set of candy flavorings. It includes cotton candy, rose, banana, and honey flavorings. Imagine those scents with these letter recognition cupcake playdough mats. So yummy!

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Make Scented Playdough Using Cooking Extracts

Cooking extracts are another way to make scented playdough. They are super easy to use and often times you already have what you need in your own kitchen.

Here’s how to make fragranced playdough using cooking extracts.

  • Prepare your playdough base.
  • Add 1-2 teaspoons of cooking extract to the wet mixture.
  • Cook playdough as recipe instructs.
  • Add additional food coloring if desired.

This is our favorite set of cooking extracts to use with playdough. It includes a lot of fall fragrances, like maple, marshmallow, and butter rum. It even includes root beer, which would be super fun, too!

We used cooking extracts to make our peppermint playdough recipe. We also used it to make our lemon scented playdough extra strong.

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Use Herbs to Make Scented Playdough

If you’re looking for a natural way to make scented playdough, then using fresh herbs is the best way! Any fresh herbs will work!

Here’s how to make herb scented playdough:

  • Make your base playdough recipe.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Add 1/4 cup, finely chopped fresh herbs
  • Knead well.

To make herb scented playdough, you can also use dried herbs, but the fragrance will be the strongest with fresh herbs. We like to use rosemary or dill scented playdough. Here are a few herbal playdoughs to try out.

I love this playdough invitation to play where the preschooler is practicing scissor skills by snipping the herbs themselves and mixing them into the dough.

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Use Spices to Make Scented Playdough

Spices are another fun way to make playdough with strong fragrance. Using spices to make playdough adds a warm and home-like feeling to the playdough sensory experience. We especially like to use spices around the holiday season.

Here’s how to use spices to make scented playdough:

  • Add 2-3 teaspoons of ground spices to the flour mixture.
  • Follow the remaining recipe as written.
  • Knead well, adding in more spices as desired.

We bring out the spiced playdough recipes during the fall, when those flavors are so familiar. Try some of these playdough recipes using spices.

Spices are something we all have in our kitchen, so it makes a really easy way to scent playdough. And, often times the spices will naturally color the playdough, which is always fun, too!

We used a combination of spices to make our gingerbread scented playdough, which is edible, too!

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Homemade Scented Playdough

Making scented playdough at home is easy. Any of these recipes can be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled for a large preschool classroom.

So, get set for a captivating playdough upgrade!

Our step-by-step guide will has walked you through crafting scented playdough using everyday ingredients you likely already have.

From essential oils that fill the air with inviting aromas, Kool-Aid and candy flavors that infuse vibrancy, and even cooking extracts, herbs, and spices for delightful scents. Say hello to playtime that’s not only imaginative but also enveloped in delightful fragrances.