September 16 is National Play-Doh Day!

Few childhood favorites survive the challenge of time, but Play-Doh is here to stay. Who can resist that smushy, smelly, colorful concoction? (Especially not this year, with the release of a new Millennium Falcon playset that every Star Wars fan ages 3-and-up will have to have!)

You can roll it, cut it, and turn it into (at least a reasonable facsimile of) anything you can think of. Play-Doh is such an important part of a preschool curriculum that the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) requires Play-Doh as a standard in classrooms.

Says the NAEYC, “‘Play-Doh’ provides a satisfying experience for young children, but it is not merely a fun activity. It provides a valuable hands-on and active learning experience and supports children’s growth in learning in many domains.” So, there you have it—Play-Doh is a very good thing!

Play-Doh Fun Facts

• Play-Doh was invented as a wallpaper cleaner and introduced in one color: off-white
• The product went bonkers after being pitched on-screen by Captain Kangaroo
• Two billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold since its launch as a toy in 1955

Play-Doh Cleaning Tips

To Hasbro’s credit, they’re wise to the kind of “fun” parents get to have with Play-Doh—fun like scraping it out of carpets or replacing it when little ones leave the lids off and let it dry out. To that end, they’ve published a list of tips for cleaning up and caring for Play-Doh.

See Play-Doh Cleaning FAQs & Tips

Fun Things to Do With Play-Doh

• Add texture to the mix with sand, salt, or glitter
• Use kitchen utensils to roll, cut, and press
• Add buttons, googly eyes, jewels, wooden beads, or bits of nature (be sure to watch little ones around small items that can choke them)
• Make your own!
• Teach colors and color-mixing:

Check our Pinterest board for even more ideas!

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