Scented Playdough Bakery Pretend Play

Homemade playdough ingredients: flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, water

Cocoa powder, lemon extract, and peppermint extract for scenting

Food coloring: brown, yellow, green

Rolling pins and cookie cutters

A muffin tin and cupcake liners

Make three batches of playdough and scent each one: cocoa powder for chocolate, lemon extract for lemon, peppermint for mint.

Color each batch to match — brown, yellow, green.

Set up a bakery station with rolling pins, cutters, muffin tins, and cupcake liners.

Invite your child to be the head baker. Their job: create delicious baked goods.

Let them roll, cut, shape, and fill cupcake liners with scented dough.

Ask: "What flavor is that one? What does it smell like? How much does it cost?"

Take turns being baker and customer. Order a chocolate cake and watch them make it.

The scented dough adds olfactory input that plain playdough doesn't offer. Smell is the most underused sense in sensory play.

Cocoa powder playdough looks and smells incredibly realistic. Remind your child not to eat it — the salt content makes it taste terrible.

This activity combines sensory play with rich pretend play and language practice — your child will narrate, describe, and sell their creations.

Try adding dried flower petals or sprinkles (the real kind) as cake decorations.

Store each scented batch in a separate sealed bag — the scents last about a week.