# Play Dough Caves for Polar Bears
> Build an icy cave for a toy polar bear out of blue Kool-Aid play dough, add cotton-ball snow and arctic animals, and let kids run their own arctic small-world play. Caves can be tall and hollow or flat. It's the child's idea that counts.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/arctic-zone-flat-caves-for-polar-bears/
- Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 5 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids
- Skills: pretend-play, fine-motor, creativity, arctic-animals
- Cautions: food-dye, wheat-gluten, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Homemade icy blue Kool-Aid play dough
- Kool-Aid Icy Blue Raspberry Lemonade drink mix
- Cotton balls (household)
- Arctic animal figures
- Shaving foam (optional) (household)
- Paint (optional)
- Aluminum foil (optional) (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of cotton balls: Shaving foam (The author suggests shaving foam for snow. It is messier than cotton balls.)

## Safety
- Scented Kool-Aid play dough smells like a drink but is not food. Don't let kids eat it.
- Cotton balls and small animal figures are choking hazards. Supervise closely, especially around children who still mouth toys.
- Adult makes the play dough and handles any heating or hot water the recipe calls for.
- If using shaving foam for snow, keep it away from eyes and mouths and wash hands after.
- Supervise sensory and small-world play at all times.

## Before you start
- Make a batch of icy blue play dough with Icy Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid and a Kool-Aid play dough recipe (the author used one from Meet the Dubiens).
- Gather cotton balls and a handful of arctic animal figures, including a polar bear.

## Steps
1. Set the blue play dough, cotton balls and arctic animals out on the table.
2. Show your child a picture of a cave and invite them to build one for the polar bear.
3. Shape the blue play dough into an icy cave. It can be tall and hollow or flat, whatever the builder decides.
4. Pile cotton balls around the cave for snow.
5. Put the polar bear in its cave and set the other arctic animals around it.
6. Spread some play dough flat as icy ground and keep building out the arctic scene.
7. Play pretend in the arctic zone.

## Tips
- Let the child lead. I offered to show my daughter how to make a cave; she refused and made a flat structure, insisting that's a cave. It was all her creation without any prompting from me.
- Cotton balls for snow and the 'icy cold' cave were my daughter's own ideas.
- The play scene can be as elaborate or as simple as you want.
- If your child has lost interest in being the play dough 'helper', just make it yourself. Mine now says, 'Let me know once the play doh is done. I just want to make a cave.'

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

Girls squabbling over a piece of dried up play-doh they found under the treasure box that is our couch.Here is how you build a cave for polar bears with play-doh. **Mommy S:** Alright, you guys need to play nice. **Big A:** Yeah. Baby A is not nice. Mommy you are nice. You play with me. **Mommy S :** Ok what just happened? **Big A :** I want a cave. **Mommy S:** What? ( I so wanted to make that into a phrase.) **Big A :** I want to build a cave using play-doh. **Mommy S:** One minute I’m pinning stuff (mommy stuff), next minute I’m bombarded with a demand sweet request from my girl. I really find it difficult to ignore Big A’s initiative to engage in a creative project because she is awesome like that. Only recently have I started making play doh at home just for Big A. She used to love the whole “helper” gig along with the mixing and measuring. Now the interest has fizzled off and she says “Nah. Let me know once the play doh is done. I just want to make a cave”. Using this recipe I make some Icy bue Kool Aid play-doh The icy blue play-doh quickly became an ice cave for a polar bear. With Big A, she has her own ideas when it comes to building; building anything at all. I show this kid an image of a cave and offer her to show her how to make a cave. She refuses and goes on to make a flat structure and insists that’s a cave. **Big A:** It is different than yours because it is an Indian cave. Indian polar bears like flat caves. Look out zoologists; we have polar bears in India.

1. Play -doh using Icy blue raspberry lemonade flavored Kool Aid.
2. Cotton Balls
3. Arctic animals.

Endless. Play scene can be as elaborate or as simple as you want. You can use shaving foam for snow. Create icy rivers, lakes with paint and foil. Cotton Balls for snow was Big A’s idea and so was the “icy cold” cave for the polar bear. The girls had fun playing in the arctic zone. It was all her creation without any prompting from mommy.