Sensory Play at Home: When Creativity Meets Reality:

Sensory play at home does not have to lead to chaos.

TLDR: The best sensory play happens when the setup is calm and simple. Homemade playdough, familiar toys and a Huske mat turn chaos into calm. This is a quiet day fallback, easy to start and easy to tidy.

Read time: about 6 minutes

Pinterest and Instagram can make playtime look like a full scale production. But in our house, it is usually simpler. This is the tried and tested playdough recipe I turn to with my five and seven year old when the day slows down. It takes a few everyday ingredients, a Huske mat, and whatever toys are already at home, Lego, Magnatiles, Schleich animals. Nothing fancy, nothing themed, just hands and imagination. Save this one for later, for the kind of day that needs a reset.

If you feel like you are just not a sensory play kind of mum, you are not alone. I am not either. It does not come naturally to me, but I am motivated by knowing it means something to them. These are the activities they cannot set up on their own. They need me for that first step, and they do appreciate it. Once it is rolling, it completely absorbs them, which is great for their minds, their creativity, and frankly, my brain. When it works, I get time to think while knowing they are doing something that actually feels worthwhile.

“You do not have to do every craft under the sun. Pick one or two and stay with them.”

I have also learned to keep it as simple as baking birthday cakes. You do not need ten recipes. One or two that work is enough. For me, playdough is that. Do not let it intimidate you. The uniqueness comes from their imagination. You just bring the solid foundation.

The timing of it all

“I never start sensory play when I am hungry, stressed or half answering messages. It needs a bit of calm at the start, otherwise it backfires.”

It took me years to realise timing is everything. These are the conditions that make it work in our house:

• Everyone has eaten and the day is not running on fumes.
• I have ten quiet minutes to help them get started.
• We set up in good light, on a Huske mat, with what we already have.
• No screens, no background noise, just a bit of focus.

At the beginning, sensory play needs a bit of guidance. Children do not automatically drop into flow. Sometimes they poke at it and wander off. But over time, with small, regular sessions, it changes. They find their own rhythm. They enter quietly, stay longer, invent whole worlds.

That is the point for me, independent and immersive play. It only happens when it is familiar, not forced.

Our default, Knete

In our house, playdough, Knete, is the baseline. We have tried all sorts of sensory activities, but this one stays.

Like everyone else, I started with Play Doh. As a designer, it drove me mad. The tubs do not seal, the packaging is wasteful and the colours are hidden. And the quiet stress of knowing it is finite, once it dries, that is it, never sat right.

Now we make our own. It lives in the fridge in glass jars, cool and smooth. When the mood strikes, I take it out, lay down a Huske mat, and open what we call the box of inventions:

• Paper straws and pipe cleaners
• Lego pieces and Magnatiles
• Old candle holders and cookie cutters
• Googly eyes, Schleich animals and small tools

“Mixed media with toys we already own is where the magic happens.”

I do not buy cheap craft kits. Mixed media with toys we already own is where the magic happens. A Schleich animal half buried in dough, a wall of Magnatiles, a Lego bridge, a few googly eyes, and suddenly there is a whole story unfolding. It stretches what is already loved instead of adding clutter.

And because they are in school now, they are a bit less wild with it. Less flinging, more focus. Which makes the whole thing infinitely more pleasant.

The making is the magic

“I wanted my kids to get messy without it undoing me.”

We usually make the dough together. Everything goes into a pot, they watch it turn from gloopy to smooth, and there is a little chemistry class magic in that moment. Then we split it, colour it, and sometimes scent it.

Now, here is my one real secret. For ages I used the standard Dr Oetker supermarket colours, and they were fine until I realised they were the weakest link. I switched to bakery grade pigments, and honestly, it changed everything. The colour payoff is much better and you use far less. I have tried two brands, Hollinger and Sugar Flair. Hollinger wins on volume and price per millilitre, but Sugar Flair is my clear favourite.

We have even used those same colours for icing birthday cakes during the year, so they earn their place in the cupboard. But for now, they live next to the flour, waiting for the next playdough session. If I have one single tip, it is this, do not mess with the Dr Oetker. Get the good stuff.

Sometimes I add a drop of lavender or lemon essential oil too. It adds a layer of calm, but only if you are sure no one is going to eat half the batch. The dough is edible, made with everyday ingredients, which means I do not need to hover. That is the real freedom.

Kate’s back pocket playdough recipe

Simple, food safe, and ready in under ten minutes. This is the version that lives in our fridge, reliable, quick and forgiving.

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 150 g salt
• 400 ml water, start with this, add up to 20 ml more if needed
• 30 ml vegetable oil
• 20 ml lemon juice, about one and a half tablespoons
• Food colouring, optional, see note above on bakery grade pigments

Method

1. Combine flour, salt, oil and lemon juice in a saucepan.
2. Add the water and stir until smooth.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. After three to five minutes the mixture should thicken and pull away from the pan.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
5. Knead until smooth. Add food colouring while still warm if you like.

Storage

Airtight container at room temperature, about two weeks.

In the fridge, up to two months.

I used to use Natron, baking soda, but switched to lemon juice since there is always a glass bottle in the fridge and it is easier to find in the supermarket. The results are almost identical. If you prefer Natron, you can get it in most pharmacies. If it is still too sticky, sprinkle a little cornstarch on your mat, it absorbs the extra moisture quickly without removing any bounce.

Learning when it works

When my children were toddlers, I did not have the bandwidth to do this regularly. There is this unspoken pressure during maternity leave to tick every developmental box, to do all the Instagram things. I did not. And that is fine. You can start later. We did.

Now it is part of our rhythm. They know:

• The dough stays on the mat.
• Tools and toys go back in the box.
• Friends can join in, but everyone tidies up.

The dough comes out cold from the fridge, feels grounding in the hands, and the Huske mat means I am not peeling dough off the table later. Containment without restriction. That is the design sweet spot.

Why it matters

“When the setup is simple, the cleanup easy and the play familiar, it stops being a production and becomes part of family life.”

There is good evidence that sensory play supports fine motor skills, attention and emotional regulation. For children with sensory sensitivities or neurodivergence, it can help normalise textures and build tolerance in a safe, familiar way. Take a look at these articles from the Cleveland Clinic and Integrity Inc if you are interested in looking into it in more depth. But long story short, it

• Builds strength in small hand muscles used for writing and drawing
• Encourages problem solving through simple experimentation
• Supports emotional regulation through tactile feedback
• Helps texture sensitive children build tolerance gradually

There is even some evidence to show that it can go some way towards helping with picky eating in toddlers. Fun fact: our fingertips have the highest amount of sensory receptors in the whole body, sven ten minutes, repeated over time, can do a lot of good.

In the end

“In my experience, the Roam Mat (Medium) works best for sensory play setups like this.”

Sensory play is not about being the perfect parent. It is about creating space where curiosity can live without chaos. I wanted my kids to get messy without it undoing me, and that is what Studio Huske grew out of.

Good design can make play sustainable. It lets you step back, breathe and trust the process. When the setup is simple, the cleanup easy and the play familiar, it stops being a production and becomes part of family life.

In my experience, the Roam Mat (Medium) works best for sensory play setups like this. It has just the right surface area to contain everything comfortably without taking over the room. But truly, any Huske mat will work beautifully. The key is to create a defined space that invites play without stress.

For me, playdough is that steady fallback, the recipe I can rely on, the activity I can start even on the slowest days. It is calm, creative and contained. And honestly, it still makes me laugh that the simplest thing, flour, salt and water, turned out to be the one that worked.

I would love to hear how this works for you. If you try the recipe or have your own tweaks, share them in the comments below or tag @studio.huske on Instagram. It is always inspiring to see what your children create on their Huske mats.

Browse our current Huske mats collection, designed to make creative play easy to start, simple to tidy and beautiful to live with.

Kate

All the links in one place

• Hollinger bakery grade food colouring
• Sugar Flair professional food colouring
• Cleveland Clinic overview on sensory play
• Integrity Inc guide on sensory play
• Huske Roam Mat (Medium)
• Studio Huske on Instagram