Dreidel from Homemade Edible Playdough

I am not really a crafty person.  When you teach kindergarten CCD (religion) you almost have to take a leap of faith that you can be one.  In teaching children at this age level, you think of activities that will not only teach them the lesson but also engage them.  Hands on activities wherein they color or make something are appropriate for children this age who could not read or write yet.

Last week, we were covering Jesus as a toddler and up to when he was 12 years old when he got lost in Jerusalem.  I wanted the students to realize Jesus was once a child like them who liked to play games. He grew up a Jew and I remember how dreidels are popularly played by Jewish children during Hannukah.  It is a game of chance.  The dreidel has four sides with a pointed end like a top. Instead of being circular in shape it has a square shape.  It has also a handle for the children to use to spin the dreidel.

I had made edible homemade play dough for another planned activity so I decided to use it in making a dreidel.  I shaped the play dough like the dreidel  that I saw in the internet but instead of writing the usual Jewish symbols on the four sides I just wrote the numbers 0,1,2 and 3.   I wrote 0 on one side, 1 on the other, 2 on third side and 3 on the last side.  If the dreidel upon spinning shows zero (0), they get none of the three goodies that I brought.  If  number 1 shows, they get to choose one of the prize goodies, if  it is 2 they get 2 kinds and if they get 3 they get all 3 of them

This way of playing the game that I have described is not the usual way the dreidel game is played which appeared to me more like gambling. In the traditional dreidel game, a pot of coins or candies are for play.  One symbol indicates you do not get the pot, another symbol you get the whole pot.  One other symbol indicates you put back what you just won and the last symbol you get half of it.

When we played the dreidel I made at home in class, Rylie loved it.  So we made one in class using the microwave in the teacher's room.  I used Q tip for the handle.  It actually worked!  I asked her mom, Adrienne, how it went with the two dreidels (the one I made and the one Rylie made) that Rylie took home.  She said one has to spin it real fast so it will not fall on one side too soon.  Other than that it worked.

Below is the recipe of the play dough and how I used it to make the dreidel.

Dreidel from Homemade Edible Playdough

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/2 cup or more water

Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl.  Add the cooking oil and water.  You can add more water to your preferred consistency.

Take a small amount of the play dough and shape it to the dreidel shown below with four flat sides like a block but with a pointed end at the bottom.  

Insert a Qtip into the flat top side of the dreidel.  You can remove the cotton on the Qtip if you like.

Microwave the dreidel for 1 minute.  You will find that the dreidel might still be soft.  It will harden after a while so let it set.

Using a marker write the numbers or symbols you like on the four sides.

To use the dreidel,  which is heavier than the store bought one, you need to spin it real fast using the Qtip handle.